April 19, 2011

For the first time, the Toronto Community Foundation and KPMG have joined forces to award a Vital Ideas grant to one of the city’s most innovative not-for-profit organizations as part of a strategic collaboration called Vital Impact: Vital Toronto. Toronto Foundation for Student Success will receive $30,000 for strategic activities that will position its programming to have greater impact.

“We are very proud to be the first organization to receive a Vital Impact: Vital Toronto grant through the Vital Ideas program,” says Toronto Foundation for Student Success Executive Director & CEO Catherine Parsonage. “It is exciting to work with the Toronto Community Foundation and KPMG on our Model Schools Paediatric Health Initiative. Together we will bring essential medical care to children in the one place students and their families trust most – their local schools.”

The Vital Ideas program identifies high-impact organizations that build on successful methods of service delivery and continually adapt and innovate. Beyond ‘band-aid’ solutions, the organizations work for social change by addressing the root causes of the trends identified in the Toronto’s Vital Signs® Report. The Vital Ideas grant program is unique in that it provides grants for strategic activities beyond programming, directing the one-time investment instead to building the organizations’ capacity to help expand their reach, share the benefits of their experience, and better sustain their impact in communities across Toronto.

“Joining forces with KPMG is great example of what is possible when the private and not-for-profit sectors work together,” says Toronto Community Foundation’s President & CEO Rahul K. Bhardwaj. “Not only are we working together to build the capacity of one of Toronto’s dynamic not-for-profits, we have also enabled KPMG’s employees to make a lasting difference in the communities in which they live and work.”

“Providing children with essential medical care is vital. We are heartened to help support the children in our local communities, and to be part of a collaborative initiative that works through our local school system, to have a strategic and sustainable impact in the GTA,” says Beth Wilson, Toronto Managing Partner and the Canadian Managing Partner of Community Leadership. “As a firm we recognize the significant opportunity we have to affect positive change and make a real difference in the communities where we live and operate. This collaboration with the Toronto Community Foundation’s Vital Ideas program was a perfect fit because it offered KPMG people the opportunity to put their skills and talents to work for causes they felt most passionate about, while simultaneously addressing pressing social needs in their community.”

As part of the collaboration, nearly 50 KPMG employees volunteered their time and skills to review grant applications and conduct site visits, while deepening their knowledge of some of the city’s inspiring organizations and the complex issues they work to address. Through a voting process, KPMG people in the GTA selected Toronto Foundation for Student Success to receive the strategic grant.

About Toronto Community Foundation
Community vitality has been our purpose, promise, and passion since 1981, when we started connecting donors to community needs and opportunities. Home to over 300 funds, we help people invest in Toronto, making it the best place to live, work, learn and grow. We monitor the quality of life in our city, identifying its strengths and weaknesses through our Toronto’s Vital Signs® Report. We provide the leadership and guidance to bring people together from all parts of our community. We exist for Toronto - for now and for always. For more information, visit www.tcf.ca.

About Toronto Foundation for Student Success
Founded in 1998, the Toronto Foundation for Student Success (TFSS), a registered, non-profit organization, operates as the charitable foundation of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). The Foundation was created to ensure that all students are ready and able to learn and is continually searching for new ways to help children overcome barriers to success in school. It advocates for children, acts on their behalf and provides ongoing support to programs that deal with the hunger, poverty, and violence experienced by students in Toronto.

Developed in partnership with the TDSB Models Schools for Inner Cities and leaders from the health sector, the Model Schools for Paediatric Health Initiative provides health services in schools. This program reduces barriers to health care for vulnerable students in Toronto, primarily those facing poverty and settlement challenges.

About KPMG
KPMG provides Audit, Tax, and Advisory services. We work closely with our clients, helping them to mitigate risks and grasp opportunities. KPMG LLP is the Canadian member firm of KPMG International. KPMG International’s member firms have 140,000 professionals, including more than 7,900 partners, in 146 countries.

As one of Canada’s leading professional services firms, we have an incredible opportunity to help our communities thrive by engaging our skills, knowledge, passions, and financial resources to make a real difference.

More Information
Learn more about Vital Ideas ››