Partnering with

our communities

 

laidlaw foundation

annual report 2022

Our Vision

Laidlaw Foundation supports young people impacted by the justice, education, and child welfare systems to become healthy and engaged by investing in innovative ideas, convening interested parties, advocating for systems change, and sharing learning across the sector.

 

 

Our mission

A society in which all young people have the opportunity to achieve their full potential.

Committees

& board of directors

Board of Directors

Janine Manning, Chair

Rebecca Darwent, Vice Chair

Tim Apgar

Tara Farahani

Sandra Kagango

Julia Laidlaw

June Maresca

Christoher McFarlane

Paul Nagpal

Bob Smith

Benjamin Mitsuk

Jesse Waugh

Officers and Executive Committee

Janine Manning, Chair

Rebecca Darwent, Vice Chair

Sandra Kagango, Chair of Finance and Audit Committee

Setareh (Tara) Farahani, Chair of Granting Committee

Jehad Aliweiwi, Secretary

Finance and  Audit Committee

Sandra Kagango, Chair

Paul Nagpal, Vice Chair

Jesse Waugh

External Advisors

Heather Brubacher

Ken Gibson

Sumant Inamdar

Andre Lewis

External Advisors

Heather Brubacher

Tiffany Chang

Ken Gibson

Sumant Inamdar

Investment Committee

Paul Nagpal, Chair

Sandra Kagango, Vice Chair

Tim Apgar

External Advisors

Paul Fensom

Heather Hunter

Kristina Inrig

Hanifa Kassam

Randy Steuart

Ewa Townsend

Impact Investment Subcommittee

Paul Nagpal, Chair

External Advisors

Lars Boggild

Kristina Inrig

Hanifa Kassam

MJ Sinha

Granting & RECRUITMENT Committee

Setareh (Tara) Farahani, Chair

June Maresca, Vice Chair

Jesse Waugh

Benjamin Mitsuk

Christopher McFarlane

External Advisors

Irwin Elman

Koubra Haggar

Teddy Syrette

Paul Bailey

Family Committee

Bob Smith, Chair

Julia Laidlaw, Vice Chair

Tim Apgar

Non-Family Board Members:

June Maresca

Rebecca Darwent

External Advisors

Jessica Hammell

Jamie Laidlaw

Kathryn Simmers

Nicole Denoudan

Melissa Laidlaw

Governance Committee

Rebecca Darwent, Chair

Bridget Sinclair, Vice Chair

Setareh (Tara) Farahani

Cameron Laidlaw

Julia Laidlaw

Andre Lewis

External Advisors

Hanifa Kassam

Family Committee

Cameron Laidlaw, Chair

Julia Laidlaw, Vice Chair

Bob Smith

Lyon Smith

Non-Family Board Members:

Rebecca Darwent

May Wong

External Advisors

Tim Apgar

Jessica Hammell

Caitlin Laidlaw

Jamie Laidlaw

Kathryn Simmers

Nicole Denoudan

Melissa Laidlaw

Indigenous Advisory Committee

Jessica Bolduc

Jerica Fraser

Erin Hayward

Sarah Nelson

Jacob Malone

Lacey Biedermann

Lance Copegog

staff

Shared staff:

Ruth Cortez - Receptionist and Office Assistant

Simran Gill - IT and Data Coordinator

During the year, Precious Ogadi left the Foundation to pursue other opportunities. We are grateful for his contributions during his time with the Foundation and wish him all the best. Thank you, Precious.

Acknowledgements

Tamer Ibrahim

In September, Laidlaw Foundation thanked Tamer Ibrahim, Youth Collective Impact Manager, for his eight years of meaningful contributions and leadership and we look forward to seeing him succeed at his new position as Director, Granting at Definity Insurance Foundation, a new tenant of Foundation House.

Indigenous Advisory Committee

We would like to express gratitude towards our previous Indigenous Advisory Committee that has informed our operations, knowledge building and funding strategies at the Foundation while we were establishing a program to support the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Youth and Community Futures Fund (IYCFF) has become an important component of the Foundation and the success of this funding stream is due to the contributions of Jessica Bolduc, Jacob Malone, Jerica Fraser, Erin Hayward, Lacey Bidermann, Sarah Nelson and T’áncháy Redvers. We are excited to onboard our new 2023 Indigenous Advisory committee members, Carissa Coe, Alison Seymour, Chevaun Toulouse, Eternity Sutherland and Jadyn Hardie-Bardy. Thank you to our previous members and welcome new members, we look forward to continuing our path to reconciliation together!

