Maybe everyone has stopped saying “happy new year” by this point, but this is my first column of 2020, so I’d like to say welcome to a new decade on behalf of the Victoria Foundation.
A new decade naturally turns one’s thoughts to the future and what changes we would like to see in the year, and decade, ahead.
The changes have started early for the Victoria Foundation, as January brings with it some significant developments on our board of directors. After two productive years as chair of our board, the Foundation is saying goodbye to Grace Wong Sneddon, and welcoming Zaman Velji to fill the position.
Zaman has been on the board since 2018 and has a background in investment and international development. We are thrilled to have him as our new chair and look forward to working with him over the next two years. And we offer great thanks and appreciation to Grace for her service.
The board also sees the addition of five new members this year, making for a lot of new faces around the table. We’re delighted to be welcoming Marilyn Sing, Rajiv K. Gandhi, Wency Lum, Rob Gareau and Brad Clark to our board, and I look forward to working with all.
I’d also like to welcome all of our new committee members who are joining our movement, especially those who will make up our brand-new Impact Investment Committee, which is helping to guide some of our work moving forward.
Another major change for the foundation is the shifting of our Community Grants application process from the end of the year to the beginning. Our last cycle ended only in December, but in an effort to align our granting more with the needs of the charities that receive them, this year we will be accepting applications from Feb. 3 to March 2.
Community Grants are available to registered charities working on projects that address at least one of the issue areas identified in our Victoria’s Vital Signs report, such as Housing or Arts and Culture. In 2019, Community Grants funded more than 100 community projects through the distribution of more than $2.8 million.
These changes make for an exciting and hopeful start for the new year, and the new decade ahead. Moving into the future, the Victoria Foundation is committed to working on our priority areas of food security, gender equality, ending homelessness, supporting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and more.
I can’t wait to see what the Victoria Foundation, and our community as a whole, accomplishes over the next 10 years.
Sandra Richardson is CEO of the Victoria Foundation.
