the philanthropists - exchange magazine · 2011-11-30 · the philanthropists ......

22 | w w w . e x c h a n g e m a g a z i n e . c o m

FEATURE STORY

The agency representatives who will run the projectsimply refer to the group as “the philanthropists.”Within the business community of WaterlooRegion and southwestern Ontario, they are house-

hold names: Steve Scherer, Greg Voisin, Mac Voisin,Rick Brock, David Falle, Richard Magnussen, EugeneGeorge, Jim Balsillie, Maureen Cowan, Larry Laurin,Noel Walpole, Brayl Copp.Their businesses range right across the economic

map, from Scherer’s Chevrolet dealership to Balsillie’sResearch in Motion; from Cowan’s Insurance companyto Brock Solutions to Laurin’s Conestoga Cold Storage.What they have in common are mutual friendships, a

commitment to their community, and a willingness toinvest large dollars in an important project.The project – which has not been free of controversy

– is the Ray of Hope Youth Addiction Treatment Centrein Kitchener. The controversy has arisen largely becausewhile “the philanthropists” have raised all the moneyneeded to build the facility – close to $6 million donatedor promised – the province of Ontario was less quick tocommit to covering a $4 million annual operating budg-et. That show-down made news during the summer,although the philanthropists are hopeful that an agree-ment is imminent, at time of writing.The greatest needWhile he is quick to share credit for the project, Steve

Scherer has spearheaded the effort, with a lot of assis-tance from people like developer Greg Voisin. It’s not thefirst time this group of people – or a group closelyresembling this particular combination – has made ahuge difference in funding important community proj-ects. Many of those involved in this endeavor have alsoplayed roles in other local health care and social serviceprojects, including the major expansion of the Catholic

Family Counselling Centre.Scherer explains the genesis of this group-giving

approach to regional problem solving. “There’s a groupof us who have helped several projects along financiallyin the community,” he says. “We have discussed amongourselves the merits of philanthropy today.”They’ve learned a few important lessons along the

way. Scherer admits, without specific details, that “wehave gotten involved in things that didn’t turn out theway we’d anticipated.” As well, the philanthropistsnoted that “there has been a entire shift in the govern-ment’s attitude – they want participation from the com-munity.” Given these new realities, says Scherer, “weunderstood we had to do a little more research” beforesimply committing dollars to any project. Scherer spear-headed that research, himself. He approached theexperts at the Region of Waterloo Social Services – peo-ple like Lynn Randall and Marie Morrison –two years ago. He asked them, “what was thebiggest void in services in the region.”The answers, says Scherer, seemed clear –

the biggest problem is “homelessness andaddiction among teenagers. After talking toLynn and her staff, we left with a clear ideathat there’s an absolute void” of residentialservices for 16 and 17 year olds. (There aresome facilities for youth 15 and under, and foradults, 18 and up.) Scherer looks down for amoment, shaking his head. “In an affluentcommunity such as ours, we have nothing forchildren who suffer from addictions”Marie Morrison, Manager of Social Planning

for the Region of Waterloo, confirms that state-ment, although in the more cautious terms of acivil servant. “We would have identified that

THE PHILANTHROPISTSA group of generous businesspeople make all the difference

BY PAUL KNOWLES

The list of donors/volunteers reads like a fundraiser’s dream team. But no fundraiserapproached these key businesspeople about this project – they developed it among themselves,through consultation with health care and social service authorities

PHOT

OGRA

PHY:

