‘Culture of excellence in organization and in its communities’ cited by Grayson
BY: Roderick Benns
DATE: July 21, 2004
Community Living Campbellford/Brighton has been short-listed yet again for a Donner Canadian Foundation Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Social Services.
The Fraser Institute, the sponsor of the awards, just announced the finalists, based on a ranking of performance in 10 key areas. These areas include management and governance, the use of staff and volunteers, innovation, program cost and outcome monitoring.
For Chris Grayson, executive director of the organization, the third-straight nomination points to not only the high standards for the organization but also beyond its walls.
“We work hard to develop a culture of excellence not only in our agency, but within our communities. I think its that combination and in those relationships that we develop along the way that has raised our organization to be in a position to receive our third Canadian Donner Award for Excellence,” Chris tells Leaders.
The Donner Awards Program is unique in selecting recipients based on objective, quantifiable performance measures. Chris notes there are “very precise guidelines to follow” focusing on financial management, volunteers and values placed on volunteerism, innovation, outcome monitoring, program delivery, management, efficiency, effectiveness and more.
Community Living Campbellford/Brighton is now one of three Canadian finalists in the category. Chris says the association has about six weeks to submit its final report, the second stage of the awards evaluation process. The other two finalists in the category are Vernon Disability Resource Centre (Vernon, BC) and Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada – Calgary chapter (Calgary, AB).
“Our team of staff, board members and self advocates will work through this often difficult process to end up with a document which, we hope, does as well as last year’s,” he says.
Chris says there are many great stories to share, calling 2003 “one of the most successful years in our agency’s history.” Many of those successes have already been documented on the Leaders news site, Chris points out, as well as on the association’s own website.
The executive director notes he was also informed the association’s second submission ended up fourth in overall ratings in the category of services to people with disabilities. That submission was based on its Foundations program. “We are indeed proud of all our staff and volunteers and, of course, our communities.”
Award recipients will be announced at a special ceremony in Toronto in November. Last year, Community Living Campbellford/Brighton also received the prestigious $20,000 overall Award for Excellence.
Sponsored by the Donner Canadian Foundation and administered by The Fraser Institute, the annual Donner Awards were established in 1998 to recognize non-profit excellence while encouraging best practices in social service delivery at the community level.
2004 Donner Award Finalists (by category)
Alternative Education
Continuing On In Education (Belleville, ON)
Sarnia-Lambton Rebound (Sarnia, ON)
York Region Abuse Program (Newmarket, ON)
Big Brothers and Big Sisters of West Island (Kirkland, QC)
Child Care
Kids Come First Child Care Centre of Vaughan (Thornhill, ON)
Boys and Girls Club of Niagara (Niagara Falls, ON)
The Children’s Garden Nursery School (Pembroke, ON)
Counselling
Sudbury Action Centre For Youth (Sudbury, ON)
York Region Abuse Program (Newmarket, ON)
Hospice of Waterloo Region (Kitchener, ON)
Crisis Intervention
Sarnia Lambton Rebound (Sarnia, ON)
London Crisis Pregnancy Centre (London, ON)
Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region (Ottawa, ON)
Prevention & Treatment of Substance Abuse
Sudbury Action Centre for Youth (Sudbury, ON)
Simon House Residence Society (Calgary, AB)
InnerVisions Recovery Society (Port Coquitlam, BC)
Fraser Recovery Program (Quebec City, QC)
Provision of Basic Necessities
Inner City Home of Sudbury (Sudbury, ON)
Alice Housing (Dartmouth, NS)
Calgary Inter-Faith Food Bank Society (Calgary, AB)
Services for People with Disabilities
Vernon Disability Resource Centre (Vernon, BC)
Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada – Calgary Chapter (Calgary, AB)
Community Living Campbellford/Brighton (Campbellford, ON)
Services for Seniors
Alzheimer Society of Thunder Bay (Thunder Bay, ON)
Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care (Scarborough, ON)
Hospice Saint John and Sussex Inc. (Saint John, NB)
Traditional Education
Sonrise Christian Academy (Picton, ON)
Cornwall Alternative School (Regina, SK)
Trenton Christian School Society (Trenton, ON)
CONTACTS:
Sylvia LeRoy – Donner Project Manager
The Fraser Institute
Phone: (403) 216-7175
Email: sylvial@fraserinstitute.ca
The Donner Canadian Foundation (DCF) was established in 1950 by William H. Donner and is one of Canada’s largest, and oldest, private foundations. The Donner Canadian Foundation is dedicated to supporting projects that emphasize self-reliance, individual initiative, and independence.
For more information, visit www.donnerfoundation.org
Established in 1974, The Fraser Institute is an independent public policy organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto.
For more information, visit www.fraserinstitute.ca
