The Community Foundation of Ottawa broke new ground in 2015 in both its work with community partners, and in the overarching direction of the organization under the leadership of both the Board of Governors and CEO Marco Pagani. Striking an ambitious new strategic plan, the Foundation has set out an exciting new blueprint for its future as a city-builder and thought-leader in the community. From working with the City of Ottawa on plans for the new Innovation Centre at Bayview Yards, to providing input on the province’s new Social Enterprise Strategy and the National Capital Commission’s 50-year plan for Ottawa, to helping to lead a collaborative, city-wide response to the Syrian Refugee crisis, the Community Foundation made good on its promise to be a leading catalyst for positive, systemic and sustainable change in our community.

Following are just a few of the highlights of 2015 that we’re pleased to share with you:

  • Assets under management reached over $112M;
  • $14.3M was received in new donations;
  • $9.4M was granted out to the community, bringing our total contribution to more than $93M since inception;
  • The Community Foundation was the first Ottawa funder to make grants in support of the Refugees from Syria initiative. Locally, we disbursed $87,000, and $5,000 was sent out to relief efforts overseas.
  • The ground-breaking Collaborative Grantmaking Pilot initiative created a streamlined collective grants process that pooled resources to support a city-wide youth mental health program through a partnership with United Way Ottawa, Champlain Local Health Integration Network, the City of Ottawa and the Ontario Trillium Foundation;
  • The second annual New Leaf Community Challenge awarded a $125,000 grant to the “Transforming the Food System in West Carleton” project, bringing the Foundation’s total contribution towards improving local food security to $250,000, over and above its traditional community grants program funding;
  • Marco Pagani shared his vision of how public-private-philanthropic partnerships can contribute to a more prosperous community to a sold-out crowd at Ottawa’s first TEDx Kanata event;
    We bid farewell to outgoing Board members Brian Toller and Tamba Dhar and thanked them for their outstanding contribution to the CFO and our community.
Tim Redpath - Electronic Signature
Tim Redpath,
Chair of the Board of Governors


Marco's Signature (black + cropped)

Marco Pagani
President & CEO