The Community Foundation for Kingston & Area invests $477,000 in funding to 7 community service organizations through the Community Services Recovery Fund

The Community Foundation for Kingston & Area is proud to have worked with community foundations across Canada as part of the Community Services Recovery Fund. This fund is a collaboration between the Canadian Red Cross, Community Foundations of Canada, and United Way Centraide Canada to provide funding to Community Service Organizations, including non-profit organizations, Indigenous Governing Bodies, or Registered Charities located in Canada. The Community Services Recovery Fund responds to what Community Service Organizations need right now and supports organizations as they adapt to the long-term impacts of the pandemic.

Community service organizations are at the forefront of addressing communities’ needs. Since the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have struggled with increased demand for their services, reduced revenues, declines in charitable giving due to the rising cost of living, and a greater need to make use of digital tools. Many organizations are struggling to recover and adapt their services to the changing needs of the Kingston area.

The Community Services Recovery Fund is a one-time investment of $400 million to help community service organizations (charities, non-profits, Indigenous governing bodies) adapt, modernize, and be better equipped to improve the efficacy, accessibility, and sustainability of the community services that they provide through the pandemic recovery and beyond.

The following projects are being supported in the Kingston area:

• $100,000 was invested in BGC South East to create a new childcare and education service model;
• $35,000 was invested in Kingston 4 Paws Service Dogs to create a sustainable funding model;
• $65,000 was invested in Kingston Community Health Centres for the digitization of Human Resources;
• $99,913 was invested in Kingston Employment & Youth Services to fund a comprehensive organizational structure review and reorganization;
• $22,330 was invested in Kingston Symphony Association to compose the Association’s future;
• $58,707 was invested in Lion Hearts Inc to fund critical organizational infrastructure to support rapid growth;
• $96,050 was invested in Southern Frontenac Community Services to fund their rural integrated technology project.

Explore the full list of funded projects below.

BGC South East, “New Childcare and Education Service Model in Kingston”

BGC South East helps all young people discover and achieve their full potential by providing safe supportive spaces and positive mentoring relationships where young people experience new opportunities and develop confidence and skills for life. They typically serve over 3,000 children and youth annually with programs in health and personal wellness, food and nutrition, physical activity, education, science, arts, and music.

This project will build a new operational plan that responds to post-COVID heightened local needs of childcare and education. It will prepare the organization for sustainable and relevant service, by developing a new strategic plan that analyzes and re-invents the organizational structure and resources for new services.

Kingston 4 Paws Service Dogs, “Investing in a Sustainable Funding Model”

Kingston 4 Paws provides trained service dogs and their continued handling support to physically and emotionally challenged persons and their families, assisting them to become more independent. They train service dogs in five programs: Autism, Post Traumatic Stress and other mental health issues, Seizure Response, Mobility, and Canine Assistance Intervention (dogs placed with agencies).

This grant will enable K4Paws to develop and implement robust fundraising and communications strategies and plans. This will support the sustainability of K4Paws post-COVID by developing more resilient sources of annual income and creating more manageable workloads for staff and volunteers.

Kingston Community Health Centres, “Digitization of Human Resources”

KCHC is a dynamic provider of integrated services that empower people and build communities. They respond to the complex and evolving health needs of the community by being responsive, promoting individual and community health, developing holistic services delivered by a multi-disciplinary team, and working cooperatively and collaboratively with community members, community groups, and other service providers.

The digitization of HR at KCHC will allow for manual processes to be digitized and, in turn, automated, thereby reducing the opportunity for human error, limit organizational risk, increase staff engagement opportunities. This project will allow for the HR department to use its resources appropriately to grow strategically and operationally to meet system and community health and wellbeing needs.

Kingston Employment & Youth Services, “Comprehensive Organizational Structure Review & Reorganization”

KEYS is committed to supporting members of the community through compassionate action and mutual respect. They help individuals realize their full potential within an economically and socially vibrant community by building community through innovative employment services.

Through this project, KEYS will conduct a leadership-focused organizational review and will identify and establish an improved leadership staffing model. This will help the organization build on their long history of innovation and solid foundation by ensuring they have the leadership required to support staff and the community and ensure nimbleness and resilience into the future.

Kingston Symphony Association, “Composing the Kingston Symphony Association’s Future”

The Kingston Symphony Association exists to produce and promote professional quality programs of instrumental and choral music for the education, enjoyment, and enrichment of audiences in the Greater Kingston area. The Kingston Symphony is dedicated to the support, development, and showcasing of Canadian artists and composers. Their six ensembles provide unique outlets to everyone in the community who is interested in music, and offer skill development and performance opportunities for all.

The Kingston Symphony Association will develop a new strategic plan to guide their work over the next three years. Balanced within the context of evolving musical direction and programming goals, audience development, marketing strategies, and financial sustainability, they will develop strategies to achieve these priorities while promoting diversity, accessibility, and inclusion in all aspects of their programming and operations.

Lion Hearts Inc., “Investing in Critical Organizational Infrastructure to Support Rapid Growth”

Driven by a deep desire to see all people living with human dignity, Lionhearts Inc. (Lionhearts) has been uniting people with practical acts of love since 2014. They strive to be a behind-the-scenes partner to give the frontline agencies they serve the boost they need to support community members experiencing food insecurity.

Lionhearts will bring in experts to guide the organization through strategic planning, governance, accountability, and compliance initiatives. Investing in building strong systems and governance capacity will ensure that Lionhearts is poised to effectively and sustainably scale their programming as they continue to adapt to support emerging needs in their community.

Southern Frontenac Community Services, “Rural Integrated Technology Project”

Southern Frontenac Community Services is a rural based organization serving the needs of seniors and low-income families throughout South, Central and North Frontenac. SFCSC offers a broad range of seniors services that focus on providing for the needs of rural seniors. SFCSC also supports the community with a food bank and family referrals, linking families with valuable financial aid and support programs.

The project will evaluate their administrative roles, systems and processes for achieving their back office support needs with a focus on accounting and reporting. The result will be a plan that can be actioned within their existing financial means to increase efficiencies in these areas and increase opportunity to integrate with other organizations.