Our Vision
Laidlaw Foundation supports young people impacted by the justice, education, and child welfare systems to become healthy and engaged by investing in innovative ideas, convening interested parties, advocating for systems change, and sharing learning across the sector.
Our mission
A society in which all young people have the opportunity to achieve their full potential.
Committees
& board of directors
Board of Directors
Janine Manning, Chair
Rebecca Darwent, Vice Chair
Tim Apgar
Tara Farahani
Sandra Kagango
Julia Laidlaw
June Maresca
Christoher McFarlane
Paul Nagpal
Bob Smith
Benjamin Mitsuk
Jesse Waugh
Officers and Executive Committee
Janine Manning, Chair
Rebecca Darwent, Vice Chair
Sandra Kagango, Chair of Finance and Audit Committee
Setareh (Tara) Farahani, Chair of Granting Committee
Jehad Aliweiwi, Secretary
Finance and Audit Committee
Sandra Kagango, Chair
Paul Nagpal, Vice Chair
Jesse Waugh
External Advisors
Heather Brubacher
Ken Gibson
Sumant Inamdar
Andre Lewis
External Advisors
Heather Brubacher
Tiffany Chang
Ken Gibson
Sumant Inamdar
Investment Committee
Paul Nagpal, Chair
Sandra Kagango, Vice Chair
Tim Apgar
External Advisors
Paul Fensom
Heather Hunter
Kristina Inrig
Hanifa Kassam
Randy Steuart
Ewa Townsend
Impact Investment Subcommittee
Paul Nagpal, Chair
External Advisors
Lars Boggild
Kristina Inrig
Hanifa Kassam
MJ Sinha
Granting & RECRUITMENT Committee
Setareh (Tara) Farahani, Chair
June Maresca, Vice Chair
Jesse Waugh
Benjamin Mitsuk
Christopher McFarlane
External Advisors
Irwin Elman
Koubra Haggar
Teddy Syrette
Paul Bailey
Family Committee
Bob Smith, Chair
Julia Laidlaw, Vice Chair
Tim Apgar
Non-Family Board Members:
June Maresca
Rebecca Darwent
External Advisors
Jessica Hammell
Jamie Laidlaw
Kathryn Simmers
Nicole Denoudan
Melissa Laidlaw
Governance Committee
Rebecca Darwent, Chair
Bridget Sinclair, Vice Chair
Setareh (Tara) Farahani
Cameron Laidlaw
Julia Laidlaw
Andre Lewis
External Advisors
Hanifa Kassam
Family Committee
Cameron Laidlaw, Chair
Julia Laidlaw, Vice Chair
Bob Smith
Lyon Smith
Non-Family Board Members:
Rebecca Darwent
May Wong
External Advisors
Tim Apgar
Jessica Hammell
Caitlin Laidlaw
Jamie Laidlaw
Kathryn Simmers
Nicole Denoudan
Melissa Laidlaw
Indigenous Advisory Committee
Jessica Bolduc
Jerica Fraser
Erin Hayward
Sarah Nelson
Jacob Malone
Lacey Biedermann
Lance Copegog
staff
Shared staff:
Ruth Cortez - Receptionist and Office Assistant
Simran Gill - IT and Data Coordinator
During the year, Precious Ogadi left the Foundation to pursue other opportunities. We are grateful for his contributions during his time with the Foundation and wish him all the best. Thank you, Precious.
Acknowledgements
Tamer Ibrahim
In September, Laidlaw Foundation thanked Tamer Ibrahim, Youth Collective Impact Manager, for his eight years of meaningful contributions and leadership and we look forward to seeing him succeed at his new position as Director, Granting at Definity Insurance Foundation, a new tenant of Foundation House.
Indigenous Advisory Committee
We would like to express gratitude towards our previous Indigenous Advisory Committee that has informed our operations, knowledge building and funding strategies at the Foundation while we were establishing a program to support the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Youth and Community Futures Fund (IYCFF) has become an important component of the Foundation and the success of this funding stream is due to the contributions of Jessica Bolduc, Jacob Malone, Jerica Fraser, Erin Hayward, Lacey Bidermann, Sarah Nelson and T’áncháy Redvers. We are excited to onboard our new 2023 Indigenous Advisory committee members, Carissa Coe, Alison Seymour, Chevaun Toulouse, Eternity Sutherland and Jadyn Hardie-Bardy. Thank you to our previous members and welcome new members, we look forward to continuing our path to reconciliation together!