EXCH

ANGE

MAG

AZIN

E

Exchoct_pgs01-27 9/10/07 10:02 AM Page 22

O C T O B E R 2 0 0 7 | 23

FEATURE STORY

Ray of Hope Youth AddictionTreatment Centre rendering

Steve Scherer (left) andNoel ChurchmanRENDERING COURTESY OF MMMC INC. ARCHITECTS

Exchoct_pgs01-27 9/10/07 10:03 AM 3


FEATURE STORY

that area is underserviced,” she toldExchange. “There is a gap in services, espe-cially for 16 and 17 year olds.”Scherer and friends took their research

on the road, as well. They visited facilitieselsewhere in the province, they checked outlocal organizations working with homelesspeople and people with addiction issues.They learned that the “gap” noted by Morri-son is very real. For instance, says Scherer,even groups doing great work in theseareas can’t meet every need – the excellentROOF program that serves homeless youngpeople is not open overnight; the well-regarded House of Friendship will notaccept people under 18 or if they are usingdrugs or alcohol at the time. These, andother local programs, are doing good work,but no one can meet all the needs, andsome troubled mid-teens are fallingthrough the cracks in the system.So Scherer and his co-horts decided that

this was the problem to tackle. The basicissue was not simply lack of “services”, itwas lack of facilities. While counselling forhomeless and/or addicted teenagers can beavailable through a number of sources,including the school boards, there are onlytwo far-flung residential Ontario facilitiesfor teenagers facing addiction issues – onein Thunder Bay, the other in Ottawa.The experts say a residential facility is

necessary because the unhappy truth is,many of the homeless and addicted youngpeople cannot go home, or their home pro-vides an very unhealthy environment. Theyneed a place to go.The idea of a Waterloo Region residen-

tial Youth Addiction Treatment Centre wasborn. The physical plan — mostly the workof architect Ross Steckley, a Waterloo

Region native brought back from the US bythe philanthropists to head the design workon the project – will see, in the first stage, a24,000 square foot, 40-bed facility.FundraisingThis decision to tackle the problem

raised a number of issues. Where wouldthe money come from to pay for such acentre? Where would it be located? Whowould run it? Where would the operatingfunds come from?The answer to the first question – funding

of the facility – lay with the unofficial organiza-tion of philanthropists. Scherer and his col-leagues – and some of their friends – havedonated $5.5 million of the over cost whichwill be somewhere in the area of $6 million,and the remainder is already promised, whenthe question of operating funds is answered.The Voisins, through M&M Meat Shops,

donated $1 million; Rick and Norma Brockand Jim Balsillie each gave $500,000; sixmore donated $300,000 apiece – Scherer,Dave and Sue Falle, Richard and MarilynMagnussen, the Cowan Foundation, Con-estoga Cold Storage, and Maple Leaf Foods.Both Eugene George and Economical Lifehave given $100,000 to date. These gifts arestaged over seven years, although the bulkof it is in hand now.The fundraising overlapped the ques-

tion of location. A 3.2 acre property wasidentified between Charles and KingStreets in Kitchener; the land that willhouse the new facility was owned byCopps Buildall; an adjacent property wasowned by Cango.Greg Voisin, aided by his brother George,

a corporate lawyer, led the negotiationswith Brayl Copp and Cango; the result wasastonishing – the Copps property was

acquired by the philanthropists for$1,500,000 – but two thirds of that was acharitable donation from Brayl Copp. Asimilar arrangement was reached with theCango company, resulting in a $500,000 inkind donation on a $650,000 property.Scherer says, “A very complicated negotia-tion was all orchestrated free of charge byGeorge Voisin.”By the time Greg and George Voisin had

completed the negotiations, says Scherer,$1.5 million had been donated in kind.This is just one more example demon-

strating that the strength of the philanthro-pists – in addition to their deep commitmentas corporate citizens of their community –exists in their connections. These men andwomen can pick up the phone and make afinancial difference in a matter of minutes.A marriage made in heavenThe funds were well in hand, and the

property was acquired. But the philanthro-pists understand their role – they want toprovide a crucial service to their communi-ty, but have no desire for day to day operat-ing involvement. So who would run it?Says Scherer, “It became very clear that

this as going to be a challenge.” That‘sbecause addicted, homeless kids are noteasy to deal with – if they were, they proba-bly would not have the problems they have.“Funding is hard to get,” he adds. “Staffdoesn’t want to deal with them.”So the philanthropists started looking for

an agency that had experience and a goodtrack record in dealing with youth in trou-ble. They found Ray of Hope.Scherer was contacted by then-executive

director Ron Hallman, as Ray of Hope wasopening a second “Morning Glory Café” – aprogram the organization runs to provide


O C T O B E R 2 0 0 7 | 25

FEATURE STORY

work experience for young people. Hallmanis no longer with Ray of Hope; interim exec-utive director is Noel Churchman, whostepped in only weeks after retiring fromthat role at Christian Horizons.

