Donor Impact
Beyond the Numbers – The Real Impact of Your Generosity
What the Numbers Really Say
The numbers on the financial statements tell us what happened in a moment in time, namely our year-end which is March 31. How much money we raised, how much we spent on fundraising and administration, and how much we donated to charity. It is an accurate snapshot in time, but doesn’t tell the vibrant moving story of what we do every day.
This is the story of our contributions.
It is obviously important to produce annual financial statements. In our case, they are audited by a local Durham firm who have been in practice for over thirty years and have a commitment to the community; that is important to us.
We fundraise for the Ajax Pickering Hospital, the Jerry Coughlan Health & Wellness Centre and Lakeridge Gardens Long-Term Care Home, and, as a proud member of the west Durham business community, make every effort to engage and support our local business community. Procurement of professional services, printing, design and supplies are prioritized to be locally sourced.
Our staff (in their own time) have been volunteers with the Ajax-Pickering Board of Trade (APBOT) for over 20 years including our CEO Tracy Paterson being a past two-time President of APBOT. Our Board of Directors and staff also personally donate their time for continuing education for other non-profits, as well as volunteering time to assist with community groups, events and support.
Financial
Since 2016, when we resumed operations at the Ajax Pickering Hospital Foundation, we have contributed/committed 75% of every fundraising dollar to Lakeridge Health for the Ajax Pickering Hospital, Jerry Coughlan Health & Wellness Centre or Lakeridge Gardens Long-Term Care Home. These gifts can be equipment that has been purchased, or written commitments to the hospital to proceed with purchases. When we look at the financial statements it shows contributions that have dollars transferred from us to Lakeridge Health in a year; it does not show what has been promised but not yet paid for. This is important for very big projects like when we build a capital project or purchase a big piece of equipment (like the MRI).
We have funds in investments, and these are managed by PH&N, Phillips, Hager & North Investment Funds Ltd. which is wholly owned subsidiary of RBC Global Asset Management. Oversight of our financial affairs is done by our Audit & Finance Committee constituted of our Foundation’s Directors and an external chartered accountant. And our daily affairs are overseen by a chartered accountant who works for the Foundation. The Audit & Finance Committee reports up to the Board of Directors who are elected for the oversight of the operations of the Foundation.
The Ajax Pickering Hospital Foundation has separate funds for every department and project that we support. That way when a donor contributes to a particular area of the hospital, the money is deposited into that department/project’s charitable account. When sufficient funds have been accumulated, we fund priority equipment needs. We also support educational programs for nurses, allied professionals and physicians.
The Need
Our priority is to provide the resources for our medical teams to save lives and to provide compassionate care to our patients. Life-saving medical equipment such as the MRI, equipment for cancer surgery, and creation of The Shoulder Centre have all been thanks to community donors. We’ve included a list of some of the equipment here.
We also partner with our team to work in the space between government funding and patient need by providing non-financial support to people in need. This cannot be counted on our balance sheet.
Since just December 1, 2022, the following have been donated by members of our community to help with the dignified & compassionate care of our patients:
- Hundreds of backpacks filled with items for the inpatient mental health patients and clients of the Assertive Community Treatment Team
- 25 bags of treats and 11 bags of groceries for clients of the Assertive Community Treatment Team
- Over 500 hundreds of hand-knitted blankets (which are all individually packaged by volunteers)
- Over 25 knitted shawls for Dialysis patients
- 20 handmade quilts
- China teacups & saucers for the residents’ High Tea at Lakeridge Gardens
- Hundreds of toys & stuffed animals!
- 20 activity books (i.e. puzzle & colouring)
- Countless hand-knitted baby hats for the newborn arrivals (which are all individually packaged by volunteers)
- Homemade XL cloth napkins for the residents of Lakeridge Gardens
- Books for the “read-return-repeat” library accessible by patients and staff
- Clothing for residents of Lakeridge Gardens as well as Mental Health patients
- Plants, soil & mulch for the Community Indigenous & Healing Garden
- Hundreds of toiletries, ranging from 2-in-1 shampoo and body wash, to hair brushes and toothpaste
Our Staff's Wellness
Our donors also know that the wellness of our hardworking staff is important, so as well as financially contributing to a Staff Wellness Fund that is used to support activities & staff-specific items, they also have donated countless treats that can help the busy staff take a break (like Crave Doughnuts who regularly donate donuts to the staff, or Ajax Casino that hosted a pop-up pizza stand).