2022 Chair and

Executive Director Message

The pandemic restrictions and public health measures that dominated the last two years started to ease in 2022. Although we are not out of it completely, we feel optimistic that the worst of the pandemic is behind us. Yet we, like the world, continue adapting to a new way of doing business.

The new normal has altered how and where we work, in many ways, permanently. How we interact with each other in public has also changed, as has the way we convene with colleagues and partners. Just about every aspect of our life has been impacted in the last two years. What hasn’t changed is the Foundation’s commitment to deliver on its mission and purpose.

The year 2022 was the third year of a five-year strategic plan that focuses our effort on youth impacted by the criminal justice, education and child welfare systems who are underserved and overrepresented in these systems.

During the year, we carefully allocated resources to a range of initiatives that support the current focus of the Foundation. In the pages of this report, you will find a list of all grants made in 2022. In addition, we are highlighting the work of six funded initiatives that have demonstrated impact and are making meaningful difference in the wellbeing of communities with whom they work. We further strengthened the Community Equity and Solidarity Fund by confirming a three-year commitment to the important work of the Yellowhead Institute.

Laidlaw is making a difference in the field of philanthropy in large part due to its amazing staff team and talented advisors and volunteers. It is inevitable that team members will move on to bigger and better opportunities. We are both sad and delighted that Tamer Ibrahim and Guntas Kaur have taken new roles and left the Foundation. Tamer, who managed the Youth Collective Impact partnership with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and McConnell Foundation’s Innoweave for eight years, has taken on the position of Director, Granting at Definity Insurance Foundation, a new tenant of Foundation House. Guntas, who was the Communications Coordinator and Research and Evaluation Lead for over two years, is pursuing PhD studies in health equity policies at the University of British Columbia. We thank them both for their hard work and years of service. At the same time, we welcomed Haiat Iman and Miraaj Yousif to the staff team of the Foundation. Haiat will lead the Foundation’s research, evaluation and learning portfolio. Miraaj will oversee the Youth Collective Impact portfolio and focus on renewing the YCI partnership or winding down the program.

For over six years, the Foundation has benefited greatly from the contributions of the Indigenous Youth Advisory Committee, whose members guided us through the process of building a lasting commitment to reconciliation and reciprocity. We owe a great debt of gratitude to Jessica Bolduc, Jerica Fraser, Erin Hayward, Sarah Nelson, Jacob Malone, Lacey Bidermann, T’áncháy Redvers and Lance Copegog. We are fortunate to work with a group of advisors who provided their good counsel, are eager to assist, and recognize the opportunity to work with colleagues to support the work of innovative Indigenous youth–led projects across Ontario. Thank you for your thoughtful deliberation and for your patience with our failings. As we pay a fond farewell to the previous advisors, we are thrilled to welcome a new group of talented and young Indigenous advisors who will build on the legacy of their predecessors. We are eager to work with Carissa Coe, Eternity Sutherland, Chevaun Toulouse, Alison Seymour, and Jadyn Hardie-Bardy.

In advancing our policy, research and learning agenda, we have partnered with INDsight to undertake research into the state of the youth in Ontario. A report is scheduled to be published in 2023, and the plan is to develop it into a biannual report card on the wellbeing of youth, specifically Black and Indigenous, in Ontario.

The Foundation’s ability to fulfill its mandate and deliver on its mission and purpose depends greatly on, and is supported by, the commitments of our Board, volunteer advisors, and Family members. We are grateful for their time and wisdom. The staff team continues to lead the work of the Foundation with professionalism and dedication.

Our final gratitude goes, as always, to the incredible groups of young people who are leading change and who continue to amaze and inspire us, and amongst whom we are privileged to walk.

As we look forward to a future with diminishing pandemic pressures, we hope for — and commit to — a just recovery for the many community-led organizations and youth-led initiatives across Ontario.

