Durham Community Foundation

Odyssey Ball Goes Hollywood!

2012-01-18T00:05:00.003-05:00

Remember Hollywood in the good old days … glamour, Marilyn Monroe, upscale lounges? Reminiscent of those days of elegance, the 2012 Odyssey Ball will feature a special cocktail reception, an exquisite dinner, live and silent auctions, and entertainment and dancing by Hollywood North’s Brian Roman. Here's a taste of his wonderful music:

Help contribute to the evening’s success by donating an auction item and promoting your business.

Your generosity would be acknowledged in the evening program and we would be pleased to include any business cards you wish to provide, as part of your displayed item for prospective clients to pick up.

For more information, please visit Durham Community Foundation website at http://www.durhamcommunityfoundation.ca.

TICKETS SELLING FAST TO ODYSSEY BALL GOES HOLLYWOOD (February 4, 2012) Ajax, ON

2012-01-17T23:05:00.005-05:00

DURHAM REGION, ON— Tickets are selling fast to this year’s Odyssey Ball. On Saturday February 4th, the Ajax Convention Centre will be transformed into vintage Hollywood for a spectacular evening in support of Durham Community Foundation.
The ticket price of $175 includes cocktails, four-course themed dinner, and host bar throughout the evening. There will be prizes to win and a silent and live auction. Not to be missed will be dancing to the sounds of featured entertainer Brian Roman (www.brianroman.com). Brian Roman will bring warmth and enthusiasm to the stage as the audience finds themselves captivated by his charismatic stage presence, accomplished baritone/tenor voice and personal warmth and sincerity.

"As our signature event, this year’s Odyssey Ball is going to be another tremendous success. We are looking forward to sharing this evening with our generous sponsors, supporters and community leaders. We especially wish to thank RBC Royal Bank and RBC Wealth Management Dominion Securities who have come on board again as our Presenting Sponsor.” states Gala Committee Chair, Kerri King.

“The Odyssey Ball is a great way to highlight the contributions of Durham Community Foundation. Our mission is to provide the citizens of Durham Region the opportunity to make financial gifts that are invested, the income then supports the unique needs of our community and their individual interests while creating a lasting legacy that keeps on giving to charities in Durham Region,” states Foundation Chairman, Randy Pickle.

Tickets can be purchased by calling:

Janet Georgieff, Executive Director
Durham Community Foundation at 905-430-6507
www.durhamcommunityfoundation.ca
Charitable Registration: 89879 7931 RR 0001

"Let's Tango" VIP Reception was a huge success!

2011-04-11T11:03:00.002-04:00

On March 25, 2011 at Regent Theatre in Oshawa, Ont. Durham Community Foundation in partnership with Durham Tourism hosted a VIP Reception prior to the "Let's Tango" performance by The Ontario Philharmonic. After a successful reception Durham Community Foundation raised $5,500 to launch "The Art of Transition Culture Fund"

Check out a few photos from the event by clicking on the Flikr link below, which will redirect you to Durham Tourism's page.

Volunteering at Durham Community Foundation

2011-03-28T15:11:00.003-04:00

Durham Community Foundation. Most young people my age don’t even know this foundation exists. Why? Well because it is a very small foundation based in Durham Region that exists solely for the community in hopes to make a lasting change.

I am a 20-year-old, Public Relations student at Durham College, in my final semester. Part of my schooling was to find a non-profit placement to experience this sector of working. In all honesty I had my doubts. I didn’t know anything about non-profit other than the breast cancer, and cystic fibrosis foundations that are huge nationwide. Durham Community Foundation on the other hand- is a teeny, tiny, operation ran by one amazing woman, Janet Georgieff.

I approached Janet after briefly reading the website and in all honesty for me, it was the fact that I lived in Whitby, so this would not be very far travel for me.

I have now been with DCF for almost a year, as I started my volunteer time June 2010, and now have been with them each Monday since January 2011. My time here has been amazing. Not only do I thoroughly enjoy coming to work each Monday- but also I like it more than school! Completely volunteer based, but it is just amazing learning the things I am doing.

I really have loved taking on the “social-media guru” role here. Janet, bless her heart, is not the most social-media tech savvy. That’s where I come in! My Internet computer nerdy and geeky expertise finally comes in handy! I really feel as though this has been my strong point. Yes, I tweet everyday, I’m in the Facebook world, and have my own personal travel blog. The one thing Janet has introduced me to, is the world of LinkedIn, which is still a work in progress.

