“Community champions are our most passionate spokespeople”

Canada’s community foundations have launched a nationwide talent search for local champions to star in the movement’s first advertising campaign.

For more than 90 years, community foundations have been supporting communities large and small, from coast to coast. Together, Canada’s 191 community foundations hold more than $3.5 billion in assets, serve more than 80 per cent of the nation’s population and play a crucial role in how people give back to their communities. Now, we’re ready to tell that story!

“Community foundation staff and volunteers are passionate advocates for their communities,” says Ian Bird, President and CEO of Community Foundations of Canada. “There is no one better suited to communicate what our communities mean to us. We’re looking for people who love their community and the spotlight to come forward and be part of our campaign.”

Talent Search details

To find people to star in the television and radio campaign, Community Foundations of Canada will be holding auditions on YouTube:

    • How to enter: Follow the details at www.communityfoundations.ca/talentsearch. Download our sample spoken word audition poem. Record your performance. Upload it to YouTube by responding to our video.
    • Deadline: August 30, 2013.
    • Criteria: Individuals must be 18 years or older, amateur actors, and involved with their community or local community foundation.

      “We’ll be looking for people who embody the spirit of their community, as well as the campaign’s tagline: ‘Your Community Makes You. You Make Your Community’,” says Ted Nation, President of Yield Branding, the award-winning agency producing the campaign.

      Talent search winners will be flown to Toronto, with all accommodation and transport paid, where they will star in CFC’s first television and radio ads, which feature a powerful anthem about community.

      To audition or for talent search instructions, please visit www.communityfoundations.ca/talentsearch

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      About Community Foundations of Canada

      Community Foundations of Canada is the national network for Canada’s more than 190 community foundations, which help Canadians invest in building strong and resilient places to live, work, and play. Community foundations are one of the largest supporters of communities, providing more than $143 million in support of local priorities and organizations in 2012. To find out more visit www.communityfoundations.ca.

      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. It connects donors who care with causes that matter and serves as a trusted resource for addressing issues and leveraging opportunities in the community. Since its inception, the Community Foundation has been enabling generous citizens to enhance the quality of life in their community and to achieve their own charitable objectives through permanent, well-managed endowments.
      For more information, please contact:

      Iona Green
      Manager, Marketing and Communications
      Ottawa Community Foundation
      613-236-1616 ext. 232
      igreen@cfo-fco.ca