BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS
WECF works with local charities, allowing people to leave their legacy
Thousands of people flock each year to see the Canada geese and other wildfowl resting at the world-renowned Jack Miner Migratory Bird Sanctuary.
“Because Jack Miner’s is one of those places that has always been here, some people might not think we ever need anything,” says Mary Baruth of the sanctuary that was founded in 1904 in Kingsville.
As the executive director of the Jack Miner Migratory Bird Foundation, Baruth and her team are very aware the registered charitable organization is dependent on grants, donations and interest earned on legacies left in supporters’ estates.
“To grow the Jack Miner Migratory Bird Foundation,” Baruth says, “we entered into partnership with the Windsoressex Community Foundation (WECF) two years ago.”
The aim is to reach people interested in leaving endowments to support the sanctuary’s conservation work. “That is how the Jack Miner foundation really started, with people leaving a legacy for us.”
WECF holds endowment funds, says its executive director Lisa Kolody, “so the money invested with us stays with us forever. We grant off the interest to the appointed charities. Donors can give to the fund, knowing their contributions are secure. And the charities know they will continue to have money they can count on. By setting up endowments for charities through our Leave a Legacy campaign, WECF helps them plan for the future.”
Currently, WECF is working with numerous local charities, including the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA), the Canadian Mental Health Association – Windsor Essex County Branch, the Jack Miner Migratory Bird Foundation, People First of Ontario, the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Windsor Essex, and Sunshine Point Camp.
Partnering with WECF “is a terrific way to highlight what is going on at Jack Miner’s as well as ERCA and other organizations in Windsor and Essex County,” Baruth notes. “Being attached to such a great organization like WECF brings us to a whole new level. Part of the reason Jack Miner’s is coming back to the forefront is people can see we are connected and collaborating with other groups.”
As its endowment process takes flight, the Jack Miner Migratory Bird Foundation is expanding its goals for the sanctuary. “We’ve talked about establishing, at some point, a Jack Miner scholarship for a college or university student,” Baruth says.
Jack Miner’s is delighted “people have contacted us because of our Leave a Legacy brochure that WECF created for us,” she says. “WECF is helping bring us top of mind (with donors). We want to be around forever, perpetuating Jack’s legacy.”
ERCA: Protecting natural environment, green spaces
Planning for the future while building long-term financial security is also vital to ERCA. Far-seeing supporters are assisting in the protection of the local natural environment and green spaces by Leaving a Legacy through WECF.
Kingsville historian Alvira Wigle looked forward by remembering ERCA in her will. After the retired
librarian and committed volunteer passed away in 2017, she “left our community with a wonderful legacy when she bequeathed her estate to the Essex Region Conservation Foundation,” says Richard Wyma, executive director of ERCA. “She wanted to ensure that the Carolinian species in her property were preserved in perpetuity and chose us as the guardians of this legacy.”
A new eight-acre conservation area is being established on the Wigle property in Kingsville.
“I think Alvira chose ERCA to protect her family’s legacy because it straddled her own interest in human history and her late husband’s passion for agriculture, science and nature,” says Janet Cobban of her friend. “She was a volunteer in ERCA’S early years and she respected the dedication of the people she met there.”
Wigle’s generosity also extended to the John R. Park Homestead in Harrow. Part of her estate will be used to support a new Heritage Centre, scheduled for construction in 2020. Her thoughtful gift will help ensure the protection of human and natural heritage.
Investment adviser Phil Horn understood the value of sound financial planning. After his passing in 2013, the Essex Region Conservation Foundation received his gift of securities, donated to help construct the Cypher Systems Group Greenway, a 26-kilometre trail that connects Essex with Amherstburg and intersects with the existing Chrysler Canada Greenway. The foundation named the trail at the Maidstone Conservation Area the Darlene and Phil Horn Nature Trail.
“He shared his love of the outdoors with his family and friends, and we are incredibly grateful for his generous gift that will allow generations to come to connect with nature through our regional greenway trail system,” Wyma says.
Horn’s widow observes: “As parents and grandparents, we had often discussed how to raise a financially aware family, how to instil a sense of obligation to environmental causes, how to illustrate philanthropy and how the family can make a positive impact,” Darlene says. “It was my family’s honour to assist the foundation’s efforts to encourage the community to spend more time outdoors, to project and improve our local environment, to promote healthy living, to increase tourism and provide leads to economic development and to create a sustainable community.”
The year before her husband died, Darlene remembers him remarking the world had not seen the best of him yet.
Horn’s legacy guarantees his community will continue to benefit from his generosity and vision.
CMHA: Mental health education as ‘core service’
When considering which charities to support, it can be easy to overlook the agencies providing services that receive government funding. In order for residents to receive wide-ranging healthcare, fundraising has always been necessary.
“Mental health education is a core service at the Canadian Mental Health Association, Windsor-essex County Branch (CMHA-WECB) delivered as part of the Sole Focus Project. Currently, this is not a government-funded program. As such, CMHA-WECB continues to fundraise to ensure this valuable program is delivered in this community,” says Kim Willis, the organization’s director, communications and mental health promotion.
“In our commitment to the longevity, sustainability and legacy of the Sole Focus Project, an endowment fund
has been established at the Windsor-essex Community Foundation. This is an invaluable partnership that we have invested in and ensures that there is a steady flow of funds to deliver the program for future generations. We know there is no health without mental health, and education and awareness about mental health and addictions are critical to early intervention and identification,” Willis says.
“Charitable organizations are seldom fully funded and have ongoing needs that are always arising,” Kolody says. To make people more aware of that fact, “we want to help tell the story of the impact these agencies have in our community. By building partnerships among charities and donors, everyone benefits.”