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Fort York Foundation Established by Geordie Beal Almost a year and a half ago the Friends of Fort York made the strategic decision to convene a group of people to establish a Fort York Foundation to raise money for major projects and manage the funds until they were spent. The new organization was intended to complement the Friends’ whose focus, broadly speaking, is on programming, publishing, education and advocacy. Geordie Beal agreed to chair the task force to create the Foundation. Recently he was able to report, as follows, that the job was done. In the final days of 2006 the last, essential steps were completed to permit the Fort York Foundation to become operational. Incorporated under the Canada Corporations Act last October, it received notice in late December it had been approved as a registered charity. It has now secured a business number and can receive donations and bequests, having been designated as a Public Foundation. The Foundation’s Board is 10 directors-strong, six of whom have been appointed already. The Chair and Treasurer of The Friends of Fort York serve ex-officio in a non-voting capacity. All members of the board are unpaid volunteers. The Foundation will share an office with The Friends at the Center for Social Innovation at 215 Spadina Avenue. The objects of the Foundation are “to receive and maintain a fund or funds and to apply all or part of the principle and income therefrom … to qualified donees … that preserve, maintain, enhance, promote and/or restore Canadian historic sites, including the Fort York National Historic Site.” Two points in this charter are of particular interest. First, the Foundation may give funds only to “qualified donees,” meaning those organizations that enjoy charitable registration in their own right. Thus, while both the City of Toronto and The Friends of Fort York are qualified, others may not be. The Foundation is thereby precluded from funding suppliers, programming or contractors directly. The advantage of this is that the Foundation can focus its resources on the raising, management and deployment of funds rather than being involved in administering and implementing projects. The second point to note is that the charter encompasses all “Canadian historic sites,” enabling the Foundation to support any qualified organization now or in the future. Currently the Directors are developing plans and bringing people and resources together to launch the first appeal. This includes forming a campaign committee and preparing brochures and donor contact materials. The Foundation also is establishing contacts with potential patrons and supporters. The inaugural campaign will be in support of capital enhancements to Fort York to mark the Bicentennial of the War of 1812. As proposed in Adding New Buildings and endorsed by City Council, the capital program has three major elements: • Building a Discovery/Visitor Reception Centre to welcome visitors, introduce them to the site and its history, and provide linkages to the surrounding communities. The Centre will house the administrative functions currently located in some of the seven buildings on the site that date to 1814-16. • Reconstructing buildings that were erected within the ramparts following the War of 1812, but have not survived. These reconstructed buildings, historically accurate on the outside but modern inside, will house staff who need to work closely with visitors. • Creating displays and interactive materials within the seven original buildings to interpret the fort’s history both to tourists and to residents of the City, especially schoolchildren who form our largest visitor group today.
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