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Community Foundation

Local Community Foundation’s assets reach milestone

Waterloo – The roots of The Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation reach as far back as the 1930's. That's when the original trust from the estate of Henry Knell was created and administered by Waterloo Trust through the oversight of Walter Bean.

A man of vision, Walter saw the importance of starting a Community Foundation that could truly make a difference in our community. In 1984, Walter and a group of colleagues approached the provincial government to create a Foundation that was both stable and able to help the community. With an Act of Parliament, The Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation was born with a fund of $135,000.

That first year The KWCF increased its assets to just over $205,000 and awarded grants totaling $16,000 to 12 different charitable organizations.

Jump ahead to 2011. For the first time, assets of The Foundation have reached $50 million. The KWCF manages 110 endowed funds including the Community Fund (an unrestricted pool of resources) as well as funds for distribution. Since its inception, The Foundation has granted over $25 million back into the community to 581 charitable organizations.

“It’s pretty remarkable when you think of how far this Foundation has come in such a short time,” shares Rosemary Smith, CEO of The KWCF.

Over the past 27 years, The KWCF has connected people to the causes they most care about. “There have been some really memorable gifts made to The Foundation,” reminisces Smith.

One of those gifts was made in 1989 by the late Lyle S. Hallman. His donation of $1 million more than doubled The Foundation’s assets at the time.

Eleven years later, retired RIM employees Michael Barnstijn and Louise MacCallum donated over $13 million to The KWCF – half of which went to the Community Fund and the other half to the establishment of the Musagetes Fund.

But not all notable gifts were so large. In 2003, Smith vividly remembers the day when two little girls walked into The Foundation office and handed over $20.77. The girls made the money by working all summer long to donate to their friend Victoria D’Agostino’s memorial fund held at The KWCF.

With a small gift, the Unsung Hero’s Fund was established in 2007 by Horace and Rita Coelho as a means to pay tribute to the often forgotten group of people who quietly make a difference behind-the-scenes. Believing in the vision of unsung heroes, several other donors have made contributions to the fund over the past few years. The original gift and additional donations have been leveraged so that the fund now sits at 20 times its initial value. “Small gifts can start a dream,” says Smith. “When pooled together you can build something of importance and meaning.”

Although charitable giving has taken a significant hit in the Region with donations down by $21 million in 2008 and another $1 million in 2009, this increase in assets has given The KWCF hope.

“Donors are the lifeblood of philanthropy in our community,” finishes Smith. “We are here to help them build a legacy of giving and support for a community that they love.”