Nanaimo Foundation chairman Ted Carson says money that could be used to support charitable organization in Ladysmith may be going elsewhere because the community does not have an endowment fund.
The Nanaimo Foundation provides capital and program start-up funding to charitable organizations within the boundaries of Nanaimo School District. But communities outside the City of Nanaimo may not realize the organization is set up for them too.
That means community organizations that could be applying to the foundation for funding; and people who could be encouraged to donate or bequeath funding endowed to their own communities within the Nanaimo Foundation’s fold, may not know about the foundation’s role.
“Money has been slipping from the Nanaimo area to Vancouver because we haven’t had a foundation with a high enough profile,” Carson said.
He made his comments during a Nov. 30 ‘community engagement’ meeting at the Eagles Hall, which the Foundation called to raise awareness and answer question from charitable organizations.
But despite a presentation to the Town of Ladysmith Council’s Nov. 16 meeting, and a couple of items in the Chronicle about the engagement meeting, turnout was sparse.
Nanaimo Foundation representatives reinforced their message that they will not be cutting into existing fund-raising efforts in Ladysmith.
“It’s an adding-on instead of a competing against,” said Strategic & Grants Director George Hanson. “We have made very clear decisions on creating endowments that don’t have an impact on existing activities.”
What the Foundation will do, proponents say is:
• Leverage contributions from Ladysmith, helping them earn a better return due to the larger scale and lower overhead a major fund can achieve;
• Provide a mechanism for people who want to make major donations or bequeathals to an endowment specifically dedicated to Ladysmith;
• Offer expertise and help identifying and encouraging donors.
The questions that need to be answered, Hanson said, is whether or not a Ladysmith endowment within the Nanaimo Foundation is something the community wants, and if an endowment is established, who would sit on the advisory committee that would recommend funding decisions.
A straw vote called by Hanson toward the end of the meeting, drew general support from the audience for moving forward with the discussion. Another meeting is likely in late January or early February Hanson said after the meeting.
Asked if he was disappointed with the turnout, he said it was a start. “I think the positives are that the people who came this evening had a lot of questions, and they seem to have gotten satisfactory answers to those questions,” he said.
“There’s a level of enthusiasm for doing something together.”
Former Councillor and Ladysmith resident Bruce Whittington, who approached the Nanaimo Foundation and asked them to raise their profile here, said he was satisfied with the turnout and discussion at the meeting.
“I liked the way the Foundation presented its proposal,” he said. For those who didn’t attend, he held out hope. “I would say you missed the start, but there will be more opportunities to learn more about this, and how you might be able to play a role in it.”
