[homeles_ot-l] FW: Community Foundation of Ottawa Announcement

[Lynne Browne]

FYI, from Barbara McInnes

 

Lynne Browne

Coordinator, Alliance to End Homelessness (ATEH)

147 Besserer St., 2nd Floor, Ottawa, ON K1N 6A7

Office 613-241-7913, ext. 205

www.endhomelessnessottawa.ca <http://www.endhomelessnessottawa.ca/> 

  _____  

From: Janet Adams [mailto:jadams at cfo-fco.ca] On Behalf Of Barb McInnes -
Communications
Sent: November 24, 2009 12:35 PM
To: Communications
Subject: Community Foundation of Ottawa Announcement

 

I am writing to advise you of the outcome of a concerted effort to re-visit
our granting policy as a result of the impact of the protracted economic
downturn on one of the Community Foundation's most critical programs -
grantmaking.  As you know, we made the very difficult decision early this
year to inform you that we would not be accepting grant applications for
2009.  In the end, the combination of flow-through donations from many of
our generous donors and the $2.7M we were able to secure from interest and
dividends allowed us to continue our support to many of you.

 

In January of this year, the Foundation's Board of Governors struck a task
force with a broad mandate to review the Foundation's business model,
considering the short-term and long-term implications of severe market
fluctuations.  Included in the mandate was consideration of whether our
policy should be revised to somehow ensure that grants could be made every
year.  

 

The task force, chaired by Board Chair Scott Wilson, examined a range of
options; sought expert advice; and surveyed peers in the field nationally,
in its effort to construct a formula that would assign a fixed percentage,
regardless of fluctuations in investment earnings, to ensure grantmaking
which is independent of short-term market volatility.

 

I am happy to inform you that the recommendations of the task force were
approved by the Board on November 17th.  In simple terms, this means that a
fixed rate of 4.25% has been established for grantmaking every year,
regardless of fluctuations in investment earnings.  In the past the rate was
determined annually by the Board based on the previous year's earnings.  

 

This is a pivotal moment in the history of the Foundation.  Although this
past year has been a challenge, we took the opportunity it presented to make
decisions that will undoubtedly improve the position of the Foundation in
the future.  We feel strongly that the approach we have taken is more
suitably aligned with the Foundation's mandate to support long-term
sustainability while reducing our sensitivity to market performance. You can
now count on us to run our grantmaking programs year after year, which in
turn facilitates your planning to run your programs and deliver services.  

 

Despite the severe market decline, the Foundation has emerged as a solid,
strong organization better prepared to deal with future market
uncertainties. We will also be in touch shortly with more details on the
reinstatement of our grantmaking program.

 

I invite you to view the new granting
<http://www.cfo-fco.ca/site/site_en/who/documents/CFO-GrantingPolicy_Novembe
r202009_.pdf>  policy on our website and to contact me if you have any
questions or concerns.

 

Sincerely,

Barbara McInnes, CM

President & CEO

 

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