November 2017

METCALFFOUNDATION

Working with Canadians to improve the health and vibrancy of our communities, our culture, and our environment.
Working with Canadians to improve the health and vibrancy of our communities, our culture, and our environment.

This fall the Metcalf Foundation has many reasons to celebrate. Participants from the inaugural Toronto Sector Skills Academy graduated and we’ve put together a short film that documents their stories. The Creative Strategies Incubator had a fun and informative send off for the seven companies who completed their three-year program and we welcomed five companies to the new 2017 cohort. Toronto City Council voted 36 to 6 in favour of making Bloor Street bike lanes permanent. And last but not least, from our offices in the Annex we are getting ready to announce a couple of new program streams by the end of the year. I hope you enjoy this newsletter and invite your feedback.

— Sandy Houston, President and CEO


City Council votes to make Bloor Street bike lanes permanent

Following a year-long pilot project on Bloor Street, on November 7 Toronto City Council voted 36 to 6 in favour of making the bike lanes permanent. Research, supported by Metcalf, found that ridership and business revenue were up along the route following implementation of the bike lanes. We also teamed up with Powerline Films to capture Bloor Street’s transformation.

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CrSI 2014 cohort presents results of three years of work

In September, participants from the Foundation’s 2014 Creative Strategies Incubator gathered together to present their findings gleaned from three years of strategic experimentation and shared learning. Through individual initiatives, each of the companys explored how to engage with audiences and build communities.

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Five new companies launch the 2017 Creative Strategies Incubator

We are delighted to announce the five companies selected to participate in the 2017 Creative Strategies Incubator (CrSI). Aluna Theatre, Canadian Opera Company, Toronto Fringe, Le Théâtre français de Toronto, and Young People’s Theatre will spend the next three years exploring strategies around engaging audiences and/or building communities. Performing Arts Director Michael Trent shares the Foundation’s hopes and vision for the new cohort.

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Toronto Sector Skills Academy grads share their experiences in a video

In 2016, Metcalf launched the Toronto Sector Skills Academy (TSSA) in partnership with the Aspen Institute. The TSSA is a leadership development program focused on creating and sustaining workforce employment strategies for low-income people in the Greater Toronto Area. We’ve created a short film documenting the stories of the first participants.

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Metcalf provides assistance for Sector Partnership Planning Grant

Earlier this year, the Ontario Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development introduced the Sector Partnership Planning Grant (SPPG). We have been contracted to provide technical assistance.“Investing in partnership development and strategic planning is critical to advancing sector focused workforce development,” says Adriana Beemans, Metcalf Inclusive Local Economies Program Director.

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New research warns of danger from escalating freight emissions

Most Canadians don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the carbon footprint of freight. But we should and we must think about it, according to Bora Plumptre, Eli Angen, and Dianne Zimmerman, authors of The State of Freight: Understanding greenhouse gas emissions from goods movement in Canada. This comprehensive new research report was released in June by the Pembina Institute and made possible in part by Metcalf Foundation funding.

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Mayor backs cargo delivery bikes as Pembina releases cyclelogistics report

Mayor John Tory took a cargo bike out for a spin in a show of support for the announcement by UPS that they are launching a cargo bike delivery pilot project in Toronto. The announcement coincided nicely with the October release of Cyclelogistics: Opportunities for moving goods by bicycle in Toronto published by the Pembina Institute with support from the Foundation.

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Green Budget Coalition seeks increased investments in nature

In its annual budget report released late September, the Green Budget Coalition of Canada advises that a substantial public investment in Canada’s ecosystems and species is required to protect and restore Canada’s land, inland waters, and oceans. “All ecosystem types in Canada are declining and the number of species at risk continues to grow,” the Green Budget Coalition states in its Recommendations for Budget 2018.

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Congratulations Geoff Cape on receiving the Order of Canada

On June 30, 2017 Geoff Cape, a past Metcalf grantee and long-time friend of the Foundation, was named a member of the Order of Canada. A lifelong environmentalist and urbanist, in 1991, Geoff co-founded the non-profit Evergreen. Initially, Evergreen limited its focus on the greening of Toronto school playgrounds. The scope and ambition of the organization has grown, and Evergreen is now considered a global leader in the creation of green infrastructure particularly as it relates to the design of sustainable cities. We offer him our warmest congratulations.

Jane Marsland wins a Silver Ticket Award

An invaluable leader in Canada’s arts world and an esteemed Metcalf Fellow, Jane Marsland garnered a Silver Ticket Award at this year’s Dora Awards. The Silver Ticket Award is given to an individual in recognition of personal excellence combined with nurturing the development to Canadian theatre. For over 50 years, Jane has managed arts organizations and worked with over ninety organizations, including the Canada Council for the Arts, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Take a bow Jane!

Metcalf welcomes new Communications Manager

Catherine Annau joined the Metcalf Foundation after a career as an award-winning documentary filmmaker, television and radio producer, published author, and communications and media strategist. Most recently, she has served as communications manager for a Toronto-based transit and urban affairs research group and as a manager of visual and performing arts at a community college. Her films have been broadcast on HBO, Channel 4, CBC, TVOntario, and the Sundance Channel, and have screened at festivals and cultural institutions in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Metcalf Foundation has a new Programs Intern

Having graduated cum laude from Princeton University in June, Ali Houston started at the Metcalf Foundation in September 2017. Her writing on European history has been published in a number of academic journals, including the Chicago Journal of History. Ali was a programs intern for Behind the Book, a Harlem-based in-school non-profit bringing authors into public school classrooms to lead creative writing workshops. She also interned at the Municipal Arts Society of New York and was the editorial assistant for the Literary Review of Canada.



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The George Cedric Metcalf
Charitable Foundation

38 Madison Avenue
Toronto, ON M5R 2S1 Canada
Tel. 416-926-0366
metcalffoundation.com

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