Here at Viewpoint, we feel very committed to being INVESTED in Community and to being responsible and impactful stewards of philanthropic capital – and we are not alone in this commitment. The donation of time and money seems to be deeply entrenched in Canadian values. According to Philanthropic Foundations Canada, there are almost 10,000 private and public foundations in Canada, managing assets in excess of $85 billion, with annual giving reaching $7 billion. (This does not include donations made by individuals and corporations.) Philanthropy is big business! Here in Alberta, the non-profit/voluntary sector contributes $9.6 billion in revenues to the Alberta economy. Approximately 176,000 Albertans are employed in this sector and 1.4 million Albertans volunteer across cultural sectors.

Most of Viewpoint’s philanthropic giving and community investment is done through Viewpoint Foundation, a registered charitable organization. The mission of the Foundation is to demonstrate innovation and leadership in philanthropy in Canada by focusing on strategic priorities and unique approaches to promoting accountability. We actively engage with our community partners through a process of regular dialogue and alignment of desired outcomes. Viewpoint has INVESTED over $20 million with more than 100 charitable organizations. Although these donations support a variety of causes, most are directed toward these three key areas:

1. Education around ethical and governance related leadership in Canada;
2. Support and promotion of the music and arts community in Canada; and,
3. System Integration and Competency Building to build an efficient and effective mental health system of care in Alberta.

As a private foundation, we have the advantage of flexibility and can be nimble, entrepreneurial, and responsive to meet the needs of the community. 

• In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, we joined other foundations in a GIVE5 Campaign, where we pledged to increase our annual giving from the government mandated 3.5% of AUM to a minimum of 5%.
• We participated in the Calgary United Way COVID-19 Community Response Fund, which was instrumental in granting over $10 million to over 195 local agencies.
• We support Momentum Calgary, a change-making organization that acts as a bridge by taking an economic approach to poverty reduction. 
• One of our most ambitious initiatives to date has been the founding of the Canadian Centre for Advanced Leadership in Business, which serves as the premier Canadian forum for thought leadership, applied research, and teaching on ethics, governance, and performance challenges confronting the current and next generations of business leaders.

These are just some examples of the ways that we are INVESTED in Community and over the next few months, we plan to profile more of the impactful work that is being done by many of our community partners.