Conference Program

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Friday, May 13

7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Conference Registration Desk open
Level 3, North Tower

Please note: For security reasons, photo ID is needed when you pick up your registration kit

7:45 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

Breakfast
Grand Ballroom Level, North Tower

8:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.

Plenary Session
Grand Ballroom Level, North Tower

Panel: British Columbia’s Brightest Thinkers

Moderator: Tania Carnegie, KPMG Vancouver
Panelists: Tamara Vrooman, CEO of Vancity; Janice Abbott, CEO of Atira Women’s Resource Society/Atira Property Management; Jim Fletcher, co-founder of BC Social Venture Partners

This session brings together BC’s brightest thinkers around social innovation and  social finance.

This panel is made possible by KPMG

Speaker bios

9:45 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.

Break

10:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

Concurrent Sessions Block C

Choose one of the following sessions:

C1 Vancouver Foundation’s Gen Green Experiment: Funding and Engaging Youth
Presenters: Meriko Kubota and Dorothy Bartoszewski, Vancouver Foundation

Our world is changing. Technology is changing. Our economy is changing. Should our giving change too? Through our Generation Green Awards, Vancouver Foundation is experimenting with new ways of giving: giving to individuals, rather than organizations; mentoring; funding social entrepreneurship; promoting and engaging through social media. Join us to explore the potential and pitfalls of engaging a new generation in the work of community and community foundations.

C2 Making it Count: Ways to Invest for Mission and Impact
Moderator: Betsy Martin, Community Foundations of Canada
Presenters: Nora Sobolov, The Community Forward Fund; Terry Cooke, Hamilton Community Foundation; Paul Richardson, Renewal 2; David Berge, Vancity

Foundations across the country and around the world are looking to invest their endowments in ways that further their mission as well as earn needed financial returns. The Canadian Task Force on Social Finance recently recommended that foundations invest at least 10% of assets in mission-related investing over the next 10 years. What does this mean and how do you do it? Hear first hand from a community foundation CEO and the developers of proven investment vehicles about ways Canadian foundations can invest directly in their local communities, provide needed capital to the charitable and non-profit sector, support social entrepreneurship and earn a competitive return.  This session will help you discover how your foundation can use more of your assets to meet your mission of making your community better, stronger and more vital.

C3 What’s Your Waterloo? Gaining Insight on Collaboration
Presenters: Tracey Robertson, Ontario Trillium Foundation; Rosemary Smith, The Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation; Jan Varner, United Way of Kitchener-Waterloo and Area

What happens when a community’s three largest funders: the Community Foundation, the United Way, and the Ontario Trillium Foundation come together in a creative quest for innovation and deeper collaboration? Learn from one trio’s trials, errors and triumphs in Waterloo Region, a community that is renowned for its innovation in the high-tech sector. How did funders adapt the innovation taking place in this community to their own work? Their shared experience is a story where the details of the journey are as engaging and important as the final destination. Along the way you’ll learn about a new community system role, called the Community System Entrepreneur, where an individual or group takes a high-level view of increased community engagement; analyze a regional platform for incubating the community system that can be adapted in other communities; and review some of the tools developed along the way.

C4 Direct from Donors: Taking Engagement to the Next Level
Presenters: Bibi Patel, Cornelia Duck, Lucy Hensel, David Sweanor, Community Foundation of Ottawa

The Community Foundation of Ottawa’s Donor Engagement Strategy optimizes the intersection of donors’ interests with community needs. This session offers firsthand information from three key donors, dedicated community builders who will share their philanthropic journeys so far. They will discuss the evolution from neophyte to expert grantmaker; endowed versus non-endowed giving; intergenerational relationships; strategic philanthropy; donors’ role in furthering the mandate of community foundations; accountability; and donor frustration, as well as donor satisfaction.

