Resourceful, generous -- and young;
A new generation of volunteers and philanthropists is emerging and making its voice heard
KITCHENER - Waterloo Region's next generation of community leaders and philanthropists is at a younger age and in a more focused way than ever before, inspired by family and their own desire to make this area a better place to live.
They're young adults, passionate about the community, who donate their expertise and energy -- and money -- to charitable and community groups.
"They will come together and they will mobilize," said Rosemary Smith, executive director of the Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation.
The young philanthropists excel at inspiring a vision in others, spurring donations of money and time to achieve big results.
"What they have is the power to raise those large sums of money," said Anne Lavender, executive director of Leadership Waterloo Region.
"They've got such energy, such enthusiasm, such passion for making a difference," Smith said.
Waterloo's Nicole Reid, a fourth- year speech communication student at the University of Waterloo, is chairwoman of the K-W Community Foundation's youth advisory council, which she helped launch while still in high school.
A couple of years ago, it was able to give $10,000 in grants to projects for youngsters.
"We were all really inspired by it," said Reid, 21. "Granting is the fun part."
Since then, the small group of about 20 people has raised money for two endowments, earmarked for youth-related programs, which today are worth $840,000, helped by matching dollars from the province.
"We're getting a lot more done than we would have thought," Reid said.
The word philanthropy comes from a Latin word for a love of humankind. In practice, benevolence can range from charity and monetary donations to volunteering time and expertise.
No matter what form it takes, philanthropists share the wish to do good and help others. They're thankful for the advantages they've enjoyed.
"You do it because you feel so darn grateful," said Helen Jowett, president of McDonald-Green Personnel Inc., a human resources consulting firm in Cambridge.
Jowett's company was honoured as an outstanding corporate philanthropist during the 2002 Community Philanthropy Awards in November.
"This is home," explained John Rocchetta, president of The Beat Goes On. "Now it's time to give back to what I feel so strongly about."
Rocchetta had volunteered for and donated to charitable groups personally and through his chain of used-CD outlets, but he wanted to take his efforts to the next level.
To hone his skills, Rocchetta joined this year's class of Leadership Waterloo Region, a training organization for future community leaders.
When it comes to financial donations, the region's residents are generous. Four out of five people locally donated money to charitable and non-profit organizations in 1997, the last year for which statistics are available. Their average donation was $297, according to the National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating by the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy.
However, large donations are what make headlines, and some of the area's non-profit organizations recently have enjoyed multimillion-dollar gifts from young entrepreneurs. Executives of burgeoning high-tech companies have been particularly generous, personally giving millions to community foundations, the One Voice One Vision campaign for local hospitals and scholarly endeavours.
Research In Motion founder Mike Lazaridis, for instance, launched Waterloo's Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics with a $100-million endowment, supplemented by $20 million from RIM executives Jim Balsillie and Doug Fregin.
In recent years, two former RIM employees, Louise MacCallum and Michael Barnstijn, have donated $12 million to the community foundation, $1 million to the Waterloo Regional Children's Museum and $1.3 million to build a bridge for the Walter Bean Trail to span the Grand River in south Kitchener.
The couple's motivation is complex, they said, but it can be boiled down to one reason.
"The simple answer is because we can," Barnstijn said.
Before earning millions when their RIM shares increased in value, the pair helped "in small ways when small was all we could do," Barnstijn explained.
MacCallum said they hope their donations will inspire others to contribute money or time. Now that they're retired, the couple also give more time to the causes they believe in. Both volunteer at the children's museum -- raising funds, helping design the exhibits and preparing for the gala opening in the fall.
EXPERTISE
"Giving time is probably more important," Barnstijn said.
Like MacCallum and Barnstijn, many young philanthropists donate not only money, but expertise to non-profit boards and committees.
Spaenaur president Jonathan Spaetzel personally donated $250,000 last year to help build the new $4-million King Street home for Theatre & Company, and he serves as board chairman of K-W Performing Arts Association.
"It's a labour of love," Spaetzel said. "It's both important and fun, and I think when those come together, that's the best combination."
Because he's so invigorated by his volunteer work, Spaetzel encourages others to look for projects with which they can really connect. He said that's the key to volunteering: "to be able to help the community and be able to love it at the same time."
A big chunk of donated time and money goes to non-profit groups such as community foundations. The K-W Community Foundation received $1.62 million in donations in 2001, and gave grants totalling more than $1 million. The Cambridge and North Dumfries Community Foundation received more than $244,000 in donations, and distributed $48,000 in grants the same year.
