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A family walks outside in a wooded area.

About Us

Who We Are

Niagara Community Foundation is your philanthropic partner since 2000, helping to connect donors with causes, and communities to resources.

Our work is guided by five principles:
  1. Enable, collaborate and transform

    Enable community improvement by providing funds and community knowledge. Bring organizations together to form partnerships based on the respective strengths of each organization to focus on key community issues.

  2. Demonstrate philanthropic leadership

    Demonstrate expertise and best practice in philanthropic leadership.

  3. Put Niagara first

    Communicate and support the Niagara story. Build community leadership. Seek and develop individuals who will bring leadership to the community.

  4. Be trustworthy, transparent and accountable

    Engage in practices that are open, accessible, fair, objective, flexible, timely, accountable and measurable and built on a foundation of respect, trust, integrity and honesty.

  5. Ensure sound governance and management

    Ensure that the Niagara Community Foundation governance and management are sound, relevant, and realizes its full fiduciary responsibility. This includes maintaining our accreditation with Imagine Canada.

Niagara Community Foundation is one of 191 community foundations under the umbrella of Community Foundation's Canada.

To learn more about our history and how NCF got started in 2000, click here to read the story.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We acknowledge that the land on which we gather is the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples, many of whom continue to live and work here today. This territory is covered by the Upper Canada Treaties and is within the land protected by the Dish With One Spoon Wampum agreement. Today this area is home to many First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples and acknowledging reminds us that our great standard of living is directly related to the resources and friendship of Indigenous peoples.

What We Do

Our work can be simplified into three pillars:

As a community foundation, NCF helps donors create permanent, yet flexible endowment funds. We pool the charitable gifts of many donors into a permanent, income-earning endowment fund that benefits the people of Niagara and fulfills the philanthropic objectives of individual donors. We help donors give a charitable gift that will not only make an impact on the community today, but will leave a legacy in Niagara for ge

Supporting the causes that matter most to our donors while also meeting the greatest needs of our community, NCF provides grants to eligible Canadian charities. Through donor directed grants and our discretionary grants programs, NCF supports initiatives from health, education and social services to arts, culture and the environment. NCF empowers the charitable sector.

NCF provides leadership by bringing people together from all sectors to identify and address issues and to leverage opportunities in the region. We believe in the power of individuals and organizations working together to effect positive change in our communities. We encourage projects that promote self-sufficiency and long-term sustainability but we’re not afraid to experiment either. We recognize that innovation, creativity and entrepreneurialism are key contributors to success. We actively seek projects that have the potential for high impact, no matter how big or small they may be. We strive for excellence.

NCF is an accredited organization with Imagine Canada Standards; Canada's most widely recognized nonprofit standards providing best practices that help organizations strengthen governance and operations.

IC Standards

Team

Bryan Rose

Bryan Rose

Executive Director

Bryan is passionate about philanthropy and has fostered a deep and broad spectrum of experience during his 20+ year career in the charitable sector. A life-long resident of Niagara, Bryan has deep roots in the community, with a strong network of professional contacts and personal connections across the Region and beyond. He is a skilled team leader who believes in building enduring, genuine relationships rooted in personal integrity and a shared spirit of philanthropy. Bryan began his tenure as NCF’s Executive Director in 2016. His professional journey began at his alma mater, Ridley College, in a number of roles including Acting Director of Development and also spent two years as a Senior Development Officer (Major Gifts & Capital Campaign) with the Mohawk College Foundation. He holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from Western University's Huron University College (2000) and a Master of Arts in Leadership from the University of Guelph (2014). Bryan and his wife Andrea live in Beamsville with their daughter and son.

JoAnne Krick

Director, Grants and Community Initiatives

Orla Fitzpatrick Newhouse

Manager, Philanthropic Services

Suzanne Veenstra

Marketing & Communications Coordinator

Amanda Galley

Accountant, Durward Jones Barkwell & Company LLP

Board of Directors

The Foundation's Board of Directors is composed of leading citizens from across Niagara. These individuals bring a wealth of skills and expertise to their work for the Foundation. Many also volunteer in leadership positions with charities and not-for-profits throughout Niagara.

Executive

Michael Lethby

Michael Lethby

Chair

Born and raised in Niagara, Mike worked in the local auto sector before graduating Brock University with an honours B.A. in Political Science and History. Mike also holds a Master's degree in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario. Mike is currently the Executive Director of the Niagara Resource Service for Youth (The RAFT) a not-for profit agency in the Niagara region working with youth and their families.

Mike is an innovative leader working to create a systemic approach to addressing youth issues and youth homelessness in Niagara. He is a principal actor in moving the region’s youth service model from a reactive institutional crisis model to a preventative community model. Mike has overseen the development and implementation of Youth Reconnect (School based homelessness prevention) and Eternal Routes (Kinship finding and connection) programs as well as launching Niagara’s Housing First for Youth response. Currently, he is overseeing a shelter diversion program which is showing great promise in reducing homelessness and managing a social enterprise Fresh Paint, in collaboration with Tradeworx, to help youth build skills and earn income in the trades.

  • Vice-Chair

    Natasha DiCienzo

  • Treasurer

    Bill Crumm

  • Secretary

    Bryan Rose

  • Past-Chair

    Michael Mann

Directors

Natalie Apparicio-Farrell
Linda Boich
Marisa Brown
Chris DiLalla

Jennifer Feren
Ann Godfrey
Brian Kon
Mike Lethby
April Mitchell-Boudreau

Kithio Mwanzia
Maggie Penca
Don Stewart
Joanna Stubbs
Denise Tulk

Volunteer

The contributions of time and talent of our volunteers is the ‘intangible wealth’ of NCF. Each year NCF’s volunteers collectively contribute over 1,500 hours to the work of the Foundation. We could not do the work that we do without our volunteers.

There are two main ways to get involved with NCF:
  1. Board of Directors
  2. Working Committees
  • Grants
  • Finance
  • Governance
  • Investment
  • Nominating
  • Community Leadership
  • Special Projects
  • Local Community Fund Committees

If you are interested in joining our Board of Directors or a working committee, please reach out to learn more.

Email Us to Learn More

Please note, NCF does not have volunteer positions available for community service projects, such as event planning or administrative tasks. We encourage those interested in volunteering in this capacity to contact 211 to learn about volunteer opportunities in your community.

Volunteers walking infront of NCF Commemorative Garden