Finally, this annual report to members provides an overview of the work of individuals and organizations we fund who are at the forefront of social and community change. We invite you to read about the work of our grantees and look forward to hearing from you. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Janine Manning, Chair

Jehad Aliweiwi, Executive Director

investment & finance

Asset Mix

Cash and Equivalents - 3.5%

Bonds - 32.3%

Canadian Equity - 23.4%

US Equity - 22.6%

International Equity - 18.2%

 31 December 2022

Asset Mix                     Market Value       % Assets

Fixed Income                 $25,065,507          35.9

Cash and Equivalents    $2,452,256             3.5

Bonds                            $22,613,251          32.3

Equity                             $44,846,080          64.2

Canadian Equity            $16,340,559          23.4

US Equity                      $15,768,794          22.6

International Equity       $12,736,727         18.2

Total                                 $69,911,587          100.0

3.5%

18.2%

22.6%

23.4%

32.3%

Youth

Action Fund

19 grants total

$1,755,230

Community

Equity and Solidarity Fund

4 grants total

$1,108,200

Youth Collective Impact

11 grants total

$985,269

capacity

building

23 grants total

$56,037

Indigenous Youth and Community Futures Fund

25 grants total

$682,034

PopUp

grants

11 grants total

$30,000

Family Discretionary Fund

18 grants total

$135,000

board recognition

Discretionary Fund

5 grants total

$10,000

board

Discretionary Fund

38 grants total

$123,675

staff

Discretionary Fund

4 grants total

$17,500

YOUTH Collective impact

$985,269

Since 2014, Youth Collective Impact has provided collective impact resources to 109 collectives and 8 individuals. The Collective Impact model is owned by McConnell Foundation and is a partnership between Laidlaw Foundation and The Ministry of Children, Community, and Social Services. The program supports initiatives that address the areas of social justice, food justice, youth integration, youth with disabilities, to name a few. Nonprofits and groups come together with the help of a coach to define their common theory of change. Due to the graduated structure of the program, groups begin in the Exploration Phase and complete the program by the Execution phase.

ORGANIZATION NAME

AMOUNT

Food Justice Collaborative

Jane Finch Collective
on Youth Employment

Skills for Change

Northern Lights  Collaborative

360 Kids - The York Region Collaborative to Reduce Youth Homelessness

Life Dojo (Syrian Canadian Foundation)

Rural Ottawa Youth
Mental Health Collective

Youth Justice Transformative Lab

Coalition for Alternatives for
Streaming in Education  (CASE)

South Scarborough
Youth Action Group (SSYAG)

Deaf Youth Collective

$15,000

$60,000

$225,000

$60,000

$60,000


$50,000

$170,000

$15,000

$15,000

$15,000

$15,000

Syrian Canadian Foundation

In 2019–2020, the Syrian Canadian Foundation (SCF) conducted in-depth community consultations with Syrian youth to better understand their experiences since coming to Canada. Among the many findings, these stood out:  youth are feeling unsafe, systematically discriminated against in schools and workplaces, more involved in gangs, and struggling with mental health. Suzanna Muir joined the SCF in April 2022 as Director of Operations and listened to youths’ stories.

 

“They often said, ‘Why did I come here? I left a war zone [for] another war zone. But now it’s gang warfare.…There’s people who hate me because I’m Syrian or Afghan.’ They also feel alienated… from the institutions in their neighbourhood like schools or workplaces. All of these challenges create this sense of alienation and not feeling like they belong in the community.”

The SCF team was already using a trauma-informed approach to do their work, to avoid exacerbating the unspeakable losses those they serve continue to face. So, they used that same approach to enact a two-way collaboration that builds trust and respect and helps youth recognize their own strengths and assets, such as their culture and language. And in 2020, Life Dojo was born.

Co-created with youth ambassadors, Life Dojo is a 12-week program that allows youth to participate in martial arts and boxing and to access on-site mental health workers, all within their Thorncliffe community.

The program is designed to equip youth with skills that include self-defense, problem-solving, and collaboration. Also, it makes youth feel more welcome, confident, and empowered. For an hour each week, a boxing coach teaches youth basic-level martial art movements. For another hour afterwards, youth eat together and discuss topics or have guest speakers.

From the very beginning, Laidlaw has been “an engaged partner” to SCF. “Laidlaw wants the collective impact but they support you through the process.… With [them], you feel like you’re building something together.” In fact, because of funding challenges, Laidlaw is now supporting the SCF in finding a new path forward.

Last year, Life Dojo ran successfully as a pilot and showed how the combination of mental health support and physical activity positively impacted youth. Muir remembers one youth who was disengaged when he first joined Life Dojo. But that gradually changed over time:

“[He said] Before, I would waste my days smoking marijuana. Since I started this program, it’s been four weeks since I smoked and I feel a renewed sense of purpose in my life. “

Life Dojo’s potential extends beyond the personal and reaches into the community. Youth strengthened the call for better support at school via their feedback, showing how they’ve become what Muir calls “agents of change”: “If they’re the ones who are saying, ‘Our school doesn’t care and we’re having a lot of problems with teachers,’ and the school responds by having a student voice forum where they could voice their concerns and all the staff have to sit and listen, then that’s impact.”