Young people provide considerable energy to community foundations, with at least 25 youth advisory councils up and running in more than 120 locations across Canada.
"I see an increasing trend of young people getting involved more deeply and much earlier," said Smith of the K-W foundation. "I think we've got a great future."
Nicole Reid, who volunteers for the foundation's grants and marketing committees and board of directors as well as the youth council, said she was inspired by her mother, Sandra Reid, a former president of the K-W Community Foundation.
She is most proud of the youth group's initiative to create a binder of all the volunteer opportunities for young people, copies of which are in every school.
Other young people engage their classmates in charitable efforts.
Jen Hustwitt, an OAC student at Waterloo Collegiate Institute, organized Holidays are for Helping events in 10 public high schools to collect items for United Way agencies. They gathered everything from pens and books to bedding and Nintendo game systems, about 100,000 items in total.
It wasn't the first time Hustwitt took on a big charitable endeavour. Last year, she and Waterloo schoolmate Paul Cescon spearheaded a project to raise $10,000 to build a new school in Nicaragua as part of the international Free the Children youth charity. By hosting dances and movie nights at WCI, the teens actually brought in $20,000.
"I like the bigger things," Hustwitt said. "I really enjoy that kind of work and I really enjoy the learning that comes from it."
In July, Hustwitt and other students went to Nicaragua to see where the school will be built. The visit fortified her philanthropic spirit and gave her a greater appreciation for the advantages she and fellow students enjoy.
"We're very fortunate," she said.
Cescon started fundraising when he was diagnosed with cancer at age eight. In addition to thousands of dollars he helped raise as WCI's charities controller, he's personally raised $88,000 over the last nine years for the Canadian Cancer Society's annual Great Ride 'n' Stride event.
This spring, when he canvasses door-to-door for the 10th time, he hopes to reach his longtime goal of $100,000.
"Maybe I've had a calling or something," joked Cescon, 17. "It's not something that's a tiresome job, it really kind of energizes me."
Cescon's pleasure in helping others is shared by other philanthropists, who say they're invigorated by like-minded people who are passionate about a cause.
"They make it easy and so rewarding for people to get involved," Jowett said.
There are perks in helping others. Meeting new people, business contacts and clients, learning new skills and ideas, meeting challenges and simply having a good time are a few personal benefits of community service.
"It's just a great diversion," said Tony Denison, who runs Denison Print in Breslau with his brother Chris and wife Machelle. "You leave your whole regular day behind. It adds a lot of dimension to a career."
Denison Print was honoured for corporate citizenship at the Waterloo Region Business Achievement Awards in November. The family is involved in several organizations, including United Way, the K-W Community Foundation, K-W Counselling and Junior Achievement.
Personal gratification ensures philanthropy will be a lifelong pursuit for people like Denison and Hustwitt.
"I'll always be involved. I can't help it," Hustwitt said.
FAMILY INSPIRATION
Many got started by seeing family members volunteer. Jowett proudly recalls her grandmother, Annie Green, winning an award for her work with a Cambridge group of people with disabilities at a time when she was working two jobs.
"It kind of stuck with me," Jowett said.
She started her business with her mother, Nan McDonald, who's now in charge of evaluating and approving donations by the company.
Perhaps most important, almost everyone on the company's roster of 12 employees is involved with non-profit organizations, including Junior Achievement, the Cambridge Memorial Hospital Foundation, service clubs and the annual Corporate Challenge fundraiser hosted by local chambers of commerce.
"The trick is to still run a business," Jowett joked.
Recruiting is a skill they want to hone through Leadership Waterloo Region, whose sole mandate is developing tomorrow's community leaders today. It's like a school to train emerging leaders who have demonstrated the ability to energize people around them.
"They act in a way that makes others feel confident about the work that is going to get done," executive director Lavender said.
A selection committee pinpoints candidates who are already involved in the community, usually in leadership roles. They look for diversity, choosing people from government, arts, academic, labour, corporate and non-profit sectors.
The 10-month program, which runs from September to June, begins and ends with intensive three-day leadership training sessions.
There are monthly "issue" days to teach participants about the region's history, concerns and activities in arts and culture, governance, poverty, cultural diversity, health care, collaborative leadership, urban planning and youth.
Teamwork is encouraged; projects let them put their training into action. Rocchetta and four others, for example, are helping the K-W Multicultural Centre develop a campaign strategy to raise $400,000 for a new building.
"The end result is making a huge difference in the community," Rocchetta said. "Everyone in the group can help shape the community -- literally."
