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Making a Difference: 2022
Charities, non-profits, and foundations exist because we see a need, and we can’t sit back and wait for a solution. We form because someone or something needs help and we want to do something, find answers, and be of service. Often, the problems being faced are large, complex, and can feel unsolvable. Sometimes, the problems faced are understood, direct, and can be answered with immediate help. It is about working to make a difference now, in the short term, but also for future generations, in the long term.
When you start from a place of reacting to address a complex and immediate need, it is very difficult for charities to stabilize and weather unexpected impacts. Even if these organizations can grow into more established entities, it can still be hard for them to invest in innovative programming and projects as they maintain existing operations.
At Kindred, we recognize that the charities we partner with will have differing levels of need; based on whether they are a grassroots organization, a well-established charity, or something in between. We tailor our support accordingly to help our charity partners grow, strengthen and do more.
Our carefully and expertly managed endowment fund allows us to provide financial support, but if needed, we can also offer fundraising expertise, volunteer hours, access to an incredible venue called Tecasy Ranch in Peterborough, Ontario, connections through our corporate partners, introductions to other foundations, and more. We focus on building meaningful partnerships with the charities we support, partnerships that can be more than just funding.
At Kindred Foundation, we also run our own programs, like the Treats & Treasures Cart and the U-Link Patient and Family Fund. In everything that we do, we are focused on three main areas: childhood cancer research and clinical trials, youth mental and physical health, and community support.
What We Did in 2022
2022 involved a mix of building Foundation run programs, actively identifying impactful charitable initiatives to fund, and building relationships with existing and new charity partners. This was accomplished through grant programs, direct giving, and strategic partnerships.
We supported 22 unique charity partners in 2022, and since 2019, we have supported 51 different charities. In addition to supporting the impactful work of others, we grew our own programs, seeing more hospitals bring the Treats & Treasures Cart to patients and families, and providing financial support through the U-Link Patient and Family Fund.
Charitable giving at Kindred Foundation has increased significantly each year. In 2021, we made the transition from being a private to a public foundation, with 2022 being our first full calendar year of activities under this new operation.
$740,259
Total Giving for 2022
$1.3 Million
Total Giving Since Inception
$8 million
Endowment Fund Value at the End of 2022
10%
Disbursement Quota (3.5% required for 2022)
22
Unique Charities Supported in 2022
51
Unique Charities Supported Since Inception
Childhood, Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Research and Clinical Trials
For Kindred Foundation, we believe that investing in childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer research and clinical trials is critical. Over 2022, we made three significant promises and investments into childhood cancer research and clinical trials.
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada
This year, we partnered with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC) to co-fund two pediatric blood cancer research innovation grants. These were the first-ever childhood cancer-focused research grants provided by LLSC and Kindred was proud to partner on this initiative. The two grants co-funded are:
Dr. Cynthia Guidos at the Hospital for Sick Children (Toronto): Identifying the Genetic Changes that Lead to Ruxolitinib Resistance. This research aims to understand why some children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have their cancer come back after treatment, even with the addition of new targeted therapies like ruxolitinib. The goal is to understand how some cancers can outsmart drugs and use these results to develop new therapies that are smarter than cancer.
Dr. Florian Kuchenbauer at BC Cancer (Vancouver): MiR-193a-Based LNP Drug Treatment for Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia (pAML). mRNA-based therapies have helped to change the way vaccines are developed, such as those for COVID-19. This research will use special mRNA-based therapies to treat pAML in hopes of reducing the amount of chemotherapy that is used to treat the cancer and reduce treatment related side-effects for children.
The ACTION Consortium Research Grant for Relapsed and Refractory Neuroblastoma
The ACTION Consortium is a group of non-profits committed to: Advancing Clinical Trial Implementation and Optimization in Neuroblastoma.
This grant is a catalyst for future innovation and transformation that aims to:
1. Identify and employ novel ways to accelerate the development and completion of clinical trials for children with relapsed and hard-to-cure neuroblastoma cancer.
