Annual Report
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2014 ANNUAL REPORT 2014 ANNUAL REPORT | 1 mission RIGOROUS SELECTION PROCESS We look for qualities in our scholars that a transcript alone cannot show: personal The Loran Scholars Foundation, founded in 1988, is a national charity that integrity and character; commitment to service and an entrepreneurial spirit; breadth works in partnership with Canadian universities, donors and volunteers in academic and extra-curricular interests; strongly developed inner-directedness; and outstanding overall potential for leadership. Through a series of assessments and throughout the country to invest in young Canadians who demonstrate personal interviews, we select the top 30 from 3,500 applicants as Loran Scholars. character, commitment to service and leadership potential. The foundation is We also grant up to 80 one-time entrance awards. governed by an independent board of directors. Formerly known as the Canadian Merit Scholarship Foundation, the Loran LONG-TERM INVESTMENT IN POTENTIAL Scholars Foundation changed its name in 2014. We provide Loran Scholars with a renewable award comprising an $9,000 living stipend and a matching tuition waiver from one of our 25 partner universities. We MISSION STATEMENT encourage scholars to resist the temptation to take easy or conventional paths and to seek out, instead, how they can most effectively contribute to society. To this end, we We are committed to the greatest of Canada’s natural resources: our youth. provide $8,500 in funding for three kinds of scholar-initiated summer internships (private sector, public policy and personal/community development). We also pair We work to identify and support talented students who show promise of scholars with mentors who will challenge them and introduce them to their new leadership and a strong commitment to service in the community. community. We expect scholars to use these opportunities to broaden and enrich their academic studies. We fund these citizens to study on Canadian campuses, to the benefit of their future and ours. EXTENSIVE NETWORK We welcome Loran Scholars into an extended family of volunteers, donors, staff, and past and present scholars. The incoming class of Loran Scholars spends five days together in Algonquin Park as part of their orientation expedition before they begin TABLE OF CONTENTS university. All scholars are invited to our annual four-day national scholars’ retreat. Letter from CEO & Chair 4 Summer Program 16 Our past scholars organize their own Connexion weekend every three years. We know the value of these relationships and take care to nurture them. Results So Far 6 Volunteers 20 Selection Process 9 Donors 26 Class of 2014 10 Financial Information 35 University Partnership 11 Board of Directors & Officers 38 Mentoring 12 Honorary Council, Committees Scholar Gatherings 14 & Staff 39 2014 ANNUAL REPORT | 2 2014 ANNUAL REPORT | 3 LETTER FROM CEO & CHAIR In February 2014 we selected the 25th class of Loran 33 regional committees in 22 cities across the country. To these committees we Scholars. What started in Bob Cluett’s living room in welcomed 81 new volunteers who themselves demonstrate the qualities of 1988, with a handful of devoted people and an character, service and leadership we are looking for in our scholars. ambitious idea, has grown into a foundation that has Among our most dedicated volunteers are the members of our board of directors, provided more than $26 million in undergraduate awards who are listed on page 38. This year we welcome Michele Symons who has to over 2,300 students. It is a testament to our founders’ served as a volunteer for the past several years. vision and determination that, over a quarter-century later, our project shows no signs of slowing down. Our enrichment program makes the Loran Award among the most comprehensive in the world. This year our summer program supported scholars in expanding their Franca Gucciardi (Loran Scholar In 2007, we adopted “Loran” as the name of our ‘90), Executive Director & CEO horizons by working around the globe, from Haida Gwaii to Buenos Aires to the awards. Loran was chosen because it is a navigation South Atlantic island of Saint Helena. Mentorship is an equally crucial component. system that uses three points (for us, our values of Thank you to our volunteer mentors who dedicate their time to enriching our character, service and leadership) to determine one’s scholars’ undergraduate experience. We are impressed by the depth and quality course. It speaks to our values as well as our unique of these relationships that, though first established by us, often flourish well history. This year, we are extending that brand to the entire beyond graduation. In addition, Loran Scholars benefit from a community of past organization under the name Loran Scholars and present scholars on whom they can depend for friendship, guidance and in- Foundation. The name reinforces our focus: selecting, spiration. These relationships are first formed during the Outward Bound