2022 Chair and
Executive Director Message
The pandemic restrictions and public health measures that dominated the last two years started to ease in 2022. Although we are not out of it completely, we feel optimistic that the worst of the pandemic is behind us. Yet we, like the world, continue adapting to a new way of doing business.
The new normal has altered how and where we work, in many ways, permanently. How we interact with each other in public has also changed, as has the way we convene with colleagues and partners. Just about every aspect of our life has been impacted in the last two years. What hasn’t changed is the Foundation’s commitment to deliver on its mission and purpose.
The year 2022 was the third year of a five-year strategic plan that focuses our effort on youth impacted by the criminal justice, education and child welfare systems who are underserved and overrepresented in these systems.
During the year, we carefully allocated resources to a range of initiatives that support the current focus of the Foundation. In the pages of this report, you will find a list of all grants made in 2022. In addition, we are highlighting the work of six funded initiatives that have demonstrated impact and are making meaningful difference in the wellbeing of communities with whom they work. We further strengthened the Community Equity and Solidarity Fund by confirming a three-year commitment to the important work of the Yellowhead Institute.
Laidlaw is making a difference in the field of philanthropy in large part due to its amazing staff team and talented advisors and volunteers. It is inevitable that team members will move on to bigger and better opportunities. We are both sad and delighted that Tamer Ibrahim and Guntas Kaur have taken new roles and left the Foundation. Tamer, who managed the Youth Collective Impact partnership with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and McConnell Foundation’s Innoweave for eight years, has taken on the position of Director, Granting at Definity Insurance Foundation, a new tenant of Foundation House. Guntas, who was the Communications Coordinator and Research and Evaluation Lead for over two years, is pursuing PhD studies in health equity policies at the University of British Columbia. We thank them both for their hard work and years of service. At the same time, we welcomed Haiat Iman and Miraaj Yousif to the staff team of the Foundation. Haiat will lead the Foundation’s research, evaluation and learning portfolio. Miraaj will oversee the Youth Collective Impact portfolio and focus on renewing the YCI partnership or winding down the program.
For over six years, the Foundation has benefited greatly from the contributions of the Indigenous Youth Advisory Committee, whose members guided us through the process of building a lasting commitment to reconciliation and reciprocity. We owe a great debt of gratitude to Jessica Bolduc, Jerica Fraser, Erin Hayward, Sarah Nelson, Jacob Malone, Lacey Bidermann, T’áncháy Redvers and Lance Copegog. We are fortunate to work with a group of advisors who provided their good counsel, are eager to assist, and recognize the opportunity to work with colleagues to support the work of innovative Indigenous youth–led projects across Ontario. Thank you for your thoughtful deliberation and for your patience with our failings. As we pay a fond farewell to the previous advisors, we are thrilled to welcome a new group of talented and young Indigenous advisors who will build on the legacy of their predecessors. We are eager to work with Carissa Coe, Eternity Sutherland, Chevaun Toulouse, Alison Seymour, and Jadyn Hardie-Bardy.
In advancing our policy, research and learning agenda, we have partnered with INDsight to undertake research into the state of the youth in Ontario. A report is scheduled to be published in 2023, and the plan is to develop it into a biannual report card on the wellbeing of youth, specifically Black and Indigenous, in Ontario.
The Foundation’s ability to fulfill its mandate and deliver on its mission and purpose depends greatly on, and is supported by, the commitments of our Board, volunteer advisors, and Family members. We are grateful for their time and wisdom. The staff team continues to lead the work of the Foundation with professionalism and dedication.
Our final gratitude goes, as always, to the incredible groups of young people who are leading change and who continue to amaze and inspire us, and amongst whom we are privileged to walk.
As we look forward to a future with diminishing pandemic pressures, we hope for — and commit to — a just recovery for the many community-led organizations and youth-led initiatives across Ontario.