2. Evaluate innovative new therapies focused on areas of unmet need.
$2.7 million
Total Grant Size (CAD)
$600,000
Funding Commitment from Kindred Foundation
ACTION Partners
ACTION Consortium Fund Details:
The largest charity-driven neuroblastoma research grant
Collaboration across Europe, the UK, the USA, and Canada.
Grant provided over 4 years, 2023-2027
Kindred Foundation's investment ensures that the funded research will happen in Canada and benefit Canadian children with neuroblastoma.
DECRYPT - Childhood Embryonal Brain Tumour Research Grant
8 Canadian oncology charities working together to create a childhood embryonal brain cancer research grant for Canadian researchers.
Research Grant Objectives:
Advance the current understanding of how to treat, diagnose and/or monitor childhood embryonal brain cancer by building research capacity and collecting pilot data that could inform the conduct of a larger multi-centre clinical trial.
Advance Canadian expertise in pediatric embryonal tumours and expand that expertise by requiring two lead investigators from two different institutions, with one being an early career researcher.
Conduct research that is meaningful to patients and their families and prioritize the translation of research developments from the laboratory to clinical practice.
$300,000
Raised by 6 Charity Partners
$300,000
Cancer Research Society Match
$600,000
4-Year Research Grant
Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancer Programs
Cancer treatment is extremely difficult. For children with cancer, it can mean years of chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, immunotherapy, and other treatments to try and cure their disease. The toll on the child and their family can be immense, with many families struggling emotionally, socially, financially, and in other numerous ways.
At Kindred, we fund childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer research because we need more and better treatments for these kids. We also fund programs that support children and their families during treatment to help ease a small amount of the burden. The charitable initiatives that we funded in 2022 in the area of cancer are:
Oncology Resource Navigator
Kindred Foundation is providing funding for 3 years for one of the two pediatric oncology Resource Navigator positions at SickKids in Toronto, Ontario. The Resource Navigators provide guidance to patients and families on issues such as travel and financial support.
Childhood Cancer Canada Benevolent Fund
Childhood Cancer Canada’s (CCC) Benevolent Fund provides funding support to families to help pay for funeral costs if a child dies from cancer. Kindred Foundation is the lead funder of the CCC Benevolent Fund.
Wellspring Cancer Support
Kindred Foundation provides an unrestricted donation to Wellspring, a Canadian organization offering programs and services to anyone with any type of cancer at no charge or referral.
Treats & Treasures Cart
The Treats & Treasures Cart is a special joy for children who are receiving cancer treatment. The Cart is filled with a wide assortment of toys, healthy snacks, and candy; and is brought around to children and families in the hematology and oncology ward every week – all at no cost to them. It is also available daily to children visiting the oncology clinic.
The Treats & Treasures Cart is not only for the child who is in cancer treatment, but also for everyone in the room – parents, caregivers, siblings, and grandparents. The Cart provides something small but so meaningful.
5,000
inpatient visits per year
19,000
outpatient visits per year
4 Participating Canadian Hospitals:
Stollery Children's Hospital (Edmonton, AB)
Alberta Children's Hospital (Calgary, AB)
Jim Pattison Children's Hospital (Sask, SK)
B.C. Children's Hospital (Vancouver, B.C.)
The inspiration...
The inspiration behind the Treats & Treasures Cart is Evan Lindberg. Evan was a boy who “lived every day with joy in his heart, compassion in his soul, and love and laughter as his guiding stars”. Evan passed away in 2010 after a 4-year battle with stage IV high-risk neuroblastoma. The Cart honours Evan and his ability to bring happiness and laughter to everyone he met.
Jim Pattison Children's Hospital
“Teen patients have been pleasantly surprised that there is, in fact, something for them on the cart! They loved the headphones, gift cards, slime kits, and craft kits.”
“One family took a game one week, and the next week, they talked about how much they had enjoyed playing it over the course of the week.”
“One patient’s mother was just a few days postpartum and was overjoyed to be offered a KitKat; she told the team she had been craving it for days and was extremely grateful.”