Churchman provided Exchange with Rayof Hope’s current “Letters Patent”, whichdescribe the organization’s objects as “Toworship God, uphold the teachings of theChristian faith and the doctrines on whichthis faith rests, to enhance the growth tomaturity of those who embrace the Chris-tian faith, by reaching out to people of allages and faiths who are marginalized insociety, rendering guidance and assistance

to people facing such personal challengesas those caused by, but not limited to suchthings as criminal behaviour, addictivebehaviour, social ineptness, abuse, poverty,loneliness and mental illness.”

It seems likely that, while the philanthro-pists are certainly aware that Ray of Hope isa faith-based organization, it is not theirstatement of Christian commitment that soldmost of the donors on the agency. It was Rayof Hope’s outstanding success record.

“What a fine organization they are,” saysScherer. “It’s a marriage made in heaven.They have extensive background in addic-tion treatment.” More, they have amazing

success in rehabilitating young offenders.Ray of Hope operates both custodial andnon-custodial facilities for young people onthe wrong side of the law. Scherer points tostatistics that indicate that, across the boardin Canada, 90% of convicted young offend-ers reoffend with the first two years. Only10% remain clean. But Ray of Hope showsentirely different results – about 60% remainclean; only about 40% of young people intheir facilities reoffend in the first two years.

Scherer believes some of that successcomes from Ray of Hope’s mentoring pro-gram – which partners young offenderswith adults who spend time with the youngpeople, and event visit their homes. Thatprogram will be replicated at the new YouthAddiction Treatment Centre.Ray of Hope’s experience

Churchman told Exchange that Ray ofHope, while originally dealing exclusivelywith youth in custody, amalgamated 10years ago with Oasis, a Kitchener inner-citymission for street kids. Today, Ray of Hopehas two facilities for young offenders; theOasis facility; two Morning Glory restau-rants work training centres; and an alterna-tive school, Anchor House, for students whofalter in the regular school system.

Soon, if all goes according to the philan-

Lee Kieswetter of Kieswetter Excavating Inc. and Jeff Shantz of Melloul-Blamey on the grounds of phase 1 of the Youth AddictionTreatment Centre.



FEATURE STORY

thropists’ plans, Ray of Hope will also berunning the Youth Addiction Treatment Cen-tre, to deal with what Churchman calls “ahuge, unmet need.”

The interim CEO credits Scherer andfriends with doing the ground work. “It wasthe philanthropists coming to us. They didthe research. Steve was quite thrilled withthe reputation of our custody programs, thegood score – people did not reoffend.”Operational funding

There is one key area as yet unresolved inthe complex Youth Addiction TreatmentCentre plan – the question of operationalfunding. Estimated annual operating budgetis $4 million; both Scherer and Churchmanbelieve the province is responsible for pay-ing those bills. At time of writing theprovince has not made the commitment –although Scherer is confident the money willbe forthcoming, and Churchman notes,“They haven’t said no.”

Sandra Hanmer is CEO of the Waterloo-Wellington Local Integrated Health Network,the provincially-appointed body responsiblefor deciding on funding. In early September,she told Exchange, “No final decision hasbeen made in the funding of the proposal.The Ministry of Health and the Waterloo-Wellington LIHN are still working through

the proposal with Ray of Hope.”Some observers have suggested the phi-

lanthropists put the cart before the horse,in raising the capital costs before opera-tional funding was resolved. Scherer dis-agrees: “What we needed to do was getthe addiction centre built first.” Once thecommunity commitment has been demon-strated – which it has, to the tune of about$6 million – he thinks the province willcome on board.

