KIN CANADA FOUNDATION-FONDATION KIN CANADA.
Fellow Kin:
The KIN CANADA FOUNDATION is now a reality and I am pleased to bring you up to date on progress to date.
The notion of a National Kin Foundation began as far back as the 1978 National Convention in Regina. The resolution was to create a National Foundation that would allow our Kin Clubs and members to have access to the ability to provide ‘charitable tax receipts’ for donors. The resolution failed, but the idea eventually led to the formation of the excellent Hal Rogers Endowment Fund (Kin Canada Bursaries). This worthy foundation has limitations that require it to be limited somewhat in its ability to support our own Association. It does a wonderful job of providing support and funding for scholarships and work in the field of education, a very worthy and excellent cause to be sure that has become a key element of what Kin is, and is well supported by our Association and has been identified as one that the Kin Canada Foundation supports in any way possible as well.
However, the dream of forming a more general use foundation for Kin was still high on the priority list of many Kin. The goal was to find a vehicle that had ‘broad enough’ guidelines in its scope to offer additional benefits to the entire Kin Association. After many years, the concept was re-visited and a small committee of dedicated Kin, and our Founder’s Daughter, Diane Rogers continued to work for almost five years, meeting every couple of months to put in place a new and exciting concept. The result is the KIN CANADA FOUNDATION which is a “Parallel Foundation” that works in “Partnership” with Kin Canada for the betterment of Kin and our Communities. The concept and mission of the new Kin Canada Foundation is an ‘arms length Foundation’ committed to assisting our Kin Canada Association in whatever way it can. The Foundation will carry out its mandate through a number of prioritized programs that include, but are not limited to:
1) Legacy Fund for Association sustainability and growth
2) Assisting the Hal Rogers Endowment Fund Committee by making the fund one of our charities of choice
3) Training – all aspects identified by the Association as requirements
4) Cystic Fibrosis – to find ways of supporting the Nationally identified program of the Association
5) Archives and History of the Association
6) Possible national support to address critical issues facing all Districts i.e. Gaming and other provincial/territorial regulations etc.
These were just a few of the identified key areas that our Foundation would like to work on to help the Association. The task has been a long, arduous and expensive one. I would like to thank the dedicated and committed Kin, Kin Alumni and Clubs who were the first to offer financial support to the fledgling foundation. Additionally, we received very generous financial support from our Founder’s Daughter Diane Rogers, who is also our Director Emeritus of the Kin Canada Foundation. Our own Association has also helped us by paying for some of our legal costs to date and has loaned funds to the Foundation to help complete our registration as a charitable Foundation.
The new Foundation is in a fund raising mode and could use the support of all Kin across Canada in helping us pay off our start-up expenses and establishing our endowment funds for the future of Kin. A Foundation website linked to the Kin Canada Website is under way. In the meantime, if you would like more information or have ideas we should consider, please contact your District Governor or KIN National headquarters. We look forward to your consideration of support for your new KIN CANADA FOUNDATION-FONDATION KIN CANADA.
Jim Watson,
President Kin Canada Foundation