Barbara McInnes, CM, President & CEO

Scott A. Wilson, Chair, Board of Governors

In 2011, the many people and organizations involved with the Community Foundation of Ottawa helped us extend the reach of our work beyond traditional boundaries, both literally and figuratively. Board members and staff travelled as far as Vancouver and India to share ideas and best practices with those growing their own philanthropic communities. It was also a year in which we expanded our circle of friends, colleagues and supporters through new programs that we actively participated in and launched. As we embark on our 25th anniversary year, it has become ever clearer just how important these relationships are to the vitality of the Foundation and the community we serve. The following are just a few highlights of a year marked by new and fruitful collaborations:

  • Donor generosity again exceeded our expectations as we received close to $8.5 million in gifts, almost $0.5 million more than in the previous year.
  • Called upon to help fill gaps left by other funding organizations, we provided emergency grants for a variety of valuable projects, ultimately supporting 462 charitable organizations with over $5.4 million.
  • We implemented a leading-edge Responsible Investing Policy and began the ground-breaking work of establishing an Impact Investing Policy which will allow us to support the community in a whole new way in 2012.
  • The launch of a Community Foundation Circle, bringing its members closer to our work and providing them with a way to support it.
  • We continue to benefit from our membership in Community Foundations of Canada and this year sent a team of staff and Board members to learn and teach at the national conference where Governor General David Johnston spoke as the Patron of Canadian community foundations. We began working with him on the shared vision of building smart and caring communities across the country.

In a year of joining together and working towards common goals, we had much to reflect on in preparation for celebrating our silver anniversary in 2012: our many partnerships with local, national and international organizations that are allowing us to make a more vital difference in all of our work; our many friends and supporters who lift us to new heights each year; and our invaluable volunteers and staff, without whom we couldn’t accomplish all that we’ve set out to do over the last quarter century. It is due to your faith and commitment that we feel well-equipped to forge ahead into new frontiers of community philanthropy as we celebrate our first 25 years of forever.