RBC Foundation announces additional financial support to finalists.

Nov. 23, 2018 (Ottawa, ON) – The Ottawa Community Foundation (OCF) presented a cheque for $125,000 to the Ottawa Community Housing Foundation and Global Vision yesterday as part of its New Leaf Community Challenge. The winning organizations, which were introduced to each other by the OCF, are partnering for the first time to tackle youth unemployment in the Ottawa region through their Youth+ initiative.

Youth+ was one of three short-listed proposals presented to an eight-member jury of community leaders at the fifth New Leaf Community Challenge (NLCC) held in Algonquin College’s Indigenous Learning Commons.

“All three projects were creative, compelling and, most importantly, designed to support positive, systemic, sustainable change in our community,” said Marco Pagani, President and CEO of the OCF. “Each project focused on setting youth on a career path, not simply towards an entry-level job.”

Youth+ builds on the strengths and successes of the Youth Futures and Global Vision Connects programs. It will support 180 youth from diverse, low-income backgrounds to pursue careers in Ottawa’s fastest growing industries such as IT, clean technology, and tourism. Youth+ will offer industry roundtables, local industry tours, internship opportunities, training in areas such as leadership and entrepreneurship, and opportunities for life-changing experiences at both national and international levels.

Glenn Sheen, Regional Director, Community Marketing and Citizenship, RBC Foundation

In an exciting reveal immediately preceding the cheque presentation, representatives from the RBC Foundation announced their commitment to ensure that funding will be available for the implementation of all three of the finalist proposals.

“Our collaboration with the OCF over the past two years has strengthened both organizations’ funding activities related to youth employment in Ottawa,” says Glenn Sheen, Regional Director, Community Marketing and Citizenship, RBC Foundation. “Today’s event is further proof of the benefits of the partnership. RBC, like OCF, believes that all three finalists are winners.”

RBC Foundation’s Future Launch initiative is a 10-year, $500 million commitment to end youth unemployment in Canada.

The benefits of the NLCC now extend well beyond a once-a-year major grant. Since introducing NLCC in 2014, the OCF has improved the process every year, creating better conditions for organizations to collaborate and to add systems-level thinking to the proposals.

“This partnership is a game-changer for disadvantaged youth living in our city,” says Ian MacKichan, Development and Marketing Associate, with the Ottawa Community Housing Foundation. “By aligning the strengths of Global Vision and Youth Futures, we are able to realize new employment and career development opportunities, as a part of a sustainable platform.”

The other two finalists in the 2018 New Leaf Community Challenge presented equally compelling proposals:

  • Relay Education’s Green Collar Careers (GCC) is designed to help connect youth to a range of “green career” opportunities.
  • Rideau-Rockcliffe Community Resource Centre’s GeneratioNeXt Ward 13 is a bilingual employment and entrepreneurship incubation program offering services to youth aged 13 to 29 living in Ottawa’s east end.

About the New Leaf Community Challenge

Originally launched in 2014, the NLCC is designed to inspire and support innovative, collaborative approaches to addressing critical issues in Ottawa. Since then, the OCF has granted more than a million dollars to support two critical issues in our community: food security and youth employment.

About the Ottawa Community Foundation

Established in 1987, the Ottawa Community Foundation is a public, non-profit organization created by and for the people of Ottawa. Working directly with its community of donors, partners and stakeholders, the Foundation is committed to acting as a catalyst for positive, systemic and sustainable change in Ottawa and beyond. Priding itself on enabling generous citizens to enhance the quality of life in their community while achieving their own charitable objectives, the Foundation currently manages assets worth almost $150M, and has provided over $110M in grants to the community since its inception. visit www.ocf-fco.ca or https://www.ocf-fco.ca/nlcc-2018/

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For further information or to schedule an interview, please contact:

Danielle Côté
613-799-9057
dcote@ocf-fco.ca