 

Indigenous Youth and Community Futures Fund

$682,034

Through the Indigenous Youth and Community Futures Fund (IYCFF), Laidlaw invests in opportunities for Indigenous youth to develop and lead projects where they are immersed in their lands, languages and cultures; participate in everyday acts of resurgence, reclamation and wellbeing; build relationships within and across Indigenous communities; and learn about and define for themselves what reconciliation means.

ORGANIZATION NAME

AMOUNT

Waabinong Head Start Family Resource Centre (Youth Odena)

Assembly of Seven Generations

Anna Feredounnia-Meawasige
(The Indigneous Support Project)

Denise Miller
(Revitalizing Our Sustenance)

Minwaashin Lodge Indigenous Women’s Support Centre

(Aunties on the Road: Indigenous Full Spectrum Doula Collective)

Alicia Williamson (Youth Voices)

Akinoomoshin Inc (Akinoomooshin Oshkiniijig Collective)

Endaayaan Awejaa

Webequie First Nation
(Webequie Youth Projects)

The Nimkii Youth Collective

Dwadewayehsta Gayogohono

Métis and Me (Samantha Loney)

$30,000

$30,000

$24,000

$30,000

$30,000

$30,000

$30,000

$30,000

$30,000

$30,000

$30,000

$30,000

$14,500

ORGANIZATION NAME

AMOUNT

Viola-Rose Day (Turtle Talks)

Rural Urban Learning Association  (Anishinaabek Clans to Invoke our Nation)

Ecotrust Canada
(Wahkohtowin Development GP Inc.)

A’nowa:ra Owira Doulas

Ma’mo’weh Wii’soo’ka’tiwin (Kenora Chiefs Advisory)

Mishkeegogmang First Nation
(Missabay Community School)

CatalystsX
(Bawaating Child Welfare Warriors)

Manitou Youth Group Inc.

Centre for First Nations Governance

Seeds Change

(Ratinenhayen:thos- Kenhte:ke Seed Sanctuary and Learning Centre)

Sheshegwaning First Nation

Binaeshee-Quae Couchie-Nabigon (Unearthing)

Billy Parrell (Michif Stitch)

$12,500

$30,000


$30,000

$28,500

$30,000

$30,000

$30,000

$30,000

$30,000

$30,000


$30,000

$30,000

$20,500

Nimkii Youth Collective

To communities around the world, the land is not a neutral place; it is a place that has stories, histories, and pathways buried within it and embedded on its surface. There is a responsibility to practice reciprocity with the land — to care for it as it cares for its members. The Nimkii Youth Collective is one such community fulfilling this responsibility.

The Collective began in 2019, with Quinn Meawasige as one of its founding members. It represents the youth of Nimkii Aazhibikoong, a language community that practices Anishinaabemowin language and land-based revitalization as well as the arts.

The Collective’s project aims to revitalize their life and foodways as well as address traumas and loss of knowledge. Laidlaw funds this project through the Indigenous Youth and Community Futures Fund.

The project has two components: land and cultural revitalization and seasonal growing equipment. Anishinaabemowin (the Ojibwe language) is used to guide and inform their path forward.

Languages shift the way we interact with the world. Anishinaabemowin is heavily verb based. Everything is in motion. We are part of the movement, contributing to the happenings. The rivers flow; the rain comes and goes and has its own characteristics and stories to share. If we are not verbing, then we risk losing the knowledge and vocabulary that moves.

The seasonal equipment supports the growing community in doing harvesting activities effectively and successfully. This past fall, Quinn and the Nimkii Youth Collective were able to learn about harvesting, processing, and reseeding wild rice back into their land and waters.

“Harvesting from the land is more than just food and medicines, it’s the relationships we build and strengthen with ourselves, our families, our community, the lands and waters, our non-human kin.… Revitalizing this knowledge is nationhood, it’s nation-building. It is an expression of sovereignty. We work to lessen the burden that the next generation will inherit.”

