Page 4 - ECF_Thrive-Sept-2025

Message from
the CEO
Purposeful and
Meaningful
Photo: Aaron Pedersen
EARLY IN MY time at Edmonton Community Foundation
(ECF), I heard Joseph Malins’ poem The Ambulance Down
in the Valley and it has stayed with me. It tells of a town
where people kept falling off a cliff, and so the community
rallied to place an ambulance in the valley below. But
even as more people fell, and more ambulances arrived,
no one questioned why people were falling in the first
place — until someone finally asked: what if we built a
fence at the top? Last year was an exceptional one for
ECF — demonstrating what’s possible when individuals,
families, organizations, businesses and partners unite to
strengthen our community.
This story resonates deeply in the charitable sector.
Urgent needs often demand immediate responses. But
the evidence is clear: to create lasting change we need
to look upstream — to invest in preventing harm, not just
responding to it. Thanks to ECF’s long-term investment
strategy and endowment model, we’re uniquely positioned
to do this.
Over the past two years, we’ve met with partners across
sectors — funders, charities and community members — to
better understand where coordinated investment in a few
foundational areas can have positive ripple effects in many
others. Two interconnected priorities emerged as vital
to Edmonton’s future: early childhood development and
affordable housing.
The first five years of a child’s life shape everything
that follows. Yet in Alberta, research has shown that more
than half of the children in Edmonton start school already
behind. By investing early — supporting families, caregivers
and the network of organizations focused on early
childhood education — we can create lifelong benefits:
better health, stronger educational outcomes and more
resilient communities.
At the same time, safe, stable housing is the foundation
of so many things. According to the City of Edmonton,
nearly one in eight households in Edmonton are in need
of stable accommodations — facing unaffordable, unsafe
or unsuitable housing. By unlocking investment and
innovation, we can help ensure housing is more accessible
and affordable, reducing stress, providing stability and
creating a sense of belonging that all communities and
people need.
ECF has the connections, patience and capital to
provide meaningful support in both areas using tools like
grants, capital investments, social financing, community
development and collaborations.
What’s even more powerful is how these two priorities
reinforce one another. Children flourish in secure homes.
Families thrive when they’re not forced to choose between
rent and food.
This doesn’t change our long-standing commitment to
funding a wide range of initiatives, and connecting donors
to the causes they care about. But by focusing more of our
discretionary resources — and inviting others to join us — we
can help catalyze meaningful, measurable change in our city.
Together, we can build that fence at the top of the cliff.
Tina Thomas
Chief Executive Officer
4 Together we thrive