supporting and developing Loran Scholars for their orientation expedition, and are sustained at our yearly retreat and forums. They benefit and for ours. also thrive beyond graduation with the help of our triennial alumni Connexion Susan Scace, Chair Four years ago we set a goal to raise $14 million by Weekends. As the alumni community grows, we look forward to seeing new col- 2017. This amount is necessary to ensure a successful laborations and friendships form. transition away from having 35% of our revenue come from one major donor. It Twenty-five of Canada’s leading universities are our partners in providing Loran also ensures that we continue to fund 30 new Loran Scholars every year, as we Scholars with both a world-class education and a home for their four years of un- have done this year. dergraduate study. They generously match scholars’ living stipends with tuition For the class of 2014, 25 Loran Scholars have their award underwritten by a waivers that last year totaled over $700,000. Our university representatives play specific donor committed to funding their four years in the program. Among our an important role on campus as counselors to scholars and as advocates and newest supporters are John and Marcy McCall MacBain, who sponsored five promoters of the Loran Scholars Foundation. To our partner universities (listed on scholars from the class. Alumni are playing an increasingly important role. Lucas page 11), thank you for your continued trust and investment. Skoczkowski (‘92) and his company Redknee supported two scholars this year, For 25 years, the Loran Scholars Foundation has led the way as Canada’s premier while 258 of his fellow past scholars in the Loran Alumni Association funded a independent undergraduate award. We take great pride in the achievements of third. Alumni have now cumulatively contributed over $1 million back to the past and present scholars, and we look forward to the next quarter century of Loran Scholars Foundation. Thanks to the outstanding support of our donors, today investing in Canada’s future. we are 84% of the way to our $14 million dollar goal. Once again, to all of our volunteers, donors, alumni and staff, thank you for your Our work depends on a network of over 350 volunteer assessors, interviewers and enormous support over the past 25 years. administrators across the country, assisted by our small but outstanding staff. Identifying 30 promising young leaders from among a talented pool of about 3,500 applicants would be impossible without them. The success and rigor of our Warm regards, interview process depends on truly getting to know our candidates. This year we added regional selection committees in Regina and Vancouver, making a total of Franca and Susan 2014 ANNUAL REPORT | 4 2014 ANNUAL REPORT | 5 RESULTS SO FAR In Toronto, software startup Canopy Labs is working Best Production award at Toronto’s SummerWorks festival. As creative director to help businesses improve their sales by predicting of Project: Humanity, Andrew Kushnir (‘98) is raising social awareness through customer behavior and trends. They are growing, the arts while challenging audiences with his roles in cutting-edge plays. Mark and have already raised more than $1.5 million Godfrey (‘06)’s group Pram Trio is making waves in the Jazz world, winning the dollars in venture capital. Wojciech Gryc (’04), Grand Prix at the Montreal International Jazz Festival this year. started the company at age 26 after earning two graduate degrees at Oxford and working at a global In the realm of politics and public policy, Alex Mazer (’98) is running for City management consulting firm. Wojciech is an annual Council in Toronto, where four other alumni are helping run his campaign. Mischa Oak (‘99) and Matthew Reid (‘05) are running for School Trustee in donor and has employed two Loran Scholars through Wojciech Gryc & Sammy Lau the summer program. The Canopy Labs team includes Vancouver, BC and London, ON respectively. David Vlemmix (‘05) and Sammy Lau (‘10), and two former Loran Scholars In addition to pursuing successful careers, our alumni Foundation board members and current donors serve as strategic advisors. remain committed to service, volunteering in a variety Canopy Labs is a microcosm of the Loran Scholar community 25 years after its of roles with local, national and international organizations. founding. The impact of being a Loran Scholar extends well beyond the For example, Lindsey MacDonald (‘02) is working with four-year undergraduate degree, as graduating scholars join a network of a national organization she helped establish that uses alumni and volunteers who collaborate and support each other in living the football as a means of improving the lives of homeless values of character, service and leadership. Although the average age of past and socially excluded people in London, England. In Loran Scholars is only 29, they are leaders in business, public policy, nonprofits, Halifax, Jesse Robson (‘05) is helping seniors stay medicine, law, academia and many other disciplines.