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Huronia Communities Foundation - Inspiring philanthropy to benefit our community today and forever!

Message from the Executive Director

2000 to 2010... The first ten years of Forever

Huronia Communities Foundation's ten-year history tells a story of dedication and perseverance. In March 2000, the Foundation was established with a fantastic group of volunteers. These volunteers are community leaders who had a vision to build a Foundation which would offer this community a legacy of philanthropy. To date, we have given more than $500,000 in Grants - an admirable accomplishment for our 10th anniversary. Our next Grants deadline is April 16, 2010. To apply, visit our Grant Application page

Featuring both community and national financial information related to giving is a priority for us. In this issue, the BMO Retirement Institute highlights the impact of boomer inheritances over the next twenty years.

As well, we spotlight donor advised endowment funds. In this release you can read about the Rev. Cliff Pendlebury Endowment Fund, the J.J. Gignac Endowment Fund and the Jim McCready Memorial Endowment Fund.

In the Fall newsletter, you had an opportunity to learn more about the work of Foundations from our President, Allan Arlett and guest speaker, Carol Oliver. Jane Barnett connected with Board members, Laura Vaughan and George Cornell for this newsletter, to learn about their views on philanthropy and philanthropic priorities for our region.

Here is food for thought on giving:

"I expect to pass through life but once. If, therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again." - William Penn Let us know what you want to see more of in the newsletter.

We welcome your input and suggestions.

Garry Morehouse
Executive Director

This E-newsletter is sponsored by:

Catherine Bayles
www.cathybayles.ca

Did You Know?

Suggesting a client name the Community Foundation in their Will is NOT considered to be favouring a charity. In fact, an individual can leave a bequest to their named fund and specify that an annual percentage go to a hospital, school, church or centre of their choice!

This is the Huronia Communities Foundation's 10th Anniversary. To help us acknowledge this milestone, each of our quarterly newsletters in 2010 will highlight a "Top 10" list for you!

Ten Things we like about the Foundation (as noted by the Brant Community Foundation)

1. We see the positive ripple effect from our grants, as community organizations we support causes that make differences in the lives of others.
2. We are involved in something that can effectively respond to the changing needs of the community.
3. Helping people to think outside the box, we work with donors to create new funds to fulfill their wishes.
4. We work with an interesting and vibrant group of volunteers who are dedicated to building a strong Foundation for this community.
5. Although each Community Foundation is autonomous and locally governed, we are all linked nationally through our similar goals for each of our communities.
6. It is exciting to be part of an organization that focuses on local issues of importance to our Communities.
7. We appreciate the benefits of giving - from tax incentives to leaving a legacy to just plain "feeling good".
8. The Foundation challenges us to think about the future of our community, not just the next few years, but forever.
9. Foundation grants are not tied to one charity or sector; they support all sectors and issues, depending on the needs of the community.
10. We know that our contributions will continue long after we no longer can...

Donor Advised Endowment Funds

Donor Advised Funds are convenient, flexible tools for individuals, families, businesses or groups that want to be personally involved in suggesting grants made possible by their gifts.

If you have a range of community interests, a Donor Advised Fund may be the ideal vehicle for fulfilling your charitable wishes. This type of fund allows you to make a gift to your Community Foundation and remain actively involved in suggesting uses for your gift. As an example, we are pleased to announce a new donor advised fund in memory of Reverend Cliff Pendlebury.

The Rev. Cliff Pendlebury Outreach Endowment Fund

Huronia Communities Foundation is pleased to announce a new $25,000 Endowment Fund established in memory of Reverend Cliff Pendlebury. The earnings from this fund will be used for community outreach purposes as recommended by Zena Pendlebury and family. The Rev. Cliff Pendlebury Outreach Endowment Fund will keep alive Rev Pendlebury's challenge to his St. Paul's Church congregation to become more involved in outreach within the community and around the world.