Finally, this annual report to members provides an overview of the work of individuals and organizations we fund who are at the forefront of social and community change. We invite you to read about the work of our grantees and look forward to hearing from you. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Janine Manning, Chair
Jehad Aliweiwi, Executive Director
investment & finance
Asset Mix
Cash and Equivalents - 3.5%
Bonds - 32.3%
Canadian Equity - 23.4%
US Equity - 22.6%
International Equity - 18.2%
31 December 2022
Asset Mix Market Value % Assets
Fixed Income $25,065,507 35.9
Cash and Equivalents $2,452,256 3.5
Bonds $22,613,251 32.3
Equity $44,846,080 64.2
Canadian Equity $16,340,559 23.4
US Equity $15,768,794 22.6
International Equity $12,736,727 18.2
Total $69,911,587 100.0
3.5%
18.2%
22.6%
23.4%
32.3%
Youth
Action Fund
19 grants total
$1,755,230
Community
Equity and Solidarity Fund
4 grants total
$1,108,200
Youth Collective Impact
11 grants total
$985,269
capacity
building
23 grants total
$56,037
Indigenous Youth and Community Futures Fund
25 grants total
$682,034
PopUp
grants
11 grants total
$30,000
Family Discretionary Fund
18 grants total
$135,000
board recognition
Discretionary Fund
5 grants total
$10,000
board
Discretionary Fund
38 grants total
$123,675
staff
Discretionary Fund
4 grants total
$17,500
YOUTH Collective impact
$985,269
Since 2014, Youth Collective Impact has provided collective impact resources to 109 collectives and 8 individuals. The Collective Impact model is owned by McConnell Foundation and is a partnership between Laidlaw Foundation and The Ministry of Children, Community, and Social Services. The program supports initiatives that address the areas of social justice, food justice, youth integration, youth with disabilities, to name a few. Nonprofits and groups come together with the help of a coach to define their common theory of change. Due to the graduated structure of the program, groups begin in the Exploration Phase and complete the program by the Execution phase.
ORGANIZATION NAME
AMOUNT
Food Justice Collaborative
Jane Finch Collective
on Youth Employment
Skills for Change
Northern Lights Collaborative
360 Kids - The York Region Collaborative to Reduce Youth Homelessness
Life Dojo (Syrian Canadian Foundation)
Rural Ottawa Youth
Mental Health Collective
Youth Justice Transformative Lab
Coalition for Alternatives for
Streaming in Education (CASE)
South Scarborough
Youth Action Group (SSYAG)
Deaf Youth Collective
$15,000
$60,000
$225,000
$60,000
$60,000
$50,000
$170,000
$15,000
$15,000
$15,000
$15,000
Syrian Canadian Foundation
In 2019–2020, the Syrian Canadian Foundation (SCF) conducted in-depth community consultations with Syrian youth to better understand their experiences since coming to Canada. Among the many findings, these stood out: youth are feeling unsafe, systematically discriminated against in schools and workplaces, more involved in gangs, and struggling with mental health. Suzanna Muir joined the SCF in April 2022 as Director of Operations and listened to youths’ stories.
“They often said, ‘Why did I come here? I left a war zone [for] another war zone. But now it’s gang warfare.…There’s people who hate me because I’m Syrian or Afghan.’ They also feel alienated… from the institutions in their neighbourhood like schools or workplaces. All of these challenges create this sense of alienation and not feeling like they belong in the community.”
The SCF team was already using a trauma-informed approach to do their work, to avoid exacerbating the unspeakable losses those they serve continue to face. So, they used that same approach to enact a two-way collaboration that builds trust and respect and helps youth recognize their own strengths and assets, such as their culture and language. And in 2020, Life Dojo was born.
Co-created with youth ambassadors, Life Dojo is a 12-week program that allows youth to participate in martial arts and boxing and to access on-site mental health workers, all within their Thorncliffe community.
The program is designed to equip youth with skills that include self-defense, problem-solving, and collaboration. Also, it makes youth feel more welcome, confident, and empowered. For an hour each week, a boxing coach teaches youth basic-level martial art movements. For another hour afterwards, youth eat together and discuss topics or have guest speakers.
From the very beginning, Laidlaw has been “an engaged partner” to SCF. “Laidlaw wants the collective impact but they support you through the process.… With [them], you feel like you’re building something together.” In fact, because of funding challenges, Laidlaw is now supporting the SCF in finding a new path forward.
Last year, Life Dojo ran successfully as a pilot and showed how the combination of mental health support and physical activity positively impacted youth. Muir remembers one youth who was disengaged when he first joined Life Dojo. But that gradually changed over time:
“[He said] Before, I would waste my days smoking marijuana. Since I started this program, it’s been four weeks since I smoked and I feel a renewed sense of purpose in my life. “
Life Dojo’s potential extends beyond the personal and reaches into the community. Youth strengthened the call for better support at school via their feedback, showing how they’ve become what Muir calls “agents of change”: “If they’re the ones who are saying, ‘Our school doesn’t care and we’re having a lot of problems with teachers,’ and the school responds by having a student voice forum where they could voice their concerns and all the staff have to sit and listen, then that’s impact.”
