In February 2022, our board of directors met at a retreat to discuss where the HCF had been and where we wanted it to go in the future. We recognized that for many years, we had fulfilled the intention of the foundation, however we did not have a strategic plan that would clearly outline our vision, mission and values. In addition, we had not determined our focus areas, our overview of our grant making or strategic priorities and goals.

One of the first items that we needed to discuss was whether we wanted the foundation to continue for future generations or dissolve the foundation with this generation. The Board agreed to continue the foundation for future generations with a review of this agreement every five years.

With this decision, we embarked on a two-day discovery of what the Board members wanted the HCF to stand for in terms of values, mission and vision. The first thing we did was to review the original and variation of the indenture. We utilized the Giving Together WorkBook from the Philanthropic Initiative to answer many important questions. Using flipcharts and whiteboards we explored our board criteria, shared values, as well as focus and interest areas. From this, we were able to develop a vision, and mission statement and criteria for funding organizations.

At our AGM in January of 2023, we reviewed, and modified as necessary, all parts of the Strategic Plan that had been drafted during 2022, developed several aspects of the plan that had not yet been completed and clarified goals and priorities. We owe a debt of gratitude to the Johansen Larsen Foundation for their sharing of their strategic plan as well as the conversations had around making the plan work for the HCF.

Scan of the Landscape

While working on our strategic plan, we felt it was important to look at philanthropic giving in Canada nationally and internationally to see where we fit into the broader landscape. We used information presented in the report Snapshot of Foundation Giving prepared by Philanthropic Foundations Canada (2021). Although the information about giving only includes 150 of the top grantmaking foundations in Canada, it does provide some interesting data about national and international giving as well as giving by region and activity area.

Geographical Focus

During the existence of the HCF, we have supported Canadian organizations that do work nationally and internationally. In the Table Giving by Region, it is clear that most philanthropic giving in Canada has been national (85%) rather than international (15%). The HCF has done things a bit differently with 32% of our giving being for national projects while 64% has been for international projects. One of the items we talked about at our AGM was whether we wanted to focus more on charities doing work in Canada and this is one of our Strategic Priorities going forward.