Rev Pendlebury was always heartened by the congregation's response and he enthusiastically spoke of the generous 'spirit of St. Paul's'. As testimony to this generous spirit, the Church became home to the Drop-In Centre in 1995. This dedicated congregation raised money to build a primary school in Sierra Leone and sponsored a Karen family from a refugee camp in Thailand. Two and a half years later, it sponsored more members of the same family to successfully settle in Midland. The congregation also raises money annually for the Canadian Food Grains Bank.

Cliff always kept the faith and he put his faith into action by helping people every way possible, and by motivating everyone he could to do likewise. This new fund will serve as Cliff's legacy in the community - even though he is gone, the good work will continue - forever.

The J.J. Gignac Endowment Fund

This Endowment Fund was established by the Gignac family to recognize Jerome Gignac's contribution to the community. As John noted, "it was one way to remember Dad". Jerome had a large family of eight children. Each Christmas and birthday, the family makes donations to the Fund in lieu of gifts. Over $8,000 in Grants has been made from the earnings of the J.J. Gignac Fund to charities important to the family including: Wendat, St. Ann's Church, St. Vincent de Paul, Huronia Community Living, Georgian Manor, Penetanguishene Sports Hall of Fame, Huronia Hospital Foundation, Huronia Players, Children's Community Choir and the YMCA Camp.

Jim McCready Memorial Endowment Fund

Jim was a strong supporter of the community throughout his life. To honour Jim and his commitment to community, his family set up the Jim McCready Memorial Fund to be held in perpetuity at the Huronia Communities Foundation. Earnings of almost $3,000 have been directed to Camp Quality, Huronia Performing Arts for the Children and the Wye Marsh.

Donations to any of the above Funds are welcomed. Just visit Our Donor Page

You can establish a named Endowment Fund today for $10,000. It's a way to see the Endowment Fund at work while you are here and to know that your support will increase to help meet critical and emerging needs long after you are gone.

How a Donor Advised Fund works...

• You make a gift to your Community Foundation - you can give cash, appreciated stocks, real estate, or other assets.
• We set up a special fund in your name, in the name of your family or business or in honour of any person or organization you choose.
• You receive a tax benefit in the year your gift is made. You recommend uses for the fund - working with our professional program staff to support the causes and organizations you care about most.
• Your recommendations are presented to our Community Foundation Board for approval. We handle all the administrative details and issue grants to charities in the name of the fund you establish (if you prefer, grants can be made anonymously).
• Your gift can be placed into an endowment that is invested over time. Earnings from your fund are used to make grants addressing community needs. Your gift - and all future earnings from your gift - is a permanent source of community capital, helping to do good work forever.

Benefits of a Donor Advised Fund...

• You can establish a charitable legacy in your name, in the name of your family, or in honour of any individual or organization you select.
• You can coordinate all of your giving through one fund, supporting your favourite charities now and for years to come.
• You know that your gift will be carefully invested and managed via our proven stewardship practices. You can turn to our local grant-making experts for advice on community priorities and local organizations that are making a difference.
• You are eligible to receive maximum tax benefits; you can also add to your fund at any time and receive tax benefits with each new gift.
• You can establish a fund today and make grant recommendations now or in the future. There's so much more we'd like you to know. The Huronia Communities Foundation provides personalized service and a variety of giving vehicles. We welcome the opportunity to work with you and your advisor to fulfill your unique charitable objectives.

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Looking at Philanthropy from our Members' Perspective

This month, we invited Laura Vaughan and George Cornell to share their perspective on philanthropy as members of the Foundation's Board.

Laura Vaughan, Vice President of the Huronia Communities Foundation Board, shares her insights about philanthropy... Philanthropy is something that I have gradually grown to enjoy in my life. There was a time when I did it because I felt it was a basic responsibility. Part of what it means to be human is to support other people, both locally and globally. Over time, it happened that the more I gave (of both time and money), the more I enjoyed giving and the more I wanted to give. It's still something I have to be intentional about in my own life, but each year it feels like less of a responsibility and more of an adventure to discover and support some great charitable organizations that have so much impact on the lives of individuals.

