Sam Unrau came to his first meeting in The Winnipeg Foundation’s boardroom as a Youth in Philanthropy (YiP) student representing Argyle Alternative High School. Fast forward just a few years and he’s a regular at that board table, the youngest-ever member of the Foundation’s Grants Committee. At 21, Unrau brings a wealth of non-profit knowledge to the role. Not only is he a seasoned grantmaker through YiP, he’s an experienced board member, tireless volunteer and community advocate.
For the past four years, Unrau has served on the board of Ten Ten Sinclair Housing, which provides independent living and support services for people with disabilities. He’s also a member of the City of Winnipeg’s Access Advisory Committee, where he sits on the Policy Sub-Committee. An avid sledge hockey player who loves to introduce others to the sport, Unrau is Vice-Chair of Sledge Hockey Manitoba’s advisory committee and is part of Para-Sport Manitoba, an initiative to support athletes with disabilities and involve more people in paralympic sport.
On top of all that, Unrau is working toward a degree in Business Administration from the University of Winnipeg. He already has a stellar résumé supporting his future.
The Winnipeg Foundation launched its 2011 Annual Report, called Fresh Thinking, Inspiring Action, today; highlights include:
The Foundation invested $22.1 million in the community in 2011.
During the past 90 years, the Foundation has distributed more than $280 million in grants to local charities working in the areas of: community service, education and employment, health, environment, heritage, arts and culture, and recreation.
238 new funds, a record number, were established in 2011 (compared with 150 in 2010).
The Foundation received spectacular community support, with total contributions of $22 million through more than 6,000 individual gifts.
Here are some new Foundation projects started in 2011:
Through a partnership with True Sport, 15 community-led recreation projects took place in Central Park during the summer.
Our 90-Hour Giving Challenge, in honour of the Foundation’s 90th anniversary, helped raise awareness and support for local charities with agency funds at the Foundation. The Challenge drew nearly 2,500 contributions totaling more than $400,000.
The Foundation is partnering with the Winnipeg Free Press, Red River College and Winnipeg Public Library to launch Community News Commons, a citizen journalists’ hub.
The Foundation invested in Assiniboine Credit Union’s north end branch, helping improve financial services in the area.
Read the full, interactive version of The Winnipeg Foundation’s Annual Report on our website for stories of fresh thinking and inspiring action, as well as a list of donors, funds and grants.
The year 2011 was a time of fresh thinking and inspiring action for The Winnipeg Foundation. We launched several new initiatives, many in honour of the Foundation’s 90th anniversary, all aimed to further our vision of “a Winnipeg where community life flourishes.”
We kicked off our True Sport pilot project in the Central Park community. The True Sport movement uses sport to strengthen neighbourhoods. Fifteen community-led projects resulted, including Wiggle, Giggle, and Munch, an early literacy and physical activity program for children (pictured below).
The Winnipeg Foundation worked with a number of partners and private donors to establish the You Can Do It Awards. The Awards offer annual scholarships of $1,000 each to kids at six inner-city schools based on academics, attendance and leadership.
The Nourishing Potential Fund was also launched in 2011. The Fund is planned to be a $5 million investment built over five years. It supports nutritious snacks and meals at local after-school, drop-in and summer programs.
These new initiatives were possible because of the generous gifts the Foundation has received over its 90-year history. On January 12, The Winnipeg Foundation will launch its 2011 annual report. Watch for the report online to learn about the Foundation’s 2011 gifts, grants, partnerships, projects and much more!
You can take part in the VMMR by supporting one or more of 10 medical causes represented by avatars. Representing HIV/AIDS research is Dr. Adrienne Meyers, a researcher in infectious disease at the National Microbiology Laboratory/Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and the University of Manitoba.
We all know about fundraising walks and runs, but the difference with a virtual marathon is that instead of real people, avatars will race online. When donors register to support an avatar, the fee will be directed towards the cause it represents—greatly improving its chance of winning. On December 11, we’d like to see Dr. Meyers’ avatar cross the finish line first, raising much-needed support for local HIV/AIDS research!
Funds raised for HIV/AIDS research through the Virtual Marathon will be shared between Israeli-Manitoban researcher teams and The Winnipeg Foundation’s Global Research Collaboration Fund for Infectious Diseases.
On race day, you can cheer on Dr. Meyers while watching the race online. If she wins, anyone registered to support her will be entered into a draw for a chance to become an avatar at next year’s virtual event! Register today and don’t forget to use our promo code WF001.
Can sport bridge language and cultural differences?
Can sport help us to build on existing community assets and strengths?
Can sport be about more than…sport?
These were just a few of the questions in the back of my mind as I arrived in Winnipeg last February to help kick off the Central Park Grants for Sports pilot project. The project is the result of a partnership between the True Sport Foundation, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport and Community Foundations of Canada. Four community foundations were selected (Winnipeg, Kitchener-Waterloo, Burlington and Abbotsford) to explore how True Sport could be used to strengthen local communities. True Sport is Canada’s national movement for sport and community. Its goal is to help sport live up to its full potential as a public asset by making a significant contribution to the development of youth and quality of life in our communities.
This summer, Central Park residents came together to talk about just that. A community meeting was held at Knox United Church where over 50 community members gathered to share stories about how sport and recreation make Central Park better. The central question of the day quickly became ‘what more can we do together’? The results were truly amazing! Over the course of the day as we ate samosas and sandwiches prepared by local Central Park restaurants, everyone began to see a role for themselves in the project. The passion in the room was evident as people pitched ideas for projects, discussed where they could contribute and volunteered to sit on the neighbourhood selection panel to evaluate and support the applicants.
After this meeting, a range of community-driven sport projects were initiated, planned and implemented by community members over the summer in Central Park including soccer, tennis and baseball. Each project was unique and was matched by Central Park community resources of volunteer time, donated materials, professional services or cash. By coming together, the community was able to identify its strengths, create connections, and build on existing partnerships. Regardless of what people’s passions were when they came to that first community meeting, everyone found a way to contribute and make a difference.
In the end, it is clear to me that this project was about far more than increasing sport opportunities in Central Park. It was even about more than sport itself. It was about community engagement, meeting new neighbours, making new friends, learning new skills and above all having FUN! What a summer! The networks and connections that were made are just the beginning. I think it’s safe to say that True Sport lives in Central Park.
By Christina Parsons, Projects Manager at the True Sport Foundation
The Winnipeg Foundation
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