June 30 2021 Spring/Summer Edition
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Community Foundations of Canada (CFC)
All In Virtual Summit
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From June 2nd to 4th 2021, Community Foundation staff, Board members, and volunteers from across Canada and around the world gathered virtually to Be Ready. Be Brave. Begin.
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This was a ground-breaking year for the movement in Canada as the Winnipeg Foundation, the oldest Community Foundation in the country, celebrated its 100th anniversary. For more on 100 years of Community Foundations in Canada, check out this short video.
The Summit brought together 966 attendees, offered 57 sessions, and shared the perspectives of 128 speakers. Speakers included Vu Le (Founder, NonprofitAF), Jesse Wente (Chair, Canada Council for the Arts, Anishinaabe writer, broadcaster, speaker, and arts leader), Liban Abokor (Executive Director, Youth LEAPS and working group member, Foundation for Black Communities), and Jess Bolduc (Executive Director, 4Rs Youth Movement) among others.
It was my great honour to be included in this list of speakers, as I too was invited to present. Having led several of the federal funding streams here in Nova Scotia over the last year and being a newer member of the CF network, I was invited by Community Foundations of Canada to co-lead a discussion around good grantmaking. The Grantmaker’s Toolbox, as we called our session, was intended to inspire small to mid-sized Community Foundations as they boldly adapt their grantmaking processes to be more accessible, relationship-focused, and equitable.
My co-presenter was Leanne Hammond, Executive Director of the Community Foundation of the North Okanagan. Leanne has been actively involved in the Community Foundation movement for more than 15 years and shares my passion for transforming grantmaking practices that functionally serve both the donor and the grant applicant/recipient. If you’re interested in learning more about good grantmaking, please feel free to reach out. Always happy to discuss with our fundholders and community stakeholders!
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Thanks to the virtual format, several members of the CFNS staff and Board teams were able to attend the summit sessions. Session topics ranged from impact investing to Board composition to the underfunding of Black-led organizations. We were challenged to consider how we can bravely and with integrity usher in a new era of philanthropy, one that will allow us to help build a just and equitable world.
I have captured some of my biggest takeaways from the summit below:
- Are we valuing ties and testimony as much as we value time, talent, and treasures? How can we better appreciate the variety of ways people give? Thinking about philanthropy beyond the financial.
- How are we placing trust in those doing work on the ground? Can we adapt the ways we ask for information and give grants to instill more trust in charitable organizations creating change?
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In the words of Jay Pitter, author, and placemaker, “Stop empowering people – people ARE powerful.”
- Do we take the time to acknowledge people’s strength and resilience?
- Is our perspective of the province asset-focused?
- Am I actively working to build equity by educating myself, standing in solidarity with marginalized voices, and shifting power when it belongs in someone else’s hands?
In 2019, CFC asked us, “What are we all in for?” Together, we listened, learned, and reflected. At this year’s summit, we committed to taking action. This time it is not a question, it is a declaration.
We are All In to create and enable social change.
Emma Cruddas, Program Manager, CFNS
emma.cruddas@cfns-fcne.ca
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As Canadians continue to adapt to the realities of COVID-19, local governments and community partners across the country have been adapting their spaces and services to keep residents safe and healthy, support economic recovery, create jobs, and build vibrant, resilient communities.
The Government of Canada alongside Community Foundations of Canada, the Canadian Urban Institute, and a network of partners including the Community Foundation of Nova Scotia have announced projects taking place across Canada as part of the first round of the Canada Healthy Communities Initiative. The $31-million Canada Healthy Communities Initiative is building safer spaces and ensuring a higher quality of life for people across the country, by helping communities adapt to the challenges presented by COVID-19.
Click here to see the Healthy Communities Initiative projects that have received funding from coast to coast to coast on the project map.
The second round of the Healthy Communities Initiative closed on June 25th and recipients will be announced in September.
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The Community Foundation of Nova Scotia is pleased to share with you our 2020 Annual Report of activities and initiatives.
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It's always exciting for us to be able to hear directly from the people who benefit from some of the grants and scholarships that we are fortunate enough to have under our umbrella. The following are two stories from the first recipients of the New Canadian Education Award, which was established in 2020, Ayah Alelaiwi and Odutope Macauley-Okoro.
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Hello everyone, this is Ayah Alelaiwi,
I would love to share my story/experiences as a first year-student at Dalhousie University. This year was a little tough for most students, especially because we weren't able to enjoy any of the in-person campus life as all courses were delivered online.
I was very excited to enter my first year as a university student and I stayed positive about the learning experience which I believe made a big difference. It was challenging to adjust to online learning but I am proud to say that I achieved a GPA of 4.00.
