When Rob and Denise Cumming decided to get serious about philanthropy, they did what they had both done professionally their entire careers: they did their research, made a plan, and focused their efforts where they could have the greatest impact.

The Cummings, who moved to Kingston in 2004, have long directed their giving toward two areas that reflect both their professional experience and their deepest convictions: health care and poverty relief. Very active in their church and inspired by its teachings to support people who are ill and those struggling with low income, they have channeled their generosity toward organizations including the food bank, housing supports, and Kingston's hospital network.

"How can we help people who are hungry? How can we help people who are underhoused? And how can we help people who are sick?" says Denise, a former fundraising professional with deep roots in Kingston's nonprofit sector. "We focused our giving."

For Rob, a retired executive with a background in corporate sustainability and public affairs, the impulse to give is rooted in something he thinks about often. "No one gets to where they are without help," he says. "Giving back, I think, is a moral obligation." His faith shapes how he sees the people his giving reaches. When he passes someone on the street who is homeless, he says, he does not see a problem to walk past. He sees a person with inherent worth and dignity, and someone he has a responsibility to help, even if only through the organizations equipped to do that work well. "The best way to give is through the programs," he says. "People that know how to help."

That conviction led the Cummings to establish two endowment funds with the Community Foundation. One supports grants addressing homelessness and hunger, vetted by community volunteers. The other supports University Hospitals Kingston Foundation, split between cancer research at Kingston Health Sciences Centre and a Patient Assistance Fund at Providence Care Hospital for mental health patients living with low income.

The connection to that second fund is personal. Denise has benefited from research into effective breast cancer treatments, and the care she received from Providence Care's Mood Disorders team gave her a close view of patients navigating both mental illness and financial hardship. "We're grateful for both the cancer and mental health programs in our city," she says, "and supporting them this way feels right."

The endowment model appealed to both of them for the same reason: it keeps giving long after they are gone. "That's money that will always continue to grow," Rob says. "When we're gone, it will continue to give."

Support agencies like the ones Rob and Denise support through our Community Fund