“I believe we will get the money,” he says,“on their time table. Positive comments fromthe provincial government would indicatethere is support, and we’re optimistic aboutapproval, but there is a process... I don’tthink they’ll turn a blind eye to $6 millionfrom the community.”

Churchman thinks the funding will comeas a provincial package deal – from the Min-istry of Health, the Ministry of Education, andFamily and Children’s Services, all of whomhave a stake in the success of such a project.

Scherer makes a logical pitch that arguesthat funding the operating costs will actuallysave the province money. He points to sta-tistics that suggest that, on the average,homeless people make 100 visits to emer-gency wards a year – often taken there bypolice. Each visit has been shown to cost

$1000, or $100,000 a year. However, thebudget of the new facility suggests that theaverage cost of treatment will be $50,000 ayear. And while the emergency visits neveraffect a cure, at the residential facility, “webelieve we can cure some,” he says.

“We are so eager to help these kids.”Future plans

If the current plans come together, thefuture will include other facilities, includinga much larger school building than Ray ofHope currently has, assisted housing, and onthe property fronting on King Street, a socialservices office building, housing Ray of Hopeadministration and other agencies.

But that is still down the road. In the mean-time, the philanthropists are hoping opera-tional funding is secured this fall, so construc-tion can begin, and Churchman is eager tostart the program in the spring of 2008.

How eager? Churchman says, “Talk toparents whose kid is playing with drugs. It’sthe most important thing in their life.”

The philanthropists also know it is impor-tant. And – good news for Waterloo Region –when this project is complete, members ofthis group will be looking for the next causethat is important in their community. In thiscommunity, philanthropy is alive, well,active and aggressive. X


THREE SIGNS OF AMISERABLE BOARDPreventing directors from detesting their post

attending a few meetings. This sad misconception ofwhat a board job really is only intensifies the disbeliefthat anyone could dislike the position. But corporateboard members can find their job miserable, even whenthey aren’t being dragged through a lawsuit.

In his latest business fable, Patrick Lencioni takes themystery out of this enigma that a job may appear greatbut actually be awful. The Three Signs of a Miserable Jobidentifies the critical factors that poison any person’simpression of their position. In a breezy and brilliantstory, Pat uncovers the signs and reinforces steps thatanyone can take to turn the misery into meaning and ful-fillment. In this article, I apply his insights to board work.Irrelevance

Sometimes a company’s greatest strengths contributeto its board being miserable. There are countless busi-nesses doing very well because of the acumen of the CEOand management team. But the board’s role in the com-

pany’s success is nearly non-existent. Not that it shouldbe – a healthy board is well engaged in the high-levelstrategy formation and in many other ways. But if thatisn’t the past pattern, directors and management oftenare reluctant to fiddle with what seems to be working.

The problem is, the right kind of people for boards arecommitted to making an impact. If they don’t see how


BUILDING BETTER BOARDS

Al was the country manager for a multinational compa-ny. He was paid more money than he could imagine

ever using. A full-time mechanic in the fleet garagemaintained his personal car. He was surrounded by luxu-ry – his office carpet was so thick, he almost neededsnowshoes to cross it. And he hated his job.

You probably know some people like this, too. They

have jobs that appear to be ideal, but they despise them.You may even be thinking that you would gladly tradeyour job and salary for what they call misery.

The same situation occurs sometimes with boardmembers. In the public’s view, it seems that directors oncorporate boards get wined and dined, honoured atsocial and business gatherings, and paid exorbitantly for

Corporate board members can find their job miserable,even when they aren’t being dragged through a lawsuit.