This work is significant: Their community, Serpent River First Nation, has dealt with ongoing “devastation to our lands and waterways as a result of industry both on our First Nation reserve and territory.” Opened uranium mines in the 1950s eliminated fish downstream and two million litres of contaminated water from a tailing site at Rio Algom’s Stanleigh mine spilled into Elliot Lake in 1993 — just two examples that have left a trail of destruction.

“It wasn’t just our foodways that were impacted, it was our lifeways, our food culture, our future that will forever deal with the contaminants and devastation that took place.”

With Laidlaw’s support, the Nimkii Youth Collective’s capacity to strengthen their relationship to the land continues to grow, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Seeing the grocery stores emptied and food shortages rise, we knew that we had work to do in our community. Revitalizing our food systems and knowledge is strengthening the resilience of our communities.… The pandemic demonstrated to us what we already knew: We need to revitalize our food systems and knowledge.”

YOUTH actioN fund

$1,755,230

The Youth Action Fund (YAF) offers grants to grassroots initiatives working with youth who are underserved by the education system and overrepresented in the justice and child welfare systems. YAF prioritizes Black and Indigenous youth-led initiatives. The development of this fund was guided by a series of consultations with experts and advocates in the field.

ORGANIZATION NAME

AMOUNT

Peacebuilders International (Canada)

Assembly of Seven Generations

Endaayaan Awejaa

Think 2wice

FLOW Financial Literacy Online Workshop Management

Hey Black Girl!

PositiveVibes T.O.

IMPACT 'n Communities

Helping Hands Platform

$100,000

$100,000

$100,000

$100,000

$100,000

$100,000

$55,000

$100,000

$100,000

ORGANIZATION NAME

AMOUNT

Near North Mobile Media Lab

Somali Scholars

Children's Peace Theatre / River Rocks

Disability Justice Network of Ontario

Feathers of Hope

YAAACE

Amadeusz

Trust 15 Youth
Community Support Organization

Youth Taking Flight

Success Beyond Limits

$100,000

$45,000

$100,000

$100,000

$100,000

$100,000

$100,000

$100,000

$100,000

$100,000

capacity building

$56,037

Capacity Building provides professional development to Youth Action Fund recipients.

ORGANIZATION NAME

AMOUNT

Near North Mobile Media Lab

Feathers Of Hope

Delta Family Resource Centre

Child Welfare Political Action Committee Canada

The Remix Project / FYOU Project

Seven Directions Consulting

MusicLinks Community Canada

Harprit Gill

Paulina O'Kieffe

Kayla Carter

Endaayaan Awejaa

$2,088

$5,000

$3,500

$395

$3,615

$2,000

$3,307

$1,500

$750

$1,000

$4,000

ORGANIZATION NAME

AMOUNT

Theodore Syrette

Finding Our Power Together

Near North Mobile Media Lab

Helping Hands Platform

Assembly of Seven Generations

Amadeusz

Stolen from Africa

Near North Mobile Media Lab

For Youth Initiative in Toronto

Youth Taking Flight

Near North Mobile Media Lab

For Youth Initiative

$2,500

$3,500

$1,790

$714

$4,000

$3,371

$3,600

$1,018

$3,164

$3,600

$1,190

$437

Positive Vibes T.O.

In 2018, Shannyah Weekes was a student at Trent University who endured an all-too-familiar experience of Black university students — covert systemic racism. When it’s called out, there’s often disheartening dismissal, even from peers. “At one point I was fed up and I’m like, ‘You know what, if I can’t find a space, I’m going to create a space.’”

It was this lack of support that drove Weekes to found Positive Vibes T.O., an organization that supports Black youth in priority neighbourhoods through education, collaboration, and expression. Their principal program, Excel Youth, offers workshops on topics that include anti-Black racism, Black Canadian histories and more in order to help Black youth affirm their experiences and gain essential skills.

But it didn’t always have this focus. Weekes and her team, all of whom are Black, made the shift from a previous focus on racialized people generally. Like any other racialized group, Black people have needs that require specificity and space in order to be addressed. While the response to this shift was mostly positive, there was still another all-too-familiar response — pushback.

“We had to really stand firm on our mission… there’s not always spaces for us... Even when I started the organization in school, people were telling me that I was embodying segregation… and that’s not what I’m doing. As a white person, you can go in the street and feel welcome wherever you go. As a Black person we don’t always feel that way. We go into a room and we’re counting the number of Black people in the room because that’s our safety.”