Stollery Children's Hospital
“The families/patients are so surprised and grateful for the treats & treasures cart and that it’s something they look forward to each time it comes around.”
“We have a kiddo who we have difficulties getting to eat but she happily will eat the dried fruit from the cart, so that was a big win for us!”
Alberta Children's Hospital
“The Treats & Treasures Cart is taken to each in-patient oncology room on Fridays at Alberta Children's Hospital. Children and families look forward to the Cart arriving and will often ensure they are in their rooms, so they don’t miss the Cart!”
“One Mom commented that her 6-year-old son was craving M&M's one day. She went to the cafeteria, coffee shop, and gift shop to try and find them for him but with no luck. Later that day, the Treats & Treasures Cart came by, and although there weren't any M&M's, there was a big box of Smarties. Her son was so happy to get the Smarties, and Mom was relieved at the joy the simple treat brought her son.”
U-Link Patient and Family Fund
The U-Link Patient and Family Fund is a financial program for families across Canada who must travel to access treatment through clinical trials for children and adolescents with cancer.
Early phase clinical trials are critical for children with relapsed and hard-to-cure cancers. They often allow access to innovative and cutting-edge therapies that may otherwise not be available to them. Unfortunately, only a few pediatric hospitals in Canada offer these clinical trials, requiring families to travel long distances at great expense.
Having a child in cancer treatment is hard enough. When a family must travel long distances to access an early phase clinical trial, this creates even more challenges. Families should not have to worry about the extra costs that come with travel so they can stay focused on what really matters, their child.
5 days
Turnaround time from the submission of receipts to when the eTransfer is sent to the family.
$1,500
Average amount provided to families
The economic burden of a childhood cancer diagnosis can have a long-term impact on the family’s financial security and quality of life.
Fund Details:
For Canadian families who have a child with cancer and. must travel 150 km or more to access a treatment-based early-phase clinical trial. The fund covers costs such as accommodations, food, and other expenses
The application to the U-Link Patient and Family fund is simple and the expense reimbursement process is streamlined to ensure that undue stress is not put on a family during an already difficult time
The fund is managed by a committee with membership from the two charities and a pediatric oncologist. All applications are reviewed in confidence and with guidance from the child's social worker.
Youth Mental and Physical Health
2022 saw constant reporting on the mental health challenges being faced by youth across Canada and the world. Youth are struggling and health systems are challenged to keep up with the need and care they require. Meaningful, elegant, and effective solutions are necessary to provide youth with effective mental health care. In 2022, Kindred Foundation funded a number of initiatives focused on youth mental and physical health. These were:
Fit ABCS Clinical Trial by the Mabbott Lab at SickKids
Funding for a clinical trial examining the effectiveness of the Fit ABCS online portal that aims to promote brain repair for childhood brain tumour survivors by fostering physical activity. Kindred Foundation also helped fund the development of the Fit ABCS online portal.
Adventure4Change
Address issues related to poverty and inequity for children, youth, and families. A4C serves racialized families living in Waterloo, Ontario through youth programming, leadership development, and community building.
It Gets Better Canada
To uplift, empower, and connect Two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (2SLGBTQ+) youth across Canada through storytelling and building community. It Gets Better Canada (IGBC) highlights stories of hope, resilience, and determination from the 2SLGBTQ+ community and their allies.
Just Be You
Peer-based mental health support for youth at two locations in Halton that is youth-led and youth-focused. Focus on mental wellness through peer support and social recreation, including exploring strengths and learning wellness strategies.
Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council
The Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council is a community-based non-profit working to improve awareness of and engagement in suicide prevention within the Waterloo region and beyond to reduce suicide and its impact.
Youth Mental Health Grant
The Kindred Foundation Youth Mental Health Grant aims to ensure that organizations directly assisting Black and/or 2SLGBTQ+ youth communities with mental health challenges and illnesses have the funds they need to carry out their mission.
Kindred Foundation is honoured to be guided by The Black Health Alliance and It Gets Better Canada.