Huronia Communities Foundation enables me to be involved in an organization that feeds so many diverse causes. Every year I learn about so many great projects that different charitable organizations in Huronia are undertaking as a result of my involvement with the Foundation and it allows me to support a variety of different initiatives through one outlet. I also love the lasting impact we can have on the Huronia community by building an endowment fund over time.

I think the Huronia Communities Foundation objective is a facilitative role between donors and charitable organizations and it's a a really unique and important role for the community. The Foundation has the ability to connect the two; making donors aware of charitable initiatives they may not otherwise have known about and allows charities to access the resources of donors they may not have otherwise been able to access.

George Cornell, a member of the Huronia Communities Foundation Board of Directors, shares his thoughts on philanthropy...

Joining the Huronia Communities Foundation Board has given me an opportunity to get involved with philanthropy and charitable giving after a busy work life that involved a lot of travel. You get to a point where you become introspective about giving back and helping those in the community pursue what is important and possible with financial assistance.

The Foundation's goal is to raise awareness of and encourage philanthropy while working with the community to help others understand the importance and effect of philanthropy. The ability to give back to the community is key for me and I see the Foundation as a unique organization - the charity for charities. With diverse options for giving, it enables people to help others while addressing specific interests they may have.

The great thing is that you don't have to have a lot of money to make a difference. Your funds can be pooled with others to make that impact you're hoping for when donating. You also have the option of directing your funds to specific causes or inviting the Grants Committee to target your funds where critical community needs have been identified.

Huronia Communities Foundation helps others reinforce what's important to them and their community. It's essential to maintain community programs and services that include sports, recreation, education, heritage, history, youth activities, those in need and environmental interests. The Foundation helps people find the right mechanism to support what they care about.

Sometimes people wrestle with the idea of wanting to give a donation, but struggle with where that money should go. Our Board, and in particular, the Grants Committee, helps identify where our community needs financial assistance. This is not another charity, but rather, a focused organization that gets the money exactly where it’s needed.

We are thrilled to have reached our 10th anniversary; a big accomplishment for a Foundation that started very small. We continue to learn from others by talking to community organizations, charities and Boards and reviewing applications to our Foundation to identify community trends and needs.

Using this e-newsletter and other media outlets to celebrate the impact our donations are having is a great way to 'spread the word'. The Board has the potential and desire to continue to grow and influence giving in the community. With the completion of our strategic planning exercise, the changing of our Board make-up and the addition of new members, we can move to the next level. Ten years is an optimal time to look back at our accomplishments and look forward to opportunities and challenges to ensure longevity while inviting others to join us in making a difference.

Passing it on - What future inheritances will look like from BMO Retirement Institute Study

It's been estimated in Canada that Boomers stand to inherit approximately $1 trillion over the next twenty years. According to new research from the BMO Retirement Institute, despite recent economic turmoil, Canadians' expectations of the massive transfer of wealth to Boomers have not dampened. Regardless of this positive outlook on future inheritances, the study also reveals that most families have not adequately addressed all the challenges associated with the biggest transfer of wealth in history. Read more about this at the following link: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2009/15/c6227.html

Don't Forget

Nominations for the upcoming Circle of Honour Awards will kick off February 2010. We encourage you to consider individuals, businesses, philanthropic groups and youths/youth groups in our community who make a difference and whom we have the opportunity to honour at our May 29, 2010 event.

Last year's recipients were:

Individual: David and Michelle Mink

Business: Franke Kindred Canada Ltd Philanthropic

Groups: Port McNicoll Lions Club and Friends of Penetanguishene

Youth or Youth Group: Penetanguishene Secondary School, Positive Students for Students Group.

To access our nomination form on the website visit our downloads page

New this year... we know that many of you wish to continue supporting the Foundation and yet, may be unable to join us on the May 29th evening. Consider our new pay and pass option that will enable you to donate the cost of your ticket to the Foundation and take a pass on attending the event. More on this in our spring newsletter!

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