 

While trying to figure out how to continue this work in this new direction, Weekes came across Laidlaw Foundation’s Youth Action Fund and successfully applied to it.

It was through this partnership that the program expanded to include Black people who have been involved with the justice or child welfare systems. Resumé-building, financial literacy, mock interviews, and entrepreneurship were just some of the new workshops that Positive Vibes T.O. was able to offer.

“There was a mutual understanding of what we do and also mutual respect for it because it’s something [Laidlaw] also wanted to see done.… They give us the space to be able to do [things] our way. Our identity won’t be shifted in the process…we’re still able to do what we set out to do in the way we usually do it.… We just feel like they have our back and they trust us to do this process, which I wouldn’t say for all grants.”

The Excel Youth program has given youth the opportunity to reconcile their needs with a tangible reality — a new-found sense of community and belonging. The proof is in the feedback, hugs, and stories from several youth with perfect attendance.

In the end, Weekes hopes to create an alumni program where youth who have already experienced Excel Youth can take on a new role and help those that come after them, keeping them connected to their communities and each other.

Anishnawbe Health Foundation

Traditional healing practices have been in direct conflict with colonization in Canada. Over time, they’ve been banned in some places, made illegal in others, and underfunded everywhere. A lot of knowledge has been pushed underground. As a result, practitioners themselves are few in number across Canada and the transfer of this knowledge to the next generation is jeopardized.

 

Anishnawbe Health Toronto and their Foundation aim to support the reclamation of traditional healing knowledge and practices in the name of community healing and thriving.

“One of the challenges is that Anishnawbe Health is one of the only health centres in Canada that has traditional healers full-time on staff...so, we really see how valuable the resource of traditional healers is to the community.”

Anishnawbe Health and Laidlaw first came together in 2018 during a fundraising dinner with former Senator Murray Sinclair, chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. As time went on, the partnership between the two foundations grew and they reconnected over a new Anishnawbe Health program that is currently funded by Laidlaw Foundation – a first-of-its-kind program that supports the training of Osh-ka-be-Wis or Traditional Helpers, future ceremonialists, and future healers to gain knowledge in traditional medicine and health including performing ceremonies.

Trust and reciprocity are necessary components of a healthy philanthropic partnership. Between Anishnawbe Health and Laidlaw that has looked like the former taking the lead while the latter follows that lead.

“Laidlaw is a good partner in terms of realizing that the strengths that Anishnawbe Health and traditional healing bring to supporting the community, the health of the community… they’re showing that by investing in this Indigenous-led solution of increasing the number of healers in Canada… by sharing their resources and bundle with Anishnawbe Health, they’re really allowing us to maximize the potential of those strengths within the community.”

This is especially important because Anishnawbe Health’s traditional healing training program doesn’t work like Western education:

“There’s the component of learning the knowledge, but there’s also a component of being given these gifts by Spirit and Creator. Even though the training program can provide this knowledge, there’s still some personal development in terms of becoming a healer. Anishnawbe Health is not trying to graduate healers from the program; they’re trying to share a foundation of knowledge with the next generation in the hopes that some of the students will eventually become healers.”

One of those aspects of personal development includes the relationship to the land. Usually, traditional healers use oral tradition and in-person ceremonies to facilitate many practices, such as sweat lodge. The COVID-19 pandemic has harmed that relationship, halted or required the adaptation of activities, and delayed the actual program.

Despite these challenges, Anishnawbe Health has found new elders and healers to join the training program; and credits Laidlaw for “trusting the timing” and prioritizing the health of these new recruits. With the a new home for Anishnawbe Health Toronto due to open this December on Cherry Street, in downtown Toronto, everyone at Anishnawbe Health is excited for the near future, and continuing to lead the way towards “culturally based and culturally safe” healthcare.

The YMCAs of Québec Alternative Suspension Social Impact Bond

School is not always a safe and welcoming place for young people. It can be a place where danger follows a student from classroom to classroom and beyond. A student who has many unwelcome experiences, over time, can eventually erupt, especially when there is a lack of support in the school.

 

This is the story of one student who was sent to the YMCAs of Québec Alternative Suspension program, which supports students who have been suspended from school to access support with things like schoolwork and building self-esteem. The focus is on counselling instead of punishment, to avoid pushing students out of the education system and into other systems.

This is the story of one student who was sent to the SIB program for three reasons: vaping at school, “making bad choices,” and being suspended for quite a few things they didn’t do.

