National Programs
Community Foundations and the Environment
Lake Winnipeg Watershed & Other Regional Initiatives
The fluid boundaries of environmental issues compel us to work beyond our usual geographic boundaries. Through the Community Foundations and the Environment program, Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) provides financial and leadership support to members who want to work cooperatively on environmental issues affecting regions across the country.
The visibly deteriorating quality of water in Lake Winnipeg, the world’s 10th largest freshwater lake, is a disturbing sign that the entire watershed is under stress. Through CFC’s Lake Winnipeg Watershed Initiative, a growing number of foundations are joining together to think about how foundations can be most effective in raising awareness about water issues in Western Canada and how foundations can play their part in supporting and leading change.
Objectives
- Raise public awareness of the crisis in the Lake Winnipeg Watershed
- Determine the role that community foundations and other funders can play in improving conditions in the watershed
Impact
- Community foundations and other funders, including the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation , the Thomas Sill Foundation, and the J. W. McConnell Family Foundation through CFC contributed toward the hiring of a part-time staff person to enhance their ability to understand the issues facing the Watershed and develop a strategic framework for coordinated action
- A public education campaign was launched to encourage foundations and others to “think like a watershed” and to develop a film and web resource called Choking Lake Winnipeg, produced by Jim Byrne of the University of Lethbridge. The video is available online and a toolkit for local screenings and community discussions is available to anyone on CFC’s website
- Project coordinator Vicki Burns made dozens and dozens of presentation to foundations, municipalities, community groups and others and there are now three foundation-funded projects in the target areas, and awareness of the deteriorating conditions in Lake Winnipeg is at an all-time high
- Recently, CFC passed the baton of leadership on to the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation, which has hired CFC’s former LWW Coordinator Vicki Burns to head up the continued effort
Other Regional Initiatives
The Thames Valley Watershed
Objectives
- Provide an opportunity for learning about the Thames River Watershed (near London, Ont.) and its environmental challenges
- Offer a networking opportunity for funders to identify opportunities for collaboration and coordination
Impact
- Seventeen organizations attended a London Community Foundation funders' forum on water quality in The Thames Valley Watershed
- The London Community Foundation committed $100,000 to support the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority
Sea to Sky Community Foundation Environment Initiative
Objectives
- Use the opportunity presented by the 2010 Olympics to explore ways eight community foundations in the "Sea to Sky" (Vancouver to Whistler) corridor can work together to advance environmental issues in their communities
Impact
- Series of public workshops with each participating community foundation hosting a different session in their communities, including sustainable buildings, Smart Growth, air quality, and youth action.
- Participants now see themselves as a learning group and say the experience has put the environment 'on the agenda' for their foundation
