On February 20th the Mississippi Mills Community Fund (MMCF) was launched at a public meeting held at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in Almonte. A large group of interested members of the community attended the event which featured speakers Janet Adams, Manager, Philanthropic Services & Community Building for the Ottawa Community Foundation and Benjamin Haskins, Managing Partner, Quadrus Investment Services Limited. There was a great deal of interest and engagement from attendees with many thoughtful questions posed.
Further information on the presentations will be provided on our website with links to the speakers. In this first monthly newsletter, we summarize the questions discussed at the launch event and provide detailed responses.
- What is the Mississpippi Mills Community Fund?
The MMCF is a regional endowment fund held at the Ottawa Community Foundation whose purpose is to help strengthen our community by building a legacy that will benefit all. In 2024 a small group of community minded individuals formed a steering committee to establish this new endowment fund which will enable and inspire philanthropy to support sustainable granting to local charities, for generations to come.
- What are the advantages of donating via the MMCF?
For donors who want to have an impact on the needs of our community, giving to the community fund is a way to address both immediate and long-term needs. By contributing today, donors can play a pivotal role in establishing the groundwork for an initiative that will continue to effect positive change for years to come. The Mississippi Mills Community Fund takes a broad view of the community’s needs so that it can allocate resources where they can have the most significant impact. Donors can rely on this perspective and feel assured that their donation will make a difference. By donating to the Community Fund donors are effectively pooling their charitable contributions, building a collective effort that can support larger-scale projects that may go beyond the capacity of individual charities.
Donors can also benefit from the flexibility of making a gift to the Mississippi Mills Community Fund because it is both an endowed and flow through fund. Donations for the endowment are invested and only the earnings generated through that investment are distributed in the form of grants for a long-term impact. Flow-through donations can also be made to the Mississippi Mills Community Fund. These donations are not invested in our investment pool and can be granted out immediately on the advice of the donor to benefit a specific charity or area of need in our community.
Tax advantages are an added benefit of giving to the Community Fund. In addition to cash donations, the Community Fund can provide tax efficiency when receiving other types of gifts, including publicly traded securities, bequests, life insurance, and RRSP/RRIFs.
- What is the catchment area of the fund? Can non MM charities get gifted via MMCF?
From an impact perspective, the catchment area is within the Town of Mississippi Mills and all charities that are registered in the municipality can receive grants. However, any charity that provides programming or benefits and services to citizens of Mississippi Mills will be eligible to receive grant funding from the Mississippi Mills Community Fund.
- What is Impact Funding? E.g. want to give to social enterprise? How are we going to manage and advise on local charities. Is this a loan?
The Ottawa Community Foundation has set up an Impact Investing Fund that is separate from the existing Assets Under Management (AUM) to make direct investments in local charities in the form of loans, guarantees or mortgages. Donors are encouraged (but not required) to allocate some of their existing funds, or provide new donations, to the Impact Investing Fund. The fund could grow over time up to a maximum of 2% of the total AUM. Since March 2012, more than $3 million in loans has been made available to Ottawa-based charities through the Community Forward Fund. Our Community Fund may choose in the future to allocate some funds to this program.
- Who decides what charities will be gifted? What will determine the amount to allocate for granting? What % of the endowment fund will be allocated each year?
Grants will be made by the Ottawa Community Foundation on the advice of the MMCF Advisory Group to emerging priorities and needs in Mississippi Mills. Gifts can only be made to “Qualified Donees”. The investment earnings on the endowment fund are used to cover the charitable grants. Currently under the Ottawa Community Foundation’s policy charitable grants are fixed at 4.25%.
- What criteria qualifies a donee?
The Canada Revenue Agency defines a qualified donee as an organization included on the following list:
- Registered Canadian charities
- Some Canadian amateur athletic associations
- Journalism organizations
- Foreign charities that have received a gift from Her Majesty in right of Canada
- Low-cost housing corporations for the aged
- Public bodies performing a function of government in Canada
- Universities outside Canada that typically include students from Canada
The qualified donee category also includes municipalities, provinces or territories, as well as the United Nations and its agencies.
- If someone sets up a family fund, can anyone donate?
Unless the originator of the fund restricts who can donate to an individual family fund, anyone can donate to the fund.
- Through what channels can non-charitable organizations get grants?
Any non-profit organization can receive grants or donations from individuals or corporations but a non-registered charity cannot issue tax receipts for these contributions. Other ways to access funds for operations by non-profits that are not registered charitable organizations include event fund raising, lotteries and sponsorship. In some cases, partnerships with charities that share common programming goals can effectively provide grant support to non-qualified donees. However, charities are encouraged to refer to Canada Revenue Agency’s guidance before entering into such partnerships to ensure they do not compromise the charity’s registration and the public’s trust in the charitable sector (https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/charities-giving/charities/policies-guidance/charities-making-grants-non-qualified-donees.html).
We thank everyone who attended our initial information session and give special thanks to our speakers. This newsletter and summary will be available on our website: https://mmcommunityfund.ca
The Mississippi Mills Community Fund seeks to serve to enhance the quality of life for all, ensuring that our town continues to grow and prosper for generations to come.
We hope you will consider supporting the Community Fund. We welcome inquiries and expressions of interest from individual and corporate donors as well as professional advisors who want to be a part of building the legacy of the Mississippi Mills Community Fund.
If you have questions or would like to volunteer please send us an email:
Contact: info@mmcommunityfund.ca
Sign up to receive news and updates from the MMCF here: https://mmcommunityfund.ca/#sub
