Elgin St. Thomas Community Foundation
Post Office Box 20150
St. Thomas, Ontario N5P 4H4
Canada
Mission
To strengthen the community for the benefit of all by fostering the growth of community philanthropy; giving opportunities to benefactors to leave a lasting legacy for future generations; building and prudently managing community endowments; and addressing the needs of the community through strategic grantmaking and organizational support
Most Meaningful Change
We are a young community foundation, and so our most meaningful change is the strategic development and sustainability of a community endowment that serves all the communities and people of Elgin County. We are about to top $1M and have granted $450,000 to date. Our strategic plan for the coming five years includes such leadership activities as “shared space” for local community organizations and a virtual community knowledge center to highlight opportunity and need.
2003 Year Founded
1 Paid Staff (Full-Time Equivalent)
$873,277 Endowment Value
$114,200 Total Annual Grantmaking
Organization | Elgin St. Thomas Community Foundation |
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Address 1 | Post Office Box 20150 |
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Address 2 | Did not answer |
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City / Town | St. Thomas |
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State / Region | Ontario |
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ZIP / Postal Code | N5P 4H4 |
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Country | Canada |
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Continent | North America |
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Map Address (If Different) | 745 Talbot Street |
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Map City / Town (If Different) | St. Thomas |
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Map State / Region (If Different) | Ontario |
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Map Zip / Postal Code (If Different) | N5P 4H4 |
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Map Country (If Different) | Did not answer |
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Phone | 519-637-8230 |
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Email | klaine@escf.ca |
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Website | www.escf.ca |
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Organization Leader (Name, Title) | Karen Laine, Executive Director |
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Primary Contact’s Name | Karen Laine |
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Primary Contact’s Position | Executive Director |
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Year Founded | 2003 |
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Mission Statement | To strengthen the community for the benefit of all by fostering the growth of community philanthropy; giving opportunities to benefactors to leave a lasting legacy for future generations; building and prudently managing community endowments; and addressing the needs of the community through strategic grantmaking and organizational support |
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Organization Description | Community Foundation |
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Other Description | Did not answer |
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Approximate Size of the Population Serviced | 50,000 |
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Total Paid Staff (Full-Time Equivalents) | 1 |
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Total Unpaid Staff (Full-Time Equivalents) | 1 |
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Total Board Members | 6 |
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Organization’s Total Income in Last Fiscal Year | $149,524 |
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Organization’s Gifts Income in Last Fiscal Year | Did not answer |
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Organization’s Total Expenditures in Last Fiscal Year | $55,641 |
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Organization’s Grantmaking Budget in Last Fiscal Year | $114,200 |
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Does Organization Have an Endowment | Yes |
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Value of Endowment (or Financial Reserves) as of the End of Last Fiscal Year | $873,277 |
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Change in Financial Status Over Last Three Years | A little improvement |
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Factors that Played a Role in the Origins of Your Organization |
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Community leadership | Played a centrally important role |
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Philanthropic gifts | Played a slight role |
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Grassroots activism | Played an important role |
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Inadequate government services | Played a slight role |
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Changes in the political environment | Played an important role |
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Changes in the economic environment | Played a slight role |
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Government initiative funding | No role |
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Foundation initiative funding | No role |
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Bilateral or multilateral initiative funding | No role |
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Favorable legal or fiscal policies | No role |
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Time Spent Working in Following Areas |
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Neighborhood | Lots of time |
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Locally | Lots of time |
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Regionally | Fair amount of time |
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Nationally | Very little time |
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Internationally | None |
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Rate Importance of the Following Functions |
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Grantmaking | Centrally important |
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Having local people as leaders in the organization | Centrally important |
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Seeking local donations | Important but not central |
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Having a gender balance in the organization | Important but not central |
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Board reflective of community diversity | Centrally important |
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Building an endowment | Centrally important |
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Serving donor needs | Centrally important |
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Acting as a fiscal intermediary for the community | Important but not central |
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Building inclusion and trust in the community | Important but not central |
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Pursuing equity | Important but not central |
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Accountability to local people | Centrally important |
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Raising money for grantmaking annually | Slightly important |
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Community development | Centrally important |
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In the Last Year, Extent to Which Programming and/or Grantmaking Involved Work in the Following Areas |
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Arts and culture | Fair amount |
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Education | Fair amount |
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Environment | Fair amount |
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Health | Fair amount |
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Human and social services | Fair amount |
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Human rights | Fair amount |
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International relations | Not at all |
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Religion | Not at all |
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Economic development | Little |
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Conflict resolution/bridging different parts of the community | Not at all |
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Information technology | Not at all |
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Strengthening local or regional government | Not at all |
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Housing | Little |
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Children | Fair amount |
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Water | Little |