It is amazing to know I have been a part of what I understand is one of the most successful years Durham Community Foundation has ever had, and actually been contributing. I have met so many wonderful people who live and work in Durham Region that these connections I know will last a lifetime. I have not only helped with the planning and execution of the 2011 Odyssey Ball, but it was one of the most successful Balls' in DCF's history! After raising a record $44,000 and attending one of the greatest events of my life, I learned so much about event planning and how much time and effort it takes.

For me, I did my usual 40 hours community service for high school, which were mandatory, but back then I was unfocused into what I wanted to do after high school. Had I had known about these opportunities, I would have jumped at doing something like this. Any high school student’s unsure of where to get their hours- TRSUT ME!! Many, if not all, of these foundations will love help, and the amount of gratitude I feel on a day to day basis makes it all worth it.

I 100% plan on continuing to volunteer as much as I can with DCF, even after my short 14-week placement is done. This foundation has not only taught me so much more than I could have thought, but I have made a life-long friend in Janet, and made many connections in the PR world. In the beginning I thought 14 weeks sounded like such a long time, and now here I am with only 2 weeks left feeling very time constricted. I can truly say I enjoyed my time at DCF and I encourage anyone who is unsure about volunteering to just do it! It feels so amazing and there really are no negatives at all.

Erin Stevenhaagen
PR Intern for Durham Community Foundation

Volunteering - are you doing it?

2010-06-29T13:30:00.003-04:00

In my blog Why Volunteer? I talk about the benefits of volunteering and why I do it. The Durham Community Foundation is one of the organizations I’ve dedicated my time to over the last two years and I have found it very rewarding.

The Foundation holds an important role in our region as it serves as a vessel for community support. In essence, it too, is like a volunteer. Those interested in making financial gifts to their community can do so through the Foundation. Those contributions are then invested and the returns support the unique needs of the Durham Region, while creating a lasting legacy that keeps on giving to local charities.

Community foundations are locally-run public foundations that build and manage endowment funds to support local charities and community priorities. The first Canadian community foundation was established in 1921 in Winnipeg. Today, as members of Community Foundations of Canada, community foundations are one of Canada’s fastest growing charitable movements. Their numbers have grown substantially from 32 foundations in 1990 to 168 today and their combined assets total more than $2.9 billion. In 2007, Canada’s community foundations provided more than $176 million in grants to community organizations all across the country.

Durham Community Foundation was created in 1994 by a dedicated group of volunteers. The organization has $1.3 million in assets and grants about $50,000 per year to charities in Durham Region.

By Kasia Chojecki

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK!

2010-06-22T14:01:00.004-04:00

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK AND KEEP UP TO DATE ON EVERYTHING HAPPENING WITH THE DURHAM COMMUNITY FOUNDATION!

SIMPLY CLICK THE LINK ABOVE, AND ENJOY!!

HOLE IN WON GOLF 2010 SUCCESSFUL!

2010-06-22T13:44:00.005-04:00

On Wednesday June 2, 2010 our annual Hole in Won golf tournament took place at the Royal Ashburn Golf Club. Many Prizes were won, and it was a great day for all who came out. A few pictures are posted here, and the rest are available for your viewing pleasure on Durham Community Foundation's Facebook page. Simply click on the title of this post, and it will link you to the Facebook page!

Why Social Media?

2010-03-26T13:21:00.003-04:00

You might ask yourself “why would a foundation take part in social media”? To some the answer is quite obvious; to others like myself it’s taken some time to get used to. As I graduated as a marketing major in 2002, I left the school with a bag of tricks on how to communicate a message – whether it be in sales or managing a brand. My bag of tricks was filled with ideas on direct mail campaigns and TV and radio advertising. Over the past 7 years, everything has changed. Even though my bag of tricks is a still viable way to communicate, Social Media and the internet have taken us by storm. As newer generations are glued to their computers/iphones and the older generations get used to using their phones, and computers to communicate, we now use social media as marketing tool.
Our community foundation is about connecting individuals to their community. It’s about helping individuals leave a legacy to support the charity most important to them. How could we not use marketing tools that connect people to people, or people to a purpose (such as being a fan on facebook) when it’s in our mandate to make connections? Social media will allow us as a community foundation spread the word, share stories and inform the community that we are a local charity of choice. I recommend you visit this link– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8
The information will blow your mind. As I watched it, I told myself, I will never second guess why we use social media.
Why do you use social media?

(received from Darla, March 25, 2010)