Indigenous Youth and Community Futures Fund
$682,034
Through the Indigenous Youth and Community Futures Fund (IYCFF), Laidlaw invests in opportunities for Indigenous youth to develop and lead projects where they are immersed in their lands, languages and cultures; participate in everyday acts of resurgence, reclamation and wellbeing; build relationships within and across Indigenous communities; and learn about and define for themselves what reconciliation means.
ORGANIZATION NAME
AMOUNT
Waabinong Head Start Family Resource Centre (Youth Odena)
Assembly of Seven Generations
Anna Feredounnia-Meawasige
(The Indigneous Support Project)
Denise Miller
(Revitalizing Our Sustenance)
Minwaashin Lodge Indigenous Women’s Support Centre
(Aunties on the Road: Indigenous Full Spectrum Doula Collective)
Alicia Williamson (Youth Voices)
Akinoomoshin Inc (Akinoomooshin Oshkiniijig Collective)
Endaayaan Awejaa
Webequie First Nation
(Webequie Youth Projects)
The Nimkii Youth Collective
Dwadewayehsta Gayogohono
Métis and Me (Samantha Loney)
$30,000
$30,000
$24,000
$30,000
$30,000
$30,000
$30,000
$30,000
$30,000
$30,000
$30,000
$30,000
$14,500
ORGANIZATION NAME
AMOUNT
Viola-Rose Day (Turtle Talks)
Rural Urban Learning Association (Anishinaabek Clans to Invoke our Nation)
Ecotrust Canada
(Wahkohtowin Development GP Inc.)
A’nowa:ra Owira Doulas
Ma’mo’weh Wii’soo’ka’tiwin (Kenora Chiefs Advisory)
Mishkeegogmang First Nation
(Missabay Community School)
CatalystsX
(Bawaating Child Welfare Warriors)
Manitou Youth Group Inc.
Centre for First Nations Governance
Seeds Change
(Ratinenhayen:thos- Kenhte:ke Seed Sanctuary and Learning Centre)
Sheshegwaning First Nation
Binaeshee-Quae Couchie-Nabigon (Unearthing)
Billy Parrell (Michif Stitch)
$12,500
$30,000
$30,000
$28,500
$30,000
$30,000
$30,000
$30,000
$30,000
$30,000
$30,000
$30,000
$20,500
Nimkii Youth Collective
To communities around the world, the land is not a neutral place; it is a place that has stories, histories, and pathways buried within it and embedded on its surface. There is a responsibility to practice reciprocity with the land — to care for it as it cares for its members. The Nimkii Youth Collective is one such community fulfilling this responsibility.
The Collective began in 2019, with Quinn Meawasige as one of its founding members. It represents the youth of Nimkii Aazhibikoong, a language community that practices Anishinaabemowin language and land-based revitalization as well as the arts.
The Collective’s project aims to revitalize their life and foodways as well as address traumas and loss of knowledge. Laidlaw funds this project through the Indigenous Youth and Community Futures Fund.
The project has two components: land and cultural revitalization and seasonal growing equipment. Anishinaabemowin (the Ojibwe language) is used to guide and inform their path forward.
Languages shift the way we interact with the world. Anishinaabemowin is heavily verb based. Everything is in motion. We are part of the movement, contributing to the happenings. The rivers flow; the rain comes and goes and has its own characteristics and stories to share. If we are not verbing, then we risk losing the knowledge and vocabulary that moves.
The seasonal equipment supports the growing community in doing harvesting activities effectively and successfully. This past fall, Quinn and the Nimkii Youth Collective were able to learn about harvesting, processing, and reseeding wild rice back into their land and waters.
“Harvesting from the land is more than just food and medicines, it’s the relationships we build and strengthen with ourselves, our families, our community, the lands and waters, our non-human kin.… Revitalizing this knowledge is nationhood, it’s nation-building. It is an expression of sovereignty. We work to lessen the burden that the next generation will inherit.”