JIM BROWN is an author andfounding partner of Strive!,a governance coachingcompany with offices inGuelph and Ohio.email: [email protected]

by JIM BROWNs

e,g

Exchoct07_pgs28-39 9/10/07 10:25 AM Page 28

O C T O B E R 2 0 0 7 | 29

their involvement makes a difference, thenyou might notice signs of disengagement.They are apt to work on their BlackBerrywhile at the board table, start to skip meet-ings, and ultimately drift away. This touch-es more than the role of the board. Unlesseach board member can see how his orher contribution counts, the job can startto seem miserable.Immeasurability

It’s been said that people don’t burn outfrom working hard, they burn out fromworking hard and feeling like they’re get-ting nowhere. All of us are programmedwith a desire to move forward.

The contemporary measure of successfor corporate boards of directors isincreased shareholder wealth. Wise boardmembers realize, though, that the connec-tion they have to this metric is both delayedand indirect. While there may be logic inlinking a portion of board member com-pensation to company profit and stock val-ues, more immediate indicators are impor-tant for individual board members to per-sonally recognize if they are doing well ornot. As Pat explains in his book, if people’ssuccess depends on the subjective views oropinions of someone else, they are oftenforced to engage in politics and posturing.Maybe you’ve seen this on boards?!

What is worthy of measuring needs to betied to the relevance of board members’jobs. It will hinge on the value they add tothe board in decision making and directionsetting. So individual directors may selfassess how well prepared they were for aboard meeting, how often they asked mean-ingful, probing questions to lead to betterunderstanding by all, or how carefully theyavoided using board time for tangential orredundant comments. And outside of meet-ings they may be watching their responsetime to inquiries from the board chair orCEO, or how regularly they connect withother board members in order to under-stand them and the perspectives they bringto the board. Find a colleague – ideally theboard Chair – to confirm that what you’remeasuring fits and be accountable to him orher by reporting your progress periodically.

Clearly, there are some directors wewish would drift away, but more often thananyone would like to acknowledge, aprime reason for poor performance is thatno one has helped them figure out whatgreat performance looks like.Anonymity

Good boards are small and it may seemunlikely that a member of a small groupwould feel like they are nobody. But it hap-pens on boards all the time. People show

up for meetings, the agenda is covered, themeeting adjourns, and they all go theirseparate ways. I’ve worked with boardswhere most directors have served for fiveyears and more, yet none of them couldtell you a favourite pastime of more thanone other director. Most have never actu-ally visited another board member in his orher own business setting, just to see whattheir world looks like. And this makessome people feel like they are mostlyanonymous to the rest of the board. It’s toobad because the benefit of really knowingour peers is surprising.

Most of us would be intimidated if Gener-al Colin Powell were on a board with us. Butwe would instantly build rapport if we couldshow interest in his hobby restoring andrepairing old Volvos. Genuine interest willbuild interaction. Interaction builds under-standing. Understanding builds respect. Allof this contributes to healthier discussionand debate around the board table.Make the Board Job Great

You can take action to inject more lifeand fulfillment into your own board roleand that of each director around you.Watch for the signs that make jobs miser-able, and counter them. Strangers proba-bly think your board job is great; let’s provethem right! X

BUILDING BETTER BOARDS


nity check-up which identifies significant trends, andassigns grades in 11 key areas critical to WaterlooRegion’s quality of life: The Gap Between the Rich andPoor, Safety, Health and Wellness, Learning, Housing,Getting Started in Our Community, Arts and Culture,The Environment, Work, Belonging and Leadership aswell as Getting Around.

Waterloo Region’s Vital Signs is based on a projectof the Toronto Community Foundation and iscoordinated nationally by Community Foundations ofCanada.

This report and an expanded version (with morethan 150 indicators) and links to the original datasources are available online at www.wrvitalsigns.ca.Why do it?

By measuring our community’s vitality, the Region’sFoundations hope to increase awareness and encour-age discussion about key areas of importance to ourquality of life. Waterloo Region’s Vital Signs will be aneffective tool to identify significant trends and provideinsight into issues that matter. As community founda-tions, this report will help: to increase the effectivenessof their grantmaking, to inform the community at largeabout issues and opportunities, and to assist in makingconnections between individuals and groups to

address those issues.How did Vital Signs happen?

