City of
Neighbours
ANNUAL REPORT 2024
City of
Neighbours
ANNUAL REPORT 2024
City of
Neighbours
ANNUAL REPORT 2024
How do we influence a broader agenda on the importance of social connection? We’re a community foundation in the biggest city in Canada where people are unbearably lonely. We’re still surrounded by wealth as inequalities deepen and donors expect their dollars to go farther. As we craft our next strategic plan, we’ll be looking at all the levers of power we can pull to affect change and bring us together again.
– Sharon Avery, 2023 annual report
That was the close of my last annual report letter.
It reminds me that change takes time and it takes commitment too. We spent a good part of 2024 quietly building out our next five-year strategic plan.
It all started with The Power of Us, a rallying cry spurred by one stand-out statistic from our research: Toronto is one of the loneliest places in the country. This alarming and yet resonant fact took hold across the city inspiring many to act. For us it became the raison d’être of our new plan.
I’m excited to introduce you to our new vision for Toronto: “A City of Neighbours.” We learned through our work last year that many residents continue to be socially isolated and that community organizations are going beyond the call – and with strained resources – to meet the needs. We also learned that there is a huge appetite and a lot of creativity – from the grassroots up – to be part of the solution. For our part, we’ve built out a deliberate plan for people to come together to make our city better.
So what are those levers of power I referenced in my last year-end message? They show up in the priorities of our new strategic plan, with our intention to optimize three forms of capital:
Financial Capital
Financial Capital
Knowledge Capital
Knowledge Capital
Social Capital
Social Capital
While we hadn’t articulated them yet in 2024, like all good plans they took root well before we put pen to paper.
Financial Capital
Grants to
1,074 groups
28
initiatives
Granting
We granted to 1,074 groups and saw a higher percentage of giving going to Indigenous-led and serving and Black-led and serving organizations.
Social Impact Investing
We’ve invested over $14M dollars through 28 initiatives, with three new ones in 2024, including contributing to Canada’s first and North America’s largest LGBTQ+ Fund.
36%
invested responsibly
Strong and Responsible Investing
36% of our assets are now invested responsibly and what’s more, with a 14.6% return rate last year, our fundholders are positioned to grant more generously than they ever have.
Financial Capital
Financial Capital
Grants to
1,074 groups
Granting
We granted to 1,074 groups and saw a higher percentage of giving going to Indigenous-led and serving and Black-led and serving organizations.
28
initiatives
Social Impact Investing
We’ve invested over $14M dollars through 28 initiatives, with three new ones in 2024, including contributing to Canada’s first and North America’s largest LGBTQ+ Fund.
36%
invested responsibly
Strong and Responsible Investing
36% of our assets are now invested responsibly and what’s more, with a 14.6% return rate last year, our fundholders are positioned to grant more generously than they ever have.
Knowledge Capital
Our first short-form Toronto’s Vital Signs Report
revealed an overlooked growth story with 700,000 more Torontonians saying they were struggling to get by. We reflected on the growing vulnerability in the city and how the charitable sector is coping amidst rising service demands and falling donations.
The Hidden Cohort
The experience of twentysomethings in our city struck a chord. Our research brief revealed the disproportionate challenges faced by young people in Toronto and shared how collective action now can mitigate the future fallout.
Knowledge Capital
Our first short-form Toronto’s Vital Signs Report
revealed an overlooked growth story with 700,000 more Torontonians saying they were struggling to get by. We reflected on the growing vulnerability in the city and how the charitable sector is coping amidst rising service demands and falling donations.
The Hidden Cohort
The experience of twentysomethings in our city struck a chord. Our research brief revealed the disproportionate challenges faced by young people in Toronto and shared how collective action now can mitigate the future fallout.
Social Capital
Power of Us Microgrants
35 neighbourhood-level groups helped people reconnect and even make new friends thanks to small yet catalytic microgrants fueled by several Power of Us funders and managed by Volunteer Toronto.
Connecting Indigenous leaders and fundholders
We partnered with Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council (TASSC) on an intimate evening for the purpose of creating personal connections. Working across issue areas such as housing, employment, arts and mental health, this annual event brought together our community organization partners and donors for conversation and reciprocal learning.
Social Capital
Power of Us Microgrants
35 neighbourhood-level groups helped people reconnect and even make new friends thanks to small yet catalytic microgrants fueled by several Power of Us funders and managed by Volunteer Toronto.
Connecting Indigenous leaders and fundholders
We partnered with Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council (TASSC) on an intimate evening for the purpose of creating personal connections. Working across issue areas such as housing, employment, arts and mental health, this annual event brought together our community organization partners and donors for conversation and reciprocal learning.
We will continue to pull these three levers so that this is a city where people support one another and our shared spaces and places. With resources, knowledge and relationships, we have what we need for everyone to thrive and belong.
I hope you enjoy reviewing our annual wrap-up from 2024. And I welcome you to join us as we advance our ambitious new plan for Toronto. There will be a place for everyone. Stay tuned.
From one neighbour to another,
Sharon
MOMENTS THAT MADE US PROUD
Canada’s #1
equitable funder
We are honoured to have made Future of Good’s inaugural top-tier of Canada’s Top 50 Equitable Funders.
We share this recognition with those who have partnered, pushed and guided us along the way. We're encouraged by the recognition and will strive to keep doing better.
We reached
1,000 fundholders
We’re proud to be the community foundation in Canada with the youngest and most diverse donors—all committed to building a better city.
Fundholder, Fran Deacon, epitomized that dream. A member of our founding family, Fran passed away in 2024 after a lifetime of volunteering and philanthropy. We're celebrating her legacy.
MOMENTS THAT MADE US PROUD
Canada’s #1
equitable funder
We are honoured to have made Future of Good’s inaugural top-tier of Canada’s Top 50 Equitable Funders.
We share this recognition with those who have partnered, pushed and guided us along the way. We're encouraged by the recognition and will strive to keep doing better.
We reached
1,000 fundholders
We’re proud to be the community foundation in Canada with the youngest and most diverse donors.
Fundholder, Fran Deacon, epitomized that dream. A member of our founding family, Fran passed away in 2024 after a lifetime of volunteering and philanthropy. We're celebrating her legacy.
DID YOU KNOW?
We manage investable assets for charities
In fact, we provide this service for over 40 organizations. Last year their collective investment earnings amounted to close to $24M. Our tools can support the sector’s short, medium or long-term investment earning needs.
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FIND OUT MORE
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