To start and continue to run an initiative such as Eva’s Phoenix requires various types of funding. At the beginning, seed money needed to be found to bring the ideas to the point of implementation. Then, the emphasis was on finding $2.2 million in capital funding to pay for the renovation project. As the project developed, it was necessary to cover operational funding and funding for the training programs and the development of the social enterprise. Each of these phases required different fundraising strategies.
Eva’s Phoenix
Finding Resources
The concept of Eva’s Phoenix came out of a brainstorming session with youth-serving agencies and conversations with the youth, themselves. But even the creativity of a roomful of committed people trying to brainstorm innovative solutions was hampered by funding challenges.
The staff at Eva’s at the time was barebones. They responded to a request for expression of interest issued by the city for the fire truck repair garage. They identified key staff at the City of Toronto and at Human Resources Development Canada who were creative and believed in the vision, and who found ways to provide seed money to cover the developmental costs of the project. Soon realizing they did not have enough capital funding, they hired a professional fundraiser to secure both cash and in-kind donations. Unfortunately, although a lot of time was spent on the front-end work of developing a strategy and building a case for support, little actual fundraising took place.
It soon became evident that Eva’s needed to develop a more practical approach to fundraising, and it needed to act quickly – there was no time left to roll out a traditional marketing campaign as the project was already underway. The project got it’s first significant kick-start when City Councillors Jack Layton and Olivia Chow, who were already supporters, got in touch with Buzz Hargrove of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW). CAW was looking for a millennium project it could back, and liked the integrated approach and training component of Eva’s Phoenix.
With the involvement of Ian Somerville, the construction manager, Eva’s also mounted a gifts-in-kind program, which focused on soliciting construction materials from suppliers at a reduced cost or as a donation. This brought in an entirely new pool of donors who had not been engaged in this kind of project before and ultimately raised in excess of $300,000 in goods that were as valuable to Eva’s during the construction phase as cash in the bank.
The initial excitement around the construction project, in particular the youth involvement in the construction, fuelled by positive reports in the media, helped to build further positive momentum for Eva’s Phoenix. A model home was completed on-site early on the construction so that prospective donors could visit the site, see the youth at work, and get a first-hand look at the housing that was being built. This became an extremely compelling and successful way of conveying the case for support to donors.
To close the capital fundraising campaign, Buzz Hargrove solicited the support of Gerald Schwartz, CEO of Onyx Corp., with whom he had a business and personal relationship. Instead of just contributing money, Schwartz mounted a challenge for other corporate donors which he agreed to match dollar for dollar. This strategy had the effect of involving a whole new network in the fundraising. Since that time, Gerald Schwartz has been a significant annual donor to Eva’s Phoenix, including his current 3-year sponsorship of the Buzz Hargrove Training Supports Program.
The project went on the garner awards from various sectors and more positive coverage including the Peter Marshall Award for Innovation from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, and the Leonard Frost award from the Ontario Association of Hostels.
It was partly good luck and networking that brought some of the Eva’s Phoenix initial big donors, but it is perseverance and creativity that have kept the funds flowing to keep the doors open. Eva’s Phoenix has an annual operating budget of approximately $3 million. The housing component accounts for $1.2 million of this, of which approximately 75% is funded by the City of Toronto. But that still leaves a significant gap. Eva’s Phoenix raises approximately $2 million each year to run its employment, mentorship and life skills programs by soliciting grants and donations from governments, foundations, businesses and private citizens.
 