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Alternative energy | Not at all |
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Disaster relief | Not at all |
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Advocacy with authorities | Not at all |
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Job training | Little |
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Nongrantmaking Services Offered to Community in Recent Years |
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Convening for issues of local concern | Occasionally |
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Promote collaboration between grantees | Often |
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Promote understanding of public policy | Rarely |
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Training/capacity-building for local organizations | Often |
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Advocacy | Never |
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Loaned staff | Never |
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Research | Never |
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Community needs assessment | Rarely |
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Leadership development | Often |
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Internships | Occasionally |
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Providing space for local organizations | Occasionally |
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Access to information technology | Never |
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Publishing/knowledge sharing | Occasionally |
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Main Trends Over the Past Year in Geographic Area Served |
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Poverty | Getting worse |
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Crime | No change |
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Trust among different sections of the community | Getting better |
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Equitable distribution of resources and services | Getting better |
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Social position of marginalized groups | No change |
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Responsiveness of authorities | No change |
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Appropriateness of public policies | No change |
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Value of community assets | Getting better |
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Quality of the environment | Getting worse |
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Number of people and organizations working to change and improve their community | Getting better |
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Levels of innovation and risk taking in addressing community problems | Getting better |
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Networks and links between different parts of the community | Getting better |
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Gender equity | Getting better |
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Charitable giving through the community foundation | Getting better |
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Number of people and organizations involved in philanthropic giving | Getting better |
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Extent to Which Organization Can Claim Tangible and Measurable Achievements in the Past Three Years |
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Poverty | Did not answer |
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Crime | Did not answer |
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Trust among different sections of the community | Some important achievements |
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Equitable distribution of resources and services | Some important achievements |
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Social position of marginalized groups | A few small achievements |
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Responsiveness of authorities | Do not work in this sphere |
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Appropriateness of public policies | Do not work in this sphere |
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Value of community assets | Some important achievements |
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Quality of the environment | A few small achievements |
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Number of people and organizations working to change and improve their community | Some important achievements |
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Levels of innovation and risk taking in addressing community problems | Some important achievements |
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Networks and links between different parts of the community | Much achievement |
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Gender equity | Some important achievements |
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Charitable giving through the community foundation | Some important achievements |
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Number of people and organizations involved in philanthropic giving | Some important achievements |
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Active Partnerships |
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Formal community associations and groups | Lot |
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Informal associations of citizens | Little |
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Non-governmental organizations | Lot |
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Local government | Little |
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National government | Not at all |
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Universities | Lot |
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Schools | Lot |
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Businesses | Lot |
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Other Institutions Helpful to Our Work |
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National association of grantmakers | Neither helpful or unhelpful |
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Regional association of grantmakers | Neither helpful or unhelpful |
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Global Fund for Community Foundations | Neither helpful or unhelpful |
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Particular foundation | Helpful |
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Other organization | Very helpful |
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Involvement of Local People |
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Regularly survey local people about our programs | Yes |
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Local people are engaged in the delivery of our work | Yes |
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Local people control what our organization does | Yes |
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Have local people represented on our board | Yes |
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Have regular sessions where local people advise us what our programs should do | Yes |
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Actively engage local people as volunteers | Yes |
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All of our board is composed of local people | Yes |
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Account to local people about our successes and failures each year | Yes |
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Assistance in Overcoming Main Difficulties Faced in Developing Organization Further |
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Increased funding | Very important |
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Better legal or fiscal environment | Important |
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More volunteers | Important |
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Access to advice or technical assistance | Important |
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Better local culture of giving | Important |
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Stronger civil society | Important |
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More responsive authorities | Important |
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Other | Did not answer |
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Most Meaningful Change that Organization Has Helped to Bring About in the Last Three Years | We are a young community foundation, and so our most meaningful change is the strategic development and sustainability of a community endowment that serves all the communities and people of Elgin County. We are about to top $1M and have granted $450,000 to date. Our strategic plan for the coming five years includes such leadership activities as “shared space” for local community organizations and a virtual community knowledge center to highlight opportunity and need. |
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