Can high school students become philanthropists? Foundation Board member thinks so.

SwP thumbnail graphicBy Pepper Parr

September 19th, 2016

BURLINGTON, ON

 

An interesting idea cropped up during our interview with Tim Cestnick, the newest member of the Burlington Foundation, which most of you will remember as the former Burlington community Foundation.

New members of any board need to take a little time to settle in and get a sense as to how the board has run in the past. Tim Cestnick and Tim Hogarth go back some time – both are polished senior executive types that know how to think through problems and take a strategic look at what the objective is. And both are now board members of the Foundation. Hogarth has been on the board for a period of time.

foundation-lansberg-speakingThe Foundation recently went through a re-branding and is well into the roll out of their Mental Health Awareness work they have been doing the past two years. They have a major speaker. Michael Landsberg,  in town in October.

The number of Endowments they manage grows steadily as does the assets under administration – $10.7 million now.

The organization is readying itself for its Annual Gala that is being chaired by Rick Burgess this year. The event will be held at the Performing Arts centre on October 22nd.

foundation-gala-2016foundation-gala-dateThe Gala is a major fund raising event that covers the operational costs of the Foundation.

Every organization that relies on the public needs to constantly refresh itself and while a brand change perhaps perks things up a little, the meat is in the ideas they come forward with. And this is where Cestnick’s thoughts on just what philanthropy is all about are very relevant.

The vast majority of the people out there would say that people with a lot of money can become philanthropists – Cestnick doesn’t see it that way. He thinks we can tech people at the high school level to think in terms of being philanthropists.

“Why can’t a high school student can’t set aside a small sum each year and make that their philanthropic donation – something that would be built on each year?

We have United Way for that might be a response – and it is a good one.

If one looks at the annual Terry Fox run that takes place in Burlington every year you get a sense of how a public will take to an idea; how they will respond to something that changed the way they see the world.

young-philanthropist

Others are already involving their youth in philanthropic ventures.

Philanthropy allows that kind of thing. The United Way seeks funds to provide services. The Burlington Foundation came to the realization that we need to look at Mental Health differently and bring it in out of the cold where it wasn’t talked about – we just felt sorry for those who were experiencing bad mental health.

The Foundation now has a program in place that has people talking about mental health and what has to change in the way we deal with this now growing social problem. That hasn’t been the kind of work that organizations like the United Way are doing. This is not to take anything away from what the United Way does – we could not survived as a caring society if we did not have the United Way in place.

cestnick-cropped

Tim Cestnick newest Burlington Foundation Board member.

Tim Cestnick talks in terms of people needing to “feel” it when they are donating money. You give something up, you do without something you enjoy when you choose to make a philanthropic donation.

If I understood Tim Cestnick correctly he is interested in introducing people to the idea that there is something biblical about philanthropy and I got the impression it was something he might try to get on the Foundation agenda.

It will be interesting to see if this goes anywhere – it should.

 

Related article:

Cestnick appointed to Burlington Foundation board.

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