When the student first entered the program, they were wary of the whole thing. But after speaking with some of the older kids who were also there, they became more comfortable talking about their journey.

“The other people there showed me that even though they had made even bigger mistakes, they were taking responsibility for them and trying to do better. Everyone talked about their mistakes and why they made those choices.”

What makes SIB programs unique is that they are based on outcomes: if the program meets the outcomes, investors such as Laidlaw receive a financial return from the government. Laidlaw can then use that capital to sustainably expand their initiatives and simultaneously strengthen the alignment between its investments and its commitment to supporting young people to achieve their full potential.

SIB programs play a big role in realizing that commitment and showing young people they have potential to begin with. People like Shane, an SIB program staff member, are less like superiors who discipline and more like mentors who care.

“[When Shane would take us all out for walks] I could tell that he really cared about what was happening to me. He didn’t make me feel like a bad kid, like they did at school.… [He] made me realize that I was cheating myself by getting in trouble…I had to change things for myself.”

And our student did. They not only started to feel good about themselves, but they also won a student-of-the-month award from their science teacher.

Unfortunately, sometimes past mistakes can overshadow current gains. Now back at school, the student feels like they’re being “watched” and “still labelled as not being a good kid,” which is impacting their wellbeing.

“There are teachers that I feel judge me because they know that I got in trouble in grade 8. I am struggling with subjects that used to be easy for me.... That makes it hard for me to be happy at school.”

Laidlaw’s continued support of the YMCAs of Québec SIB program proves that so much more is possible when students are seen and supported instead of labelled and punished.

Community Equity
& Solidarity Fund

$1,108,200

The relief fund addresses inequities in philanthropy and extends solidarities to communities impacted by the pandemic, as well as by racism, colonization, and systemic exclusions.

 

ORGANIZATION NAME

AMOUNT

Calgary Foundation -
Foundation for Black Communities

Indigenous Peoples Resilience Fund

ENAGB Youth Program

Anishnawbe Health Centre Foundation

$500,000

$500,000

$58,200

$50,000

popup grants

$30,000

The fight against climate change is at a turning point. Every day, young people are vocal and active on the urgency to address environmental issues. We see an opportunity to support youth concerned about the generational impact and legacies of climate change by creating change related to the environment in their communities.

Our planet needs us to act, urgently. Haudenosaunee philosophy states that words, work, and actions should reflect on the seven generations before us and consider those that come seven generations after us. When it comes to environmental issues, we want to amplify multiple perspectives including the leadership from Indigenous efforts and initiatives. To  recognize this pressing issue, Laidlaw Foundation offered PopUp Grants up to $2,500 to support projects and events created by youth that address climate change.

ORGANIZATION NAME

AMOUNT

Stephon Pascall / WJA
(We'll Just Advance)

Kingston CHC /
Pathways to Education Kingston

Chris Frazer / Now Organic Farms

Kawartha World Issues Centre

History Allen / At Dem Medz

Pitch It Green / Green Career Centre

Norwin Anne Pabitu / w.a.s.t.e

Foodshed Project /
The Staghorg Buddies

Georgian Bay Mnidoo Gamii Biosphere / Youth Climate Collective

Jason McDonald / PMB 100

Generation of Leaders

$2,727

$2,727

$2,727

$2,727

$2,727

$2,727

$2,727

$2,727

$2,727

$2,727

$2,727

BOARD recognition
DISCRETIONARY Fund

$10,000

 

ORGANIZATION NAME

AMOUNT

The Hanley Institute -
(In recognition of Michael Trebilcock)

Dalla Lana School of Public
Health U of T - (In recognition of
Dr. Chandrakant P. Shah)

Nature Conservancy of Canada -
(In recognition of David P. Silcox)

Rosedale United Church “Ripple Refugee Project” -
(In recognition of Phillip Jessup)

Lincoln Alexander Law School - (In recognition of Professor Anver Saloojee)

$2,000

$2,000


$2,000

$2,000


$2,000

staff
DISCRETIONARY Fund

$17,500

 

ORGANIZATION NAME

AMOUNT

For Youth Initiative

Endaayaan Awejaa (5% inflation increase)

Near North Mobile Media Lab
(5% inflation increase)

Hey Black Girl! (5% inflation increase)

$2,500

5,000

5,000

5,000

BOARD
DISCRETIONARY Fund

$123,675

 

ORGANIZATION NAME

AMOUNT

Kids in Camp

Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion

Regional Multicultural
Youth Council (RMYC)