In order for Waterloo Region’s Vital Signs to havethe utmost impact, The Kitchener and Waterloo Com-munity Foundation and the Cambridge & North Dum-fries Community Foundation recognized that the datarequired for the report would need to be regional infocus. The main challenge in doing this was that eachof our seven municipalities and townships, plus the


PHILANTHROPY ANDKNOWLEDGEA check-up on our community’s “vital signs”

ROSEMARY SMITH is CEO ofThe Kitchener and WaterlooCommunity Foundation.email: [email protected]

As decisions are made on how to effectively invest tobuild strength and vitality in a community, inevitably

the discussion turns to questions about what a com-munity needs, what we know about the community,and how the community is doing in important areassuch as housing, learning and healthcare. As is oftenthe case, out of a simple beginning comes a lengthyand challenging search to find relevant data to answerour questions and to develop our recommendations.Many different indicator initiatives already exist acrossCanada. Some track specific issues at a local levelwhile others analyze national data from a particularperspective, such as sustainability.

However, on October 2, 2007, a new regional-based

indicator report will be introduced. It is a communitycheck-up called Waterloo Region’s Vital Signs. As thename indicates, it will perform a vitality check in keyareas important to the strength and competitiveness ofour Region. The project is a collaboration between TheKitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation and theCambridge & North Dumfries Community Foundation.About Waterloo Region’s Vital Signs

Waterloo Region’s Vital Signs is an annual commu-

THE FACES OF PHILANTHROPY

Waterloo Region’s Vital Signs is an annual community check-upwhich identifies significant trends.

by ROSEMARY SMITH


O C T O B E R 2 0 0 7 | 31

Region of Waterloo, has their own meansof data collection, not all compatible,making our search more difficult thanoriginally anticipated.

Community advisory sessions wereheld to help identify the most useful indi-cators in each of the 11 key areas.Through these sessions, a great deal waslearned about the data being collectedlocally by various organizations thatwould be useful for this report. Whenasked, all of these organizations wel-comed and supported the sharing of theirexisting data.

To start the community engagementpart of the project, a survey was hostedby PMG Consulting Ltd. and more than750 individuals (from all parts of theRegion) participated in the grading of thedata provided.

Many individuals, groups and sponsorshave contributed enormously to the proj-ect. Because of their support and efforts,Waterloo Region’s Vital Signs is beinglaunched October 2, 2007. This will be thebenchmark report against which we, as acommunity, can measure our progress inthese important areas of vitality andhealth from one year to the next.A call to action

I would challenge you to learn all youcan about this wonderful community ofours. Plans are already underway toengage community in discussions aboutthe importance of many of these areas tothe development of the strength ofWaterloo Region. Your thoughts and con-tributions are needed in an effort tomake Waterloo Region an even greaterplace to work, live and grow. As anexample, the Prosperity Council will beholding a meeting in Cambridge onNovember 8, 2007 to develop a plan tobuild strength in our arts and culturecommunity so that it can enhance furthereconomic support for our Region.

Please get involved in learning moreabout your community through WaterlooRegion’s Vital Signs either by picking upa copy of the report or visiting the web-site. Your help is needed in moving ourcommunity from good to great. X

THE FACES OF PHILANTHROPY

The Region’s Foundationshope to increase awarenessand encourage discussion

about key areas of importanceto our quality of life.

AUDIO • VIDEO • LIGHTING • STAGING

• LCD Projectors• Screens• Podiums• Wireless Mics• A/V Carts• Technicians• Delivery/Setup (519) 745-6154

RENTALS • SALES • INSTALLATION

124 Ottawa St. S, Kitchenerwww.sherwoodsystems.com

Complete Selection ofA/V Equipment including:


the philanthropists - exchange magazine · 2011-11-30 · the philanthropists ......

Documents