Back to myNiagaraOnline
As we launch into the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, we turn towards gratitude as we reflect on how Niagara continues to show up with both its philanthropic spirit and genuine compassion for the most vulnerable in our community. I am so proud of our small-but-mighty staff team, our army of volunteers and all our fund-holders who have made a noticeable impact in Niagara this past year. Below are some stories that capture some of our reflections and the reasons we are grateful here at the Niagara Community Foundation (NCF).
As a community foundation, through either donor directed/advised grants or through our discretionary grants programs, we had the privilege of distributing over $2.5 million in grants to the charitable sector over this last year. One recipient that stands out for us is Future Black Female (FBF), an evolving organization that provides mentorship and support to young Black women in Niagara. This year, through a partnership with Family and Children’s Services Niagara, FBF launched a pilot program providing one-on-one support for seven young women who had been particularly effected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through mental-health counselling, financial literacy workshops, mentorship, and career guidance, FBF was able to empower and uplift Black women in our community. Through our Strategic Initiatives program, we were pleased to be able to support this pilot program.
Strategic initiatives and strategic investing work hand in hand at NCF. 2021 was a year of growth for us, with 15 new endowment funds being established with NCF. Over the course of the year, we saw our assets grow from $65 million to just shy of $73 million.$5 million of this growth can be attributed to the Dorothea Thomas Foundation; a field of interest fund that will be used to support environmental programs and initiatives here in Niagara. The fund-holders of the Thomas Foundation made a strategic choice to invest with NCF, while retaining their Fund Manager – RBC Dominion Securities’ Cooper Wealth Management- making use of our External investment Managers program. This decision allows the family to continue to invest their funds strategically while also fulfilling their philanthropic wishes. This is a clear example of the flexibility that NCF offers, as Niagara’s leader in endowment giving.
- Mailed to our office, postmarked Dec. 31 or earlier; or
- Made securely online until 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31 through our online donation site.
- For gifts of publicly traded securities, please email bryan.rose@niagaracommunityfoundation.org before Friday, Dec.17.