Ontario Water Centre
(The ClearWater Farm)

Daily Bread Food Bank

IMPACT 'n Communities
(5% inflation increase)

Helping Hands Platform
(5% inflation increase)

Somali Scholars (5% inflation increase)

PositiveVibes T.O (5% inflation increase)

Children's Peace Theatre (River Rocks) (5% inflation increase)

Disability Justice Network of Ontario
(5% inflation increase)

FLOW - Financial Literacy Online Workshop Management
(5% inflation increase)

Think 2wice (5% inflation increase)

Peacebuilders International (Canada)
(5% inflation increase)

Assembly of Seven Generations
(5% inflation increase)

Waabinong Head Start Family Resource Centre ( Youth Odena) (5% inflation increase)

Denise Miller (Revitalizing Our Sustenance) (5% inflation increase))

Minwaashin Lodge Indigenous
Women’s Support Centre (Aunties on the Road: Indigenous Full Spectrum Doula Collective)

Alicia Williamson (Youth Voices)
(5% inflation increase)

Endaayaan Awejaa (5% inflation increase)

$2,000

$10,000

$10,000

$3,000

$2,000

$5,000


$5,000


$2,250

$2,750

$5,000

$5,000

$5,000


$5,000

$5,000

$5,000

$1,500

$1,500

$1,500



$1,500

$1,500

ORGANIZATION NAME

AMOUNT

The Nimkii Youth Collective
(5% inflation increase)

Dwadewayehsta Gayogohono
(5% inflation increase)

Métis and Me (Samantha Loney)
(5% inflation increase)

Rural Urban Learning Association(Anishinaabek Clans to Invoke our Nation) (5% inflation increase)

Ecotrust Canada (Wahkohtowin Development GP Inc.) (5% inflation increase)

A’nowa:ra Owira Doulas
(5% inflation increase)

Ma’mo’weh Wii’soo’ka’tiwin (Kenora Chiefs Advisory) (5% inflation increase)

Mishkeegogmang First Nation

(Missabay Community School)
(5% inflation increase)

CatalystsX (Bawaating Child
Welfare Warriors)
(5% inflation increase)

Manitou Youth Group Inc.
(5% inflation increase)

Centre for First Nations Governance
(5% inflation increase)

Seeds Change (Ratinenhayen:thos-Kenhte:ke Seed Sanctuary and
Learning Centre)
(5% inflation increase)

Sheshegwaning First Nation
(5% inflation increase)

Binaeshee-Quae Couchie-Nabigon (Unearthing) (5% inflation increase)

Billy Parrell (Michif Stitch)
(5% inflation increase)

Toronto Foundation –
Nagpal Vir Family Foundation

Georgina Food Pantry

Weston Frontlines

$1,500

$1,500

$725

$1,500


$1,500

$1,425

$1,500

$1,500


$1,500

$1,500

$1,500

$1,500


$1,500

$1,500

$1,025

$10,000

$3,000

$10,000

FAMILY
DISCRETIONARY Fund

$135,000

 

ORGANIZATION NAME

AMOUNT

Brigs Youth Sail Training

Les Amis des Jardins de Métis Inc.

Canadian Music Centre

Green Learning Foundation Canada

Arts Canada Institute

Atwater Library

The Church of St Andrew and St Paul

Community Foundation Grey Bruce

Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy

The Ontario Historical Society

Our Town Food Bank

$55,000

$4,000

$4,000

$4,000

$2,000

$2,000

$4,000

$10,000

$5,000

$5,000

$2,000

ORGANIZATION NAME

AMOUNT

My Sister’s Place

Stevenson Memorial
Hospital Foundation

Camp Bucko
(Burn Camp for Kids in Ontario)

Alliston and District Humane Society

Christ Church Roches Point

The National Wildlife
Rehabilitation Foundation

The Glenn Gould School
 (The Royal Conservatory of Music)

$2,000

$2,000

$2,000

$2,000

$10,000

$10,000

$10,000

We would like to recognize the many

contributors to this report, including

Kinmond Smith (Designer),

Claire Shannon-Akiwenzie (Digital Artist),

Jessica Campbell (Graphic Designer),

Jean Boampong (Copywriter),

and Dimitra Chronopoulos (Editor).

2 St. Clair Avenue East • Suite 300 • Toronto, ON M4T 2T5 • 416-964-3614

http://laidlawfdn.org/