C5 Canada’s Aboriginal People: Defining and Building the Role of Foundations in Supporting Change
Presenters: Sandra Richardson and Sharlene Smith, Victoria Foundation; Alixe Knighton and Michelle Corfield, Ahp-cii-uk Community Society

This session will shine a light on the bigger picture of Aboriginal-focused philanthropy. It looks at specific ways community foundations can support Aboriginal people as they move forward, and explores a particularly promising approach to partnership and relationship building aimed at lasting change. It features three perspectives: Sandra Richardson and Sharlene Smith will focus on their work with Native bands that are evolving to have governing power over their people, land and resources, and often access to millions of dollars; Bruce Miller will provide an overview of his recent research in the field; and Dr. Michelle Corfield will detail an innovative partnership involving Aboriginal communities and governments, philanthropy, corporations, business and academia.

C6 Taking Board Governance to the Next Level
Presenter: Don McCreesh, Imagine Canada
Governing the complex affairs of a community foundation, especially in these times of increased demands for accountability and a tougher operating environment, requires dedicated and skilled Board members. Don, an expert in human resources and governance issues, will lead participants through a thought-provoking exploration of: the Board’s role in providing oversight of risk assessment and mitigation plans; the demand for governance standards; the key roles of a Board; and the important function of managing and monitoring the performance of the CEO/ED. This session will be of particular interest to Board members and CEOs.

C7 From Needs to Assets – Building Capacity in Diverse Communities
Presenters: Zanele Sibanda Knight, Firelight Foundation; Karri Dawson and Christina Parsons, True Sport Foundation

Funders learn a lot about communities and organizations as they work with them over the years, especially in their support to build capacity. Among the key learnings is that no two organizations are alike, and that the starting place for capacity building is the context and strengths that each organization draws on as it gets started. Funders have to be flexible and responsive as they consider how to best work with each group, drawing on the experience and learnings they have acquired over time.  Stories from an African and Canadian context about working with organizations serving marginalized people will set the stage for discussion about capacity building grants and support that truly builds on the needs and interests of communities.

C8 The Road to Resilience: Working Together
Presenters: Judith Maxwell, Founding President, Canadian Policy Research Networks

Judith Maxwell recently wrote an article for The Philanthropist about the shock of the recession and the way it has changed life among non-profits. Based on the article this interactive session looks at ways to work smarter and forge collaborations in order to bring more people and resources to the table.

C9 Community Building Through Collaboration: Issues, Convening and Legacy
Moderator: Rosalyn Morrison, Toronto Community Foundation
Panel: Rahul K.Bhardwaj, Toronto Community Foundation; Tim Brodhead, The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation; Robin Cardozo, Ontario Trillium Foundation; Faye Wightman, Vancouver Foundation

How can collaborative effort lead to innovative solutions, which will help our cities, small and large, move in the right direction? The Toronto Community Foundation’s city-building dialogues mobilize donors, private enterprise, governments and community partners to collaborate on creative responses to key quality-of-life issues. Participate in a discussion with foundation leaders about lessons learned from collaborative projects, the risks and opportunities, the conditions for success, the process and value of convening, and the power of collaboration in bringing about bold experiments in areas including affordable housing, community safety, public space and municipal finance.

Speaker bios

12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Lunch Plenary
Grand Ballroom Level, North Tower

Cultural Performance: Voices of Nature

Speaker: Bill White, President & CEO, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation

Bill draws upon his long career in philanthropy to share insights about the importance of philanthropy in today’s world, and the unique role of community foundations in the overall philanthropic movement.

Speaker bios

2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Community Learning Forums
Location: Somewhere in Vancouver!  Be sure to register for your adventure when you pick up your registration kit and name badge at the Registration Desk on your arrival.

Our Community Learning Forums are an experiential learning opportunity like no others, a chance to hit the streets of Vancouver and visit the most compelling programs and projects funded by Vancouver Foundation. When you registered for the conference, you chose an area that interests you – Environmental Sustainability; Children, Youth & Families; Poverty, Housing & Affordability; Arts & Culture; and Health & Wellness. Or maybe you selected Surprise Me! In any event, you’ll be given a front-row seat to see what makes these organizations tick.

Speaker bios

5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Free time

7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Vancouver Foundation Host Event
Vancouver Aquarium