Utilizing a community-driven philanthropy approach, The Black Health Alliance and It Gets Better Canada helped to design the youth mental health grant. All organizations collaborate to review applications and decide on grant awardees.
Started in 2022, the Kindred Foundation Youth Mental Health Grant is an annual grant that utilizes a streamlined submission process to reduce the application burden on grassroots organizations.
$188,500 donated | 6 projects funded in 2022:
Scholarships
Kindred Foundation partners with organizations to provide scholarships at colleges or universities across Canada to educate and empower students from marginalized communities to help youth realize their dreams.
Our mission of “supporting the now” for an “improved tomorrow” is extremely important to us. Part of how we are working to realize this is through funding scholarships for students as they work to achieve their post-secondary aspirations. Scholarships are a crucial part of our Youth Mental Health Strategy.
Key Aspects of Our Scholarships
Multi-year funding is provided directly to the student
Strong partnerships with expert organizations to deliver scholarships
A Long-Term Strategy for a Better Tomorrow.
Kindred Foundation x Adventure4Change Scholarship
Dedicated to supporting academic achievement of Adventure4Change (A4C) alumni
Each student receives $4,000/year for up to 4 years
Supports 2 new students each year
Started in 2022
Run by Kindred Foundation
Black Education Fund Roster Scholarship
These scholarships support 4 Black students studying in the area(s) of mental health and/or health sciences
Each student receives $1,000/year for up to 4 years.
Supports 4 new students each year
Started in 2022
Black Business and Professional Association
These scholarships support 2 Black students studying in the area(s) of mental health and/or health sciences.
Each student receives $2,000/year for up to 4 years.
Supports 2 new students each year.
Started in 2022
"Kindred Foundation has brought me a step closer to achieving my goal of making a difference in my community!"
- Recipient of a Kindred Foundation x Adventure4Change Scholarship
Community Support
Community is about relationships among people that are built on trust, belonging, and caring for one another. Healthy communities can create connections and foster systems that nurture and heal individuals and families. There are many aspects to what makes a community strong, with serious consequences to the health of the community when these are neglected. At this time, Kindred is focused on two areas within community support – food insecurity and end-of-life care for adults and children. We believe that these are two critical areas of focus in terms of the severity of the problem and the current level of unmet need.
Food Insecurity
The pandemic brought so many changes. In particular, rising food costs have created a cascade of challenges for individuals and families, also placing significant strain on food banks, meal programs, and other initiatives focused on addressing food insecurity within Canada. Increased demand compounded with increased food costs has resulted in significant challenges when running food programs. The following are the food insecurity programs that Kindred Foundation supported in 2022:
Scholarships Burlington Friday Meal and Hub (Ontario)
A collective dining experience surrounded by mental and physical health supports for families and individuals experiencing food insecurity in Burlington, Ontario and surrounding area. Kindred provides operational support and in-person volunteer hours.
YWCA Peterborough and Haliburton Nourish Program (Ontario)
Nourish combines dignified access to nutritious food, gardening, and cooking skills along with programming designed to empower individuals to advocate for themselves and others and grow a just food system for all.
WAES
Weston Area Emergency Support (Ontario)
A collaboration of local churches in the Weston, Ontario area provides a food bank for individuals and families experiencing food insecurity.
Hospice and End-of-Life Care for Adults and Children
There are very few Foundations that provide funding for hospice and palliative care, and we are proud that Kindred Foundation is one of them. To date, Kindred has donated over $131,000 to impactful projects and programs in the area of hospice, palliative, and end-of-life care. The following provides more information on our Kindred Cares Grant for pediatric and adult hospice and palliative care programs.
Kindred Cares Grant
In 2021, Kindred Foundation established the Kindred Cares Grant to fund programs, projects, and research in hospice, palliative, and end-of-life care for adults and children with life-limiting conditions.
Hospice and palliative care are interdisciplinary, holistic approaches that relieve suffering and improve the quality of life for those involved. Accessing hospice and palliative care programs can be difficult for Canadians – especially for Canadian children. There are only a handful of pediatric hospices in Canada, making it extremely challenging for children and their families to receive specialized care in difficult times.
