December 14, 2009

Our Vital People grant program supports and recognizes valued leaders who are making outstanding contributions working at not-for-profit organizations. The Toronto Community Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of our 2009/2010 Vital People grants, funded through the Vital Toronto Fund.

Vital People grants are awarded to support the formal training or other informal development opportunities that best enable not-for-profit leaders to build their skills or knowledge, or apply their experience in different ways to enhance their leadership contributions.

Please join us in congratulating the 2009/2010 Vital People:

Josephine Altilia, Literature for Life
Literature for Life engages young mothers in social change and leadership through the power of the written word to build better futures for themselves, their children, and their communities. Executive Director Josephine Altilia will apply her Vital People grant towards courses in strategic planning, managing change in community organizations, strategic fundraising, and proposal writing; and towards coaching and materials for board development.

Alexandra Asher, Nathaniel Dett Chorale
The Nathaniel Dett Chorale builds bridges of understanding, appreciation, and acceptance between people through the medium of music. The Chorale's Administrator, Alexandra, will use her Vital People grant to attend a diploma course at Humber College in the area of Art Administration as well as Schulich Executive Education Centre's program in Leading Sustainable Strategic Change.

Jane Farrow, Jane's Walk
Jane's Walk is a series of free neighbourhood walking tours named in celebration of the late Jane Jacobs, a leading urbanist, writer, and advocate. The series helps put people in touch with their environment and with each other, closing social and geographic gaps and creating a space for cities to discover themselves. Thanks to her Vital People grant, Executive Director Jane Farrow will attend the Walk 21 2010 Conference, increasing her leadership skills and knowledge base by learning civic engagement techniques and best practices to deepen Jane's Walk reach and impact in Toronto. This will serve the organization particularly well in working with under-represented neighbourhoods, and towards developing a resilient and resourceful network of peers.

Yvette Nolan, Native Earth Performing Arts
Dedicated to the expression of the Native experience through the arts, Native Earth Performing Arts provides a base for professional Native performers, writers, technicians, and other artists. As the Artistic Director of Native Earth, Yvette will use her grant funds for a sabbatical, during which she will begin to write a much-needed resource on Native Theatre, the first of its kind. She will frame her work through consultations with Ric Knowles, one of the most learned scholars on Native Theatre in Canada.

Nadine Peazer, ANASA Collective
ANASA provides inspiring, inventive economic development practices and civic engagement for young women in Scarborough to create accessible career, pre-employment, and entrepreneurial training resources. As the Founder and Executive Director of ANASA, Nadine supports under-serviced girls and women through their growth and developmental changes from a holistic perspective. Nadine will use her Vital People grant towards courses at Schulich School of Business in strategic organizational change and non-profit management.

Michael Prosserman, Urban Non-Violent Initiatives Through Youth (UNITY)
UNITY is dedicated to teaching youth forms of artistic self-expression, leading them to make positive life choices, which in turn makes our communities safer and stronger. Through performance assemblies and follow-up artistic development workshops, UNITY provides critical artistic outlets for youth instead of choosing violence and other negative forms of expression. Michael will use his Vital People grant towards fundraising, management, and leadership courses as well as practical training with a mentor in the not-for-profit sector.

More Information
Learn more about our Vital People grant stream ››