This work is significant: Their community, Serpent River First Nation, has dealt with ongoing “devastation to our lands and waterways as a result of industry both on our First Nation reserve and territory.” Opened uranium mines in the 1950s eliminated fish downstream and two million litres of contaminated water from a tailing site at Rio Algom’s Stanleigh mine spilled into Elliot Lake in 1993 — just two examples that have left a trail of destruction.
“It wasn’t just our foodways that were impacted, it was our lifeways, our food culture, our future that will forever deal with the contaminants and devastation that took place.”
With Laidlaw’s support, the Nimkii Youth Collective’s capacity to strengthen their relationship to the land continues to grow, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Seeing the grocery stores emptied and food shortages rise, we knew that we had work to do in our community. Revitalizing our food systems and knowledge is strengthening the resilience of our communities.… The pandemic demonstrated to us what we already knew: We need to revitalize our food systems and knowledge.”
YOUTH actioN fund
$1,755,230
The Youth Action Fund (YAF) offers grants to grassroots initiatives working with youth who are underserved by the education system and overrepresented in the justice and child welfare systems. YAF prioritizes Black and Indigenous youth-led initiatives. The development of this fund was guided by a series of consultations with experts and advocates in the field.
ORGANIZATION NAME
AMOUNT
Peacebuilders International (Canada)
Assembly of Seven Generations
Endaayaan Awejaa
Think 2wice
FLOW Financial Literacy Online Workshop Management
Hey Black Girl!
PositiveVibes T.O.
IMPACT 'n Communities
Helping Hands Platform
$100,000
$100,000
$100,000
$100,000
$100,000
$100,000
$55,000
$100,000
$100,000
ORGANIZATION NAME
AMOUNT
Near North Mobile Media Lab
Somali Scholars
Children's Peace Theatre / River Rocks
Disability Justice Network of Ontario
Feathers of Hope
YAAACE
Amadeusz
Trust 15 Youth
Community Support Organization
Youth Taking Flight
Success Beyond Limits
$100,000
$45,000
$100,000
$100,000
$100,000
$100,000
$100,000
$100,000
$100,000
$100,000
capacity building
$56,037
Capacity Building provides professional development to Youth Action Fund recipients.
ORGANIZATION NAME
AMOUNT
Near North Mobile Media Lab
Feathers Of Hope
Delta Family Resource Centre
Child Welfare Political Action Committee Canada
The Remix Project / FYOU Project
Seven Directions Consulting
MusicLinks Community Canada
Harprit Gill
Paulina O'Kieffe
Kayla Carter
Endaayaan Awejaa
$2,088
$5,000
$3,500
$395
$3,615
$2,000
$3,307
$1,500
$750
$1,000
$4,000
ORGANIZATION NAME
AMOUNT
Theodore Syrette
Finding Our Power Together
Near North Mobile Media Lab
Helping Hands Platform
Assembly of Seven Generations
Amadeusz
Stolen from Africa
Near North Mobile Media Lab
For Youth Initiative in Toronto
Youth Taking Flight
Near North Mobile Media Lab
For Youth Initiative
$2,500
$3,500
$1,790
$714
$4,000
$3,371
$3,600
$1,018
$3,164
$3,600
$1,190
$437
Positive Vibes T.O.
In 2018, Shannyah Weekes was a student at Trent University who endured an all-too-familiar experience of Black university students — covert systemic racism. When it’s called out, there’s often disheartening dismissal, even from peers. “At one point I was fed up and I’m like, ‘You know what, if I can’t find a space, I’m going to create a space.’”
It was this lack of support that drove Weekes to found Positive Vibes T.O., an organization that supports Black youth in priority neighbourhoods through education, collaboration, and expression. Their principal program, Excel Youth, offers workshops on topics that include anti-Black racism, Black Canadian histories and more in order to help Black youth affirm their experiences and gain essential skills.
But it didn’t always have this focus. Weekes and her team, all of whom are Black, made the shift from a previous focus on racialized people generally. Like any other racialized group, Black people have needs that require specificity and space in order to be addressed. While the response to this shift was mostly positive, there was still another all-too-familiar response — pushback.
“We had to really stand firm on our mission… there’s not always spaces for us... Even when I started the organization in school, people were telling me that I was embodying segregation… and that’s not what I’m doing. As a white person, you can go in the street and feel welcome wherever you go. As a Black person we don’t always feel that way. We go into a room and we’re counting the number of Black people in the room because that’s our safety.”
