INTRODUCTION TO OUR FOUNDATION

The Napanee District Charitable Foundation (NDCF) came into being in December, 1987 with an establishing donation of $100,000 gifted from the estate of Edgar Creighton Hogarth.

Mr. Hogarth, a prominent local businessman and community leader, operated Hogarth’s Book and China shop in downtown Napanee until his passing on April 14, 1962.

No ordinary book or gift store, the business location at 16 Dundas Street East (Where Ellena`s Café is located today) was, among other remarkable things, the textbook supply centre for all of Lennox and Addington`s primary and secondary schools.

In January 1987, the donation was deposited in the Royal Bank of Canada by sons and estate executors, Murray and Don Hogarth to become a perpetual commemoration of their father and the Hogarth family.

Patterned on the Hamilton Foundation (formed in the 1950s, our new foundation was officially created with issuance of Letters Patent by the Ontario Ministry of Government & Consumer Services on Tuesday, December 8, 1987.  The Town of Napanee (population: about 5,000 at the time) became one of the very few small Ontario  towns to be home to its own community foundation.

That first “Hogarth Family Fund” was our Foundation’s jumpstart.

From then until 2014, we were an all-volunteer enterprise.

The superb dedication and effectiveness of the original and subsequent volunteer Boards of Directors, committees and supporters is evidenced by following the growth of our endowed funds. Annual average growth: $123,000.

On November 14, 2000, our Letters Patent were amended to change the word “Charitable” to “Community” in our name – and we became the Napanee District Community Foundation.

The first paid Executive Director and Administrative Assistant were hired in the Spring of 2013.  That team was succeeded – first, on January 1, 2015, by our current Administrative Assistant (Darlene Kirkpatrick) – followed on November 4, 2015 by our previous Executive Director (Tom Derreck).

The Team’s mandate: Professional administration of the Foundation’s business affairs and . . . “Get the word out”.

Being a small, resource-limited and all-volunteer organization for 26 of its 30 years, our Foundation’s presence and activities – though highly prized among donors and beneficiaries of our work were, by the Fall of 2015, still little known in the broader community . . . and particularly beyond the borders of Greater Napanee.

Something needed doing about that.

The “Bridging to Extraordinary” community collaboration event was convened on Saturday, October 22 at the Selby Community Hall and attended by 50 invited representatives from Napanee and regional community and service organizations, municipalities, businesses, educational institutions, youth support agencies and others.

Objectives:

• ATTRACT AND ENGAGE A ROOMFUL OF COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES WHO WOULD NEVER AGAIN BE IN A POSITION TO SAY THAT THEY KNEW LITTLE OR NOTHING ABOUT OUR FOUNDATION.
• TO ENCOURAGE AND CREATE PARTNERSHIPS THROUGH WHICH COMMON CONCERNS MIGHT BE COOPERATIVELY ADDRESSED. (E.G. CREATE A SHARED REGIONAL VOLUNTEER POOL; CO-OPERATE AND SHARE THE WORK AND BENEFITS OF LARGE-SCALE FUNDRAISERS TO LESSEN THE EFFECTS OF ALL OF US SEEKING FINANCIAL AND OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS FROM A FINITE AVAILABILITY OF DONORS).
• PLUMB THE KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCES AND IDEAS OF ATTENDEES RE: HOW TO GO ABOUT A REBRANDING EXERCISE AND AVOID EXPENDING SCARCE TIME AND RESOURCES “REINVENTING THE WHEEL”.
• PERHAPS IN THE DOING OF 1, 2 AND 3 ABOVE, ASSIST ATTENDEES TO GAIN INSIGHTS THAT WOULD BENEFIT THEIR ORGANIZATIONS.
• RUN A PROFESSIONALLY “FUN” EVENT FOR WHICH THE FOUNDATION WILL BE REMEMBERED.

At the day’s end, the outcome was a recorded assembly of 132 go-forward suggestions and recommendations.

The original `leaping figure` design was created in 2008 by the grand daughter of former President and voluntary Executive Director, Tom Thompson.
Mr. and Mrs. Thompson – now residents of British Columbia – are the donors of one of our endowment funds. (The Tom Thompson Music Fund).

The logo remained in use true to the original rendition until the early months of 2015, when coloured variants were tried – resulting in the banner version displayed in our information kit.

“Philanthropy isn’t actually about money.
It’s about feeling the needs of others and
caring enough to help out”

From Timothy Pina