The Kindred Cares Grant was created to:
Support Canadian community-based hospice and palliative care.
Address important research questions relating to the clinical care and preferences of adults and children with palliative care needs and their families.
Assist with projects and programs related to palliative care for children with life-limiting conditions.
The Kindred Cares Grant has supported 13 children and adult hospice and palliative care initiatives.
$101,180 given to date through a competitive, expert and peer-reviewed process.
Some Examples of Work Funded by Kindred in the Pediatric Space:
Hospice Northwest: A pilot program that supports bereaved Indigenous youth using cultural-based learning.
Hospice of Waterloo Region: A program for bereaved children to process grief using art and music.
Hospice Wellington: An Art and Narrative Therapy research project which utilizes art and storytelling to gain insight and personal perspectives through grief.
Hospital for Sick Children: Child Life is investigating the use of virtual reality for adolescents to connect and interact with others when in the hospital or at home.
Nipissing Serenity: is building a gazebo to offer a peaceful outdoor venue to run grief, bereavement, and wellness programs for all.
Rotary Flames: Launching a pilot program to provide additional therapeutic recreational activities for children with life-limiting conditions.
What 2023 Holds, As We Know So Far
2023 will be an exciting year. We will see two childhood cancer research grants, ACTION and DECRYPT, accept research applications and have these applications go through expert peer-review processes, resulting in two funded multi-year research projects. ACTION and DECRYPT are two large-scale childhood cancer research projects that are co-funded by a number of charitable partners. They are a collaborative built on hope and the desire to make progress in the treatment of very hard-to-cure cancers for children, adolescents, and young adults.
We will also continue to fund impactful work being done by charities in the area of youth mental health with our Kindred Foundation Youth Mental Health Grant; and in the area of end-of-life care for adults and children with our Kindred Cares Grant. We look forward to developing new and deepening existing relationships with charity partners.
Our Treats & Treasures Cart program and the U-Link Patient and Family Fund are very important to Kindred Foundation. We will continue to expand the Treats & Treasures Cart initiative into other Canadian pediatric hospitals. We will also continue to share information about the U-Link Patient and Family Fund with Social Workers, Resource Navigators, Care Teams, Patients, and Families across Canada to ensure that we are able to support Canadian families when they must travel long distances to access an early phase clinical trial for their child with cancer.
We believe that partnership and collaboration are the keys to pushing forward and finding solutions to the many challenges faced in society. If you know of a charity or foundation that would be interested in working with Kindred, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We would love to have a conversation and figure out if there are ways to collaborate. When we work together as charities and funders, we can learn from one another, leverage funding dollars, and create opportunities that we might not have been able to accomplish alone.
With Immense Gratitude for Our Donors and Supporters
We are deeply grateful to Kindred Foundation donors and supporters. You help to make all of our work possible – you are all part of helping to find solutions to complex problems. Every dollar donated to Kindred Foundation is allocated to our charitable purpose. All of your donated dollars go towards grants to charities and Foundation programs.
We are also incredibly grateful for our corporate partner, CMLS Financial. In 2022, CMLS engaged in an initiative called “Project Kindness” where CMLS raised $34,000 to help fund the DECRYPT grant. We cycled together, played carnival games, and there were even pies in the face. This is a beautiful example of corporate philanthropy and one which acted as a spark to motivate all of the charity partners involved to make the grant much larger than we initially imagined. This is a unique and impactful partnership, establishing a new approach to corporate philanthropy. We are so thankful to CMLS Financial for all of their support and kindness.
Our accomplishments and successes are your accomplishments and successes. We are all in this together and are working to make a difference. Thank you for being a part of Kindred Foundation.
To Close, With Kindness
As we enter 2023, everyone at Kindred Foundation wishes you good health and happiness. We hope that you experience kindness that makes your heart swell. We hope that you give kindness to others that creates beautiful moments you will never forget.
Take care of yourselves and each other.
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