The past has a role in shaping the future.  During our 25th Anniversary year, we are delighted to present a glimpse into the past and update you on the whereabouts of some of the key players in the growth of your Community Foundation.

Katherine Manley was the first official Executive Director of the Community Foundation. Katherine contributed time, energy, enthusiasm and office space for the new Community Foundation (the first Foundation office was in her home!).

As Executive Director from March 1996 to March 2000, Katherine helped establish the foundation for our Community Foundation!

I remember the Ice Storm of 1998 and the Community Foundation’s response oh so well:  awaking to a world changed, no electricity, little communication, fallen trees and branches making outings almost impossible. And yet, such incredible beauty as each blade of grass and every surface glistened with ice!

And then the silver lining: The Community Foundation operated out of my home and we had a gas fireplace by the large kitchen table where I could spread out many documents. This was my chance to write up a lengthy and detailed report to be submitted to Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) as our entry for the Alastair Gamble Award (an award in memory of Alastair Gamble who started CFC).  One Foundation under $3 million and one Foundation over $3 million was to be presented with a plaque and $1,000 to be used for any project.

We presented our best practices in the areas of: Governance, Fund Development, Grant Making, Marketing & Communications and Management.  Our incredible teams – Board Members and Committee Members – were all working hard, and we chose to highlight our publication ‘Ripples’.  The Kingston Community Foundation was honoured with the Alastair Gamble Award in May 2000 for a Foundation under $3 million.

Where am I now? Like all of you I am once again in isolation but with a definite difference to the 1998 ice storm when I could venture out once it was safe. The ‘now of yesterday’ included classical guitar lessons, and time with our three grandchildren, auditing an art history course at Queen’s, ‘piecemeal’ volunteer work, readings for two book groups (one of which I run), travel, hiking and special time with friends.

The ‘now of today’ eliminates much of the above for the short term but I am continuing with guitar lessons on-line, reading and reviewing the many wonderful programs we taped over the past two years and didn’t find time to watch.  I am thrilled to see how much our Foundation has progressed since the seeds were sown and our first meetings took place in March 1996.

Editor’s note: We still publish Ripples, our semi-annual report to the community, although the format has been updated from the original newsprint format. Now in magazine format, it is mailed to donors and distributed as an insert in Kingston Life magazine. In this, our 25th anniversary year, we are publishing a third issue. Watch for our next issue in May. You can also check out past issues at cfka.org/ripples/