Hamilton Community Foundation (HCF) Annual Report

Message from the Board Chair and President & CEO

We are pleased to present our 2022-23 annual report. “Bold moves” aren’t new to the Foundation; they have characterized the work it supports and its community leadership for decades. Bold moves aren’t always the ones that land with a big splash, but they are those that take on new ways of doing things, that use resources differently, and that compel us to rethink, unlearn, disrupt and provoke in service of our community.

What most bold moves have in common is that they require courage — from partners, donors and ourselves — and it is this attribute that HCF’s Board wanted to capture in a new set of values that they developed this year and that guide us in everything we do.

HCF’S VALUES

Approved 2023

Working toward justice, diversity and inclusion requires us to centre the wisdom, knowledge and needs of those who have been and continue to be systemically marginalized and oppressed. We are committed to working toward allyship and to amplifying their voices.
We recognize that supporting Indigenous self-determination involves new ways of working, dismantling of settler colonial structures and a shift to relational work. We are working toward relationships with Indigenous communities that are grounded in reciprocity, ongoing and intentional relationship-building, mutual respect and trust.
Trying new things requires a willingness to take risks and to act with authenticity and conviction, even in the face of resistance. It also requires humility and learning new ways of being, along with a willingness to unlearn behaviours that no longer serve our mission.
We gather knowledge and make decisions that are relevant to our community and have impact in meeting its needs. This requires us to listen and to be adaptable.
We steward resources and relationships with care and transparency. This requires us to honour our obligations and take responsibility for our decisions and actions, even as we experiment and learn.
Creating a just and vibrant city requires collective action and collective responsibility. We multiply our impact when we work together.

In closing, we want to take a moment to say thank you to Annette Aquin, Executive Vice-President of Finance and Operations, who has retired after 22 years with the Foundation. Annette has not only been the architect of impact investing at HCF, but has contributed enormously to its growth among Canadian community foundations.

We hope you enjoy these highlights of HCF’s 2022-23 activities and the stories of some of the many donors and partners without whom none of this work would be possible. As always, we thank you for all you are doing to build a vibrant, diverse and inclusive Hamilton.