While trying to figure out how to continue this work in this new direction, Weekes came across Laidlaw Foundation’s Youth Action Fund and successfully applied to it.
It was through this partnership that the program expanded to include Black people who have been involved with the justice or child welfare systems. Resumé-building, financial literacy, mock interviews, and entrepreneurship were just some of the new workshops that Positive Vibes T.O. was able to offer.
“There was a mutual understanding of what we do and also mutual respect for it because it’s something [Laidlaw] also wanted to see done.… They give us the space to be able to do [things] our way. Our identity won’t be shifted in the process…we’re still able to do what we set out to do in the way we usually do it.… We just feel like they have our back and they trust us to do this process, which I wouldn’t say for all grants.”
The Excel Youth program has given youth the opportunity to reconcile their needs with a tangible reality — a new-found sense of community and belonging. The proof is in the feedback, hugs, and stories from several youth with perfect attendance.
In the end, Weekes hopes to create an alumni program where youth who have already experienced Excel Youth can take on a new role and help those that come after them, keeping them connected to their communities and each other.
Anishnawbe Health Foundation
Traditional healing practices have been in direct conflict with colonization in Canada. Over time, they’ve been banned in some places, made illegal in others, and underfunded everywhere. A lot of knowledge has been pushed underground. As a result, practitioners themselves are few in number across Canada and the transfer of this knowledge to the next generation is jeopardized.
Anishnawbe Health Toronto and their Foundation aim to support the reclamation of traditional healing knowledge and practices in the name of community healing and thriving.
“One of the challenges is that Anishnawbe Health is one of the only health centres in Canada that has traditional healers full-time on staff...so, we really see how valuable the resource of traditional healers is to the community.”
Anishnawbe Health and Laidlaw first came together in 2018 during a fundraising dinner with former Senator Murray Sinclair, chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. As time went on, the partnership between the two foundations grew and they reconnected over a new Anishnawbe Health program that is currently funded by Laidlaw Foundation – a first-of-its-kind program that supports the training of Osh-ka-be-Wis or Traditional Helpers, future ceremonialists, and future healers to gain knowledge in traditional medicine and health including performing ceremonies.
Trust and reciprocity are necessary components of a healthy philanthropic partnership. Between Anishnawbe Health and Laidlaw that has looked like the former taking the lead while the latter follows that lead.
“Laidlaw is a good partner in terms of realizing that the strengths that Anishnawbe Health and traditional healing bring to supporting the community, the health of the community… they’re showing that by investing in this Indigenous-led solution of increasing the number of healers in Canada… by sharing their resources and bundle with Anishnawbe Health, they’re really allowing us to maximize the potential of those strengths within the community.”
This is especially important because Anishnawbe Health’s traditional healing training program doesn’t work like Western education:
“There’s the component of learning the knowledge, but there’s also a component of being given these gifts by Spirit and Creator. Even though the training program can provide this knowledge, there’s still some personal development in terms of becoming a healer. Anishnawbe Health is not trying to graduate healers from the program; they’re trying to share a foundation of knowledge with the next generation in the hopes that some of the students will eventually become healers.”
One of those aspects of personal development includes the relationship to the land. Usually, traditional healers use oral tradition and in-person ceremonies to facilitate many practices, such as sweat lodge. The COVID-19 pandemic has harmed that relationship, halted or required the adaptation of activities, and delayed the actual program.
Despite these challenges, Anishnawbe Health has found new elders and healers to join the training program; and credits Laidlaw for “trusting the timing” and prioritizing the health of these new recruits. With the a new home for Anishnawbe Health Toronto due to open this December on Cherry Street, in downtown Toronto, everyone at Anishnawbe Health is excited for the near future, and continuing to lead the way towards “culturally based and culturally safe” healthcare.
The YMCAs of Québec Alternative Suspension Social Impact Bond
School is not always a safe and welcoming place for young people. It can be a place where danger follows a student from classroom to classroom and beyond. A student who has many unwelcome experiences, over time, can eventually erupt, especially when there is a lack of support in the school.
This is the story of one student who was sent to the YMCAs of Québec Alternative Suspension program, which supports students who have been suspended from school to access support with things like schoolwork and building self-esteem. The focus is on counselling instead of punishment, to avoid pushing students out of the education system and into other systems.
This is the story of one student who was sent to the SIB program for three reasons: vaping at school, “making bad choices,” and being suspended for quite a few things they didn’t do.
