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Survey indicates OCF is doing all the right things by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver 13 | Thursday, July 7, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com The Oakville Community Foundation (OCF) is making a significant difference in the community, according to results of its recent fundholder survey. Outcomes of the poll were released at the June 21 OCF 21st annual general meeting, held at the Sheridan College Conference Centre. Eighty-seven per cent of the foundation's fundholders (41 of 125 participated in the full survey) said the group was having a positive impact in Oakville. The same percentages of fundholders are satisfied or very satisfied with how OCF manages their contributions. Conducted in four stages, from March 14-April 13, the online survey was done to understand the fundholders' satisfaction with the services they're currently receiving, to gain insight on the types of programs and events they want to see and encourage them to self-identify as a willing participant in future discussions. Ray Kong, Ipsos Loyalty executive vicepresident Canada, presented the findings as the event keynote speaker. "There is very high satisfaction with the way this foundation operates," said Kong. "When we asked for words to describe the staff and operations of the foundation, the overwhelming words that came out were it was having a positive impact on Oakville, 83 per cent said it was connecting with issues and causes that matter, while 93 per cent stated it was the foundation's impact on a specific issue or cause. "One of the things we found really interesting when we saw those results was a model we talk about with some organizations, the six faces of philanthropy, which is really about human behaviour," said Kong. "It's trying to understand the reasons why individuals give or reasons why they get involved in charitable work." Kong noted there were three topics of interest for OCF fundholders in the survey -- local charities, trends in philanthropy and investment trends, opportunities and markets. "We'll let the charities that are represented here tell you about the great work they do, more capably than we could ever do," said Kong. Canada-wide, Ipsos found 50 per cent of Canadians polled preferred to support local Ray Kong, Ipsos Loyalty executive vice-president Canada, was the keynote speaker at the recent Oakville Community Foundation (OCF) annual general meeting. | photo by Nathan Howes - special to the Beaver causes, while 37 per cent chose national charities and 13 per cent aided international groups. One of the things Ipsos discovered in the field of philanthropy is "there is no shortage of causes," Kong said, and having a decisive strategic direction is "absolutely vital" for organizations to direct their resources. While there is a cause for everybody, there is a difference between what Canadians generally want to support and what the OCF wishes to contribute to, he stated. "One of the good and bad things is that there is a cause for everybody. There are many causes out there. We can also talk about seniors, homelessness, newcomers, First Nations and arts and culture," said Kong. Results of the OCF fundholder survey yielded preferred support for children and youths (59 per cent), mental health and health care (54 per cent) and poverty (39 per cent), as indicated in the comments. see OCF on p.15 focused, energized, professional, responsive and progressive." Ninety per cent of the fundholders came to OCF because they wanted its help in overseeing their contributions, 86 per cent joined because Interlocking Tumblestone, Retaining Walls, Garden Installation, Sodding & Excavating, Call for FREE Estimate plus more (905) 827-8158 · www.rogerslandscaping.org