WESTLOCK – Early in the text of the Westlock Community Foundation’s (WCF) first-ever 20-page annual report released to the public at the end of June, board chairman Wayne Peyre states that the work they’ve done over last 22 months has been analogous to a duck, as on the surface it appears they’ve been “just gliding along peacefully” while under the surface “there is a hell of a lot of hard work paddling like fury to stay afloat.”
On June 29, Peyre, along with recently-hired foundation executive director Katie Robertson and mayor Ralph Leriger, who’s also a foundation board member and was involved with Peyre, among others, in the initial taskforce that laid the groundwork for the WCF, spent close to 25 minutes talking about not only that “paddling”, but the “incredible journey” to get to where they are and the realization that by this time next year they’ll begin handing out grant dollars to Westlock-area community groups.
For the uninitiated, the WCF is a direct result of Albert and Florence Miller (Albert passed away in March 2020 and Florence passed away in November 2019) who bequeathed “the bulk” of their estate, valued in the $7-to-$7.5-million range, to the Town of Westlock that has become the nest egg for the WCF. In September 2021, Leriger and Peyre made the stunning announcement on the “game changing donation for the community” and the formation of the foundation, while in nearly two years since, another $250,000 has been pledged — the most recent $200,000 came in early June from the defunct Westlock Literacy and Learning Centre that will be used to distribute annual grants of up to $10,000 to organizations dedicated to promoting literacy, fostering a love for learning, and advancing educational initiatives.
With the WCF’s inaugural annual general meeting held June 28, along with the release of the first annual report, Peyre understands that people are “going to start getting impatient” and want to know “what’s happening, what are the next steps and when are you going to start giving money away.” That said, Peyre’s opening statement in the report makes it crystal clear that, “the key to this model is the ability to pool capital and earn returns on a tax-free basis that can be invested back” into the community.
“I think that people may not recognize that the first time we actually saw any funds was last September as that’s when we saw our first tranche come through then and then our second tranche came through in February of this year. So, the actual amount of time that those funds have had to work and create investment returns is very limited,” Peyre explained. “So, we’re still foreseeing the first run of our community grants in mid-2024.”
“If the premise, and it is, is to keep the capital and then to invest the returns, then it has to have time to grow,” added Leriger.
The work that’s been done
Leading up to that date, Peyre said the most pressing work on their collective plate is “putting together the processes and procedures around the granting” and then “putting together the team that will help make those decisions” so that the foundation continues to make an impact on the community “50-plus years down the road.”
But Robertson also made it clear that when the grants do start flowing “it won’t be their first cheques” pointing out that it was due to the existence of the WCF that the community was able to access funds via the federal government’s Community Services Recovery Fund (CSRF) — Peyre noted that they’re currently in the process of funneling $210,000 to 10 community organizations in the region to help them recover from the impacts of the pandemic.
Leriger also said that participating in the CSRF opened their eyes to “a pretty robust criteria and program” and although the WCF’s granting process “won’t be exactly the same” there was “a lot that we learned from it.
“I don’t look at that as a challenge,” said Robertson point blank on creating the template. “I think for us why it’s going to take a little longer time is that this board has been very intentional in all of the ways it works with the community and there’s going to be a longer engagement process. It’s not necessarily the board that’s going to make the decisions on how the money is going out, it will be made by the community. We are putting together what that looks like and how we can implement it so it’s what the community needs and meets their expectations.”
Robertson said the typical community foundation application process has been “very cumbersome” and very “resource heavy” and that by the time the application is made, the money has “already been spent on the application process.” But with a new foundation built from scratch, she said they’re in a “unique position to be leaders” for community foundations across Canada and “show people that this is what you can do when you stop for a minute and think about the impact that you want to have.”
“So, there’s a space for us as a community foundation to really be leaders in making it accessible and making it equitable and making the process inclusive,” Robertson continued. “So, that means consulting with community organizations about what that looks like and involving community members about where they see this money going. The fact of the matter is that a community foundation is for the community, not for the board members. And I think that’s where we can be leaders … involving the community more and making it feel that it’s their foundation.”
Peyre also said that a “place he’d like to get to” is an ongoing community assessment where they compile data on the “diverse needs of the region” and also made a point of saying that they’ll fine-tune their endowment policies so people know that “opportunities exist” for folks who want to emulate the Millers.
“This can be as expansive as we want, or we just focus on one thing. One thing about community foundations is depth and breadth. Yes, we definitely want to help the ‘dire needs’, but also how do we prevent those things from happening in the first place?” Robertson explained. “There’s a space for us there and it’s things like recreation for example, those social determinants of health. The more of those things that get funded, the less we’ll have of those ‘dire needs’ because they won’t pop up as much.”
“And that’s why economic prosperity is one of the keys behind this. If you have a prosperous area, you’re better able to take care of your citizens,” added Peyre.
A unique model
One other area that all three spoke glowingly of is the governance model, which will include 20 to 50 members (they currently have 30, which includes the original 10-member board) whose “key role” is to act as custodians of the foundation’s “purpose” and protect “why it was formed and what impact it is trying to make.”
Peyre called the governance model the foundation’s “superpower” and that members will act like a senate to provide sober second thought and ensure major decisions are in line with the initial intentions of the foundation. Robertson also called them “ambassadors for not only the foundation, but the community as a whole.”
“The members are who will keep us accountable and make sure we’re following through on our mission and goals, but they are also resources in that they’re hearing what’s going on the community and letting the community know what we’re doing,” said Peyre, who wants to see the roster expanded to include more of the community’s youth.
“Having such a large group also helps protect us from special-interest groups. We’ve built the membership to be as diverse as we can,” said Leriger.
“Diversity is really our superpower. The way that it’s set up, a special-interest group would have a hard time taking it over,” Peyre chimed in.
All three town councillors, including Leriger, will be coming off the foundation board this year but will remain as members, which Peyre said is critical to remove any hint of politicization of the grants.
“Ultimately, making the membership broader is what’s going to help grow the fund,” added Leriger. “And it’s working, just look at the literacy fund that we’ve been able to start.”