When the student first entered the program, they were wary of the whole thing. But after speaking with some of the older kids who were also there, they became more comfortable talking about their journey.
“The other people there showed me that even though they had made even bigger mistakes, they were taking responsibility for them and trying to do better. Everyone talked about their mistakes and why they made those choices.”
What makes SIB programs unique is that they are based on outcomes: if the program meets the outcomes, investors such as Laidlaw receive a financial return from the government. Laidlaw can then use that capital to sustainably expand their initiatives and simultaneously strengthen the alignment between its investments and its commitment to supporting young people to achieve their full potential.
SIB programs play a big role in realizing that commitment and showing young people they have potential to begin with. People like Shane, an SIB program staff member, are less like superiors who discipline and more like mentors who care.
“[When Shane would take us all out for walks] I could tell that he really cared about what was happening to me. He didn’t make me feel like a bad kid, like they did at school.… [He] made me realize that I was cheating myself by getting in trouble…I had to change things for myself.”
And our student did. They not only started to feel good about themselves, but they also won a student-of-the-month award from their science teacher.
Unfortunately, sometimes past mistakes can overshadow current gains. Now back at school, the student feels like they’re being “watched” and “still labelled as not being a good kid,” which is impacting their wellbeing.
“There are teachers that I feel judge me because they know that I got in trouble in grade 8. I am struggling with subjects that used to be easy for me.... That makes it hard for me to be happy at school.”
Laidlaw’s continued support of the YMCAs of Québec SIB program proves that so much more is possible when students are seen and supported instead of labelled and punished.
Community Equity
& Solidarity Fund
$1,108,200
The relief fund addresses inequities in philanthropy and extends solidarities to communities impacted by the pandemic, as well as by racism, colonization, and systemic exclusions.
ORGANIZATION NAME
AMOUNT
Calgary Foundation -
Foundation for Black Communities
Indigenous Peoples Resilience Fund
ENAGB Youth Program
Anishnawbe Health Centre Foundation
$500,000
$500,000
$58,200
$50,000
popup grants
$30,000
The fight against climate change is at a turning point. Every day, young people are vocal and active on the urgency to address environmental issues. We see an opportunity to support youth concerned about the generational impact and legacies of climate change by creating change related to the environment in their communities.
Our planet needs us to act, urgently. Haudenosaunee philosophy states that words, work, and actions should reflect on the seven generations before us and consider those that come seven generations after us. When it comes to environmental issues, we want to amplify multiple perspectives including the leadership from Indigenous efforts and initiatives. To recognize this pressing issue, Laidlaw Foundation offered PopUp Grants up to $2,500 to support projects and events created by youth that address climate change.
ORGANIZATION NAME
AMOUNT
Stephon Pascall / WJA
(We'll Just Advance)
Kingston CHC /
Pathways to Education Kingston
Chris Frazer / Now Organic Farms
Kawartha World Issues Centre
History Allen / At Dem Medz
Pitch It Green / Green Career Centre
Norwin Anne Pabitu / w.a.s.t.e
Foodshed Project /
The Staghorg Buddies
Georgian Bay Mnidoo Gamii Biosphere / Youth Climate Collective
Jason McDonald / PMB 100
Generation of Leaders
$2,727
$2,727
$2,727
$2,727
$2,727
$2,727
$2,727
$2,727
$2,727
$2,727
$2,727
BOARD recognition
DISCRETIONARY Fund
$10,000
ORGANIZATION NAME
AMOUNT
The Hanley Institute -
(In recognition of Michael Trebilcock)
Dalla Lana School of Public
Health U of T - (In recognition of
