PwC donates more than $160,000 to support the career development of Canada’s charity leaders and teams

January 25, 2010 — Fifty-four charities across Canada have received up to $5,000 each as part of the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Canada Foundation Leadership Grants program. The program supports the leadership and career development of charity staff and volunteers—an often underfunded, but critical area for non-profits. Again this year, PwC invited Canadian charities to apply for an Individual Leadership Grant (up to $2,500) or Team Leadership Grant (up to $5,000). Since the launch of the Leadership Grants program in 2006, PwC has awarded over $773,000 in grants to 307 recipients.

“Our Leadership Grants program supports existing and emerging leaders at charities across Canada, many of which were hard hit by the economy”, says Chris Clark, CEO and Canadian Senior Partner of PwC. “Our goal is to make a significant impact on the leaders that guide the charities in our communities by providing professional development opportunities that may not otherwise be feasible in their budgets.”

Recipients can apply the funding to a formal education program or development opportunity of their choice that will help them build skills and gain experience. In turn, recipients will be able to apply their learning to improve the delivery of programs and services to the communities and people most in need.

Examples of 2010 Leadership Grants awarded by PwC include:

• Youth Assisting Youth, an organization that provides a peer-mentoring service to improve the life prospects for at-risk and newcomer children. program manager, John van Rhee, will use the grant to attend "Leveraging Your Leadership" at the Schulich School of Business at York University. The program addresses contemporary issues confronting organizations, including not-for-profit organizations, and the leaders who run them.
• Child and Youth Friendly Calgary, a community organization whose mission is to provide meaningful opportunities for young people to contribute to society. Ros Doi, initiatives manager, will use the funding to receive personal leadership coaching from CentrePoint, a non-profit management organization. The premise behind the coaching program is that strong leaders are fundamental to strong teams, organizations and communities.
• The Hearing Foundation of Canada, a national organization committed to eliminating the effects of hearing loss on the quality of life of Canadians by promoting prevention, early diagnosis and leading-edge medical research. The development team will participate in an intensive six-day program offered by the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy with the support of PwC’s Team Leadership Grant. This opportunity will successfully position the team for fine-tuning fundraising strategies and troubleshooting potential challenges.

About the PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada Foundation

The Foundation was established in 2004 and its mission is to make a positive, lasting change in our communities through the sharing of our time, expertise and resources. Through the Foundation, the firm encourages, supports and recognizes the sustained volunteer involvement of our staff and partners in the community. To learn more, visit www.pwc.com/ca/foundation.