“I want them to feel great!”: The impact of HCF donors

In our final instalment, Celeste Licorish talks about what she loves most about her job at HCF.

Part of what you do at HCF is to advise donors. What’s your favourite aspect of this work?

CL Blog_4In my role as donor advisor at HCF I have the opportunity to talk to existing and potential donors. What excites me the most about this is to be able to talk to them about the impact of their contributions – what those gifts mean now and what they will mean forever. I think a lot of people give out of good will and they trust the Hamilton Community Foundation with their donations. What they may not immediately realize is that they’re actually changing outcomes for people.

When donor investments make their way into priority neighbourhoods through HCF, connections are made, skills are attained and residents end up working together on projects they never would have imagined. And it’s because of donors who have trusted the Foundation, with its research and resources, to be able to invest in the right places. These donors really are changing lives.

How do you make this impact tangible for donors?

It’s exciting for me to be able to share impact stories with donors to let them know what’s actually happening on the ground. For example one of the developments that is really exciting right now is McQuesten Farm. Living in a nearby neighbourhood, I got to hear about this woman who had this amazing urban farming idea, and now as an employee of HCF I’ve actually seen this working farm with its windmills, big harvests and beautiful vegetables!

It’s great to be able to let donors know about the real difference that they’re making. And also to let them know that residents are feeling more connected to each other because of their donations. Giving is one of those things where you can’t help but feel good about it. I want them to feel GREAT when they know about the real connections that they are helping to create.