Dr. Chandrakant P. Shah)
Nature Conservancy of Canada -
(In recognition of David P. Silcox)
Rosedale United Church “Ripple Refugee Project” -
(In recognition of Phillip Jessup)
Lincoln Alexander Law School - (In recognition of Professor Anver Saloojee)
$2,000
$2,000
$2,000
$2,000
$2,000
staff
DISCRETIONARY Fund
$17,500
ORGANIZATION NAME
AMOUNT
For Youth Initiative
Endaayaan Awejaa (5% inflation increase)
Near North Mobile Media Lab
(5% inflation increase)
Hey Black Girl! (5% inflation increase)
$2,500
5,000
5,000
5,000
BOARD
DISCRETIONARY Fund
$123,675
ORGANIZATION NAME
AMOUNT
Kids in Camp
Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion
Regional Multicultural
Youth Council (RMYC)
Ontario Water Centre
(The ClearWater Farm)
Daily Bread Food Bank
IMPACT 'n Communities
(5% inflation increase)
Helping Hands Platform
(5% inflation increase)
Somali Scholars (5% inflation increase)
PositiveVibes T.O (5% inflation increase)
Children's Peace Theatre (River Rocks) (5% inflation increase)
Disability Justice Network of Ontario
(5% inflation increase)
FLOW - Financial Literacy Online Workshop Management
(5% inflation increase)
Think 2wice (5% inflation increase)
Peacebuilders International (Canada)
(5% inflation increase)
Assembly of Seven Generations
(5% inflation increase)
Waabinong Head Start Family Resource Centre ( Youth Odena) (5% inflation increase)
Denise Miller (Revitalizing Our Sustenance) (5% inflation increase))
Minwaashin Lodge Indigenous
Women’s Support Centre (Aunties on the Road: Indigenous Full Spectrum Doula Collective)
Alicia Williamson (Youth Voices)
(5% inflation increase)
Endaayaan Awejaa (5% inflation increase)
$2,000
$10,000
$10,000
$3,000
$2,000
$5,000
$5,000
$2,250
$2,750
$5,000
$5,000
$5,000
$5,000
$5,000
$5,000
$1,500
$1,500
$1,500
$1,500
$1,500
ORGANIZATION NAME
AMOUNT
The Nimkii Youth Collective
(5% inflation increase)
Dwadewayehsta Gayogohono
(5% inflation increase)
Métis and Me (Samantha Loney)
(5% inflation increase)
Rural Urban Learning Association(Anishinaabek Clans to Invoke our Nation) (5% inflation increase)
Ecotrust Canada (Wahkohtowin Development GP Inc.) (5% inflation increase)
A’nowa:ra Owira Doulas
(5% inflation increase)
Ma’mo’weh Wii’soo’ka’tiwin (Kenora Chiefs Advisory) (5% inflation increase)
Mishkeegogmang First Nation
(Missabay Community School)
(5% inflation increase)
CatalystsX (Bawaating Child
Welfare Warriors) (5% inflation increase)
Manitou Youth Group Inc.
(5% inflation increase)
Centre for First Nations Governance
(5% inflation increase)
Seeds Change (Ratinenhayen:thos-Kenhte:ke Seed Sanctuary and
Learning Centre) (5% inflation increase)
Sheshegwaning First Nation
(5% inflation increase)
Binaeshee-Quae Couchie-Nabigon (Unearthing) (5% inflation increase)
Billy Parrell (Michif Stitch)
(5% inflation increase)
Toronto Foundation –
Nagpal Vir Family Foundation
Georgina Food Pantry
Weston Frontlines
$1,500
$1,500
$725
$1,500
$1,500
$1,425
$1,500
$1,500
$1,500
$1,500
$1,500
$1,500
$1,500
$1,500
$1,025
$10,000
$3,000
$10,000
FAMILY
DISCRETIONARY Fund
$135,000
ORGANIZATION NAME
AMOUNT
Brigs Youth Sail Training
Les Amis des Jardins de Métis Inc.
Canadian Music Centre
Green Learning Foundation Canada
Arts Canada Institute
Atwater Library
The Church of St Andrew and St Paul
Community Foundation Grey Bruce
Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy
The Ontario Historical Society
Our Town Food Bank
$55,000
$4,000
$4,000
$4,000
$2,000
$2,000
$4,000
$10,000
$5,000
$5,000
$2,000
ORGANIZATION NAME
AMOUNT
My Sister’s Place
Stevenson Memorial
Hospital Foundation
Camp Bucko
(Burn Camp for Kids in Ontario)
Alliston and District Humane Society
Christ Church Roches Point
The National Wildlife
Rehabilitation Foundation
The Glenn Gould School
(The Royal Conservatory of Music)
$2,000
$2,000
$2,000
$2,000
$10,000
$10,000
$10,000
We would like to recognize the many
contributors to this report, including
Kinmond Smith (Designer),
Claire Shannon-Akiwenzie (Digital Artist),
Jessica Campbell (Graphic Designer),
Jean Boampong (Copywriter),
and Dimitra Chronopoulos (Editor).