Leadership Waterloo Region was launched by seven founding partners, including community foundations, chambers of commerce and the Volunteer Action Centre. There are 16 similar groups in Canada and more than 800 in the United States.
The program is now training its third class and will have 70 graduates by June, forming a huge talent bank the community can draw on, Lavender said.
"That really is what it's about in the end, harnessing those resources for the good of the community."
Not only does the program nurture individual skills, it creates a tightly linked network of philanthropists prepared to take charge, especially when the current group of leaders powering the region begin retiring.
"It's an incredible resource and it's just going to become better and better," said Tony Denison, a graduate of the first class.
Before the program, he tinkered with community involvement.
"I was dabbling in it. I seem to be fully ensconced in it now."
Mentoring young adults is a top priority for retired Schneider executive Ken Murray, who last year was invested into the Order of Canada for his outstanding commitment to philanthropy and volunteerism.
"Giving of one's time and talents are traits that need to be taught," explained Murray, who was encouraged in his youth by the late Walter Bean.
"I teach young people because I have the time to, and have had first-hand experience in knowing that whatever you give comes back ten-fold," Murray said.
What he calls the "art of philanthropy" fosters the spirit of community living.
"By that action, we who live in a community are linked and bound together."
The possibilities are limitless for the next generation of "people who give, care and work to make a difference in the community," Smith said.
"To my mind, there's room for all sorts of visions and dreams."
jweidner@therecord.com
WHO'S DONATING
Four out of five people in Waterloo Region donated money to charitable and non-profit organizations in 1997, with an average donation of $297. In total, area residents supported a variety of causes to the tune of $77 million.
The region mirrors countrywide statistics, with 78 per cent of Canadians making direct financial donations for a total of almost $5 billion, 11 per cent more than in 1997. The average annual donation from Canadians in 2000 was $259. (Provincial and regional numbers are not yet available for 2000.)
Provincially, in 1997, Ontario ranked eighth out of 10 with its donor rate of 78 per cent, but hit third place with its average annual donation of $312. Nova Scotia had the highest donor participation at 83 per cent of its population, and Manitoba had the most generous with an average donation of $383.
Quebec placed last in both donor rate (74 per cent) and average donation ($117).
In this region and across the country, donors gave more money to religious organizations than to any other single sector. In Kitchener-Waterloo, $46.8 million of the $77 million donated went to faith-based groups.
Beyond financial donations, 54 per cent of Canadians said they donated food to charitable organizations, 69 per cent gave clothing or goods, and four per cent reported making a bequest.
Canadian charities and non-profit organizations depend on a small group of donors. Fewer than 10 per cent of Canadians contributed 46 per cent of all donations in 2000, according to the National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating.
In Waterloo Region, 45 per cent of the total dollar value of all donations came from just five per cent of donors, who each give $1,175 or more. Another 37 per cent comes from the 20 per cent of donors who gave between $263 and $1,174. Combined, these two groups account for just 25 per cent of donors, yet they contribute 82 per cent of all financial donations. Canada-wide statistics are similar.
Where the money goes:
- Religious organizations: 60 per cent
- Health care: 13 per cent
- Social service agencies: nine per cent
- Philanthropic and volunteer organizations: seven per cent
WHO'S VOLUNTEERING
Twenty-seven per cent of Canadians volunteered in 2000, a drop from 31 per cent in 1997. The average amount of time per volunteer jumped to 162 hours from 149 in 1997. In total, Canadians volunteered 1.05 billion hours during the year -- the equivalent of 549,000 full-time jobs.
In the region, one in four volunteered. Most of the time came from a small group of those volunteers. More than two out of every five volunteer hours came from five per cent of volunteers, who each gave 520 hours or more.
The most common volunteer activities were evenly divided among organizing events, serving on a board or committee, and fundraising.
Most volunteering occurred in four types of organizations: arts, recreation and social clubs; education and research organizations; religious organizations and social service organizations.
Young philanthropists
Canadians aged 15 to 24 contributed six per cent of monetary donations and 15 per cent of volunteer hours in 2000, according to the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy.
More than two out of three young Canadians said they donated to charity in 2000, giving a total of $308 million. That's a big jump from 1997, when about 60 per cent donated $187 million.
Although the number of 15- to 24-year-olds who volunteer dropped to 29 per cent in 2000, from 33 per cent in 1997, those aged 15 to 19 had the highest volunteer participation of any age groups. Young volunteers most commonly organize events and campaigns.