As the winner of the Community Foundation of Nova Scotia’s New Canadian Education Award, I want to thank the committee members for their support. This scholarship has had a major positive impact on my ability to devote my efforts to full-time study on my path to achieve my goals. You have lightened my financial burden which allows me to focus more on the most important aspect of school - learning.
Your generosity has inspired me to help others and give back to the community. I hope one day I will be able to help students achieve their goals just as you have helped me.
Sincerely,
Ayah Alelaiwi
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What New Canadian Education Award means to me:
The New Canadian Education Award was a welcome opportunity that assisted me in paying part of my tuition fees in the Nova Scotia College of Early Childhood education program. The funding helped lighten the financial burden that would have come with my studies and this helped me to better concentrate on my studies. I must express my profound gratitude to the New Canadian Education Award for the opportunity to be one of the beneficiaries to the award.
How the school year went:
The school year has been an interesting series of academic activities, with lots of studies been done, series of activities and researches carried out, knowledge acquired, meeting and associating with different educators, professional speakers, and other students from different parts of the world (online). The year has been fruitful as a discovery education channel and a learning platform to prepare me for my professional career, in early childhood education.
Odutope Macauley-Okoro
Recipient, New Canadian Education Award
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The First Anniversary of the We Rise Again Fund
April 18th and 19th marked the first anniversary of the unspeakable tragedy that rocked communities surrounding Portapique, Nova Scotia. These events will forever stay in the memories of Nova Scotians, but it is our hope that with time, healing will begin, and we can look to brighter days ahead. Over the past year, many organizations have come together to address the community's immediate needs, and to help them reinvent their place in history in a positive way. It has been our privilege to have been involved in the Community Build Up + project that focuses on the rejuvenation of the Portapique Community Hall to make it a place of joy and congregation for the greater community along the shore. The construction continues to move forward and this collaboration has demonstrated the caring nature of our province and has been a testament to how we support each other in times of challenge, and that together we all can rise again.
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Gaelic Community Development Fund
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The Gaelic Community Development Fund was established to provide funding support to Gaelic language, cultural, and identity capacity building initiatives in communities so that Gaels, as a unique ethnocultural group continue to contribute to Nova Scotia life.
This fund, supports the broader well-being of communities through the strengthening of the common good, improving quality of life, and addressing challenging issues in thoughtful and meaningful ways.
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Gaelic College Endowment Fund
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The only institution of its kind in North America, students of all ages and skill levels visit Colaisde na Gàidhlig | The Gaelic College in St. Ann's, Cape Breton every year to study under some of the finest instructors in Nova Scotia Gaelic culture.
This fund was established in memory of Nancy MacLean, who passed away September 2, 2020. Each year, Colaisde na Gàidhlig/The Gaelic College proudly awards scholarships and bursaries to students pursuing Gaelic culture, music, language, crafts, customs, and traditions thanks to generous annual donations from community members and corporate partners. To continue Nancy's mission, the Nancy MacLean Bursary was created to provide scholarships for youth enrolling in music and dance. This endowment fund will ensure this bursary will be able to continue to support youth and make it easier for them to participate in the programs at the College.
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Hugh and Linda Brown Educational Fund
Hugh and Linda Brown strongly believe that post-secondary education can create a world of opportunities for youth. In 2014 they created the Hugh and Linda Brown Educational Foundation (BEF) with the mission to assist financially disadvantaged individuals in Atlantic Canada, especially those in Nova Scotia, obtain an education and employment, thereby enhancing their life outcomes and society in general.
Hugh and Linda are happy to support two scholarships for students at Amherst Regional High School that will help provide them with a post-secondary education.
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Taigh Sgoile na Drochaide Fund
The first of its kind in Canada, Taigh Sgoile na Drochaide is a newly established independent Gaelic immersion primary school in Mabou, Inverness County, Nova Scotia that raises children not only as Gaelic speakers, but with an understanding of what it means to be Gaels, and how that knowledge connects them to the wider world. This fund was established to provide an incredible opportunity for anyone to be a part of that vision and to support the development of real citizens of the world. The school is set to open its doors in September 2021 through a partnership with Colaisde na Gàidhlig / The Gaelic College.
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FAQs About Your Funds: Fundraising
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Curious about the ways you can fundraise for, or donate to, a fund held at CFNS? We’ve compiled some helpful tips that we hope answer some of the questions we often hear from our fundholders.
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Member of Community Foundations of Canada
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Community Foundation of Nova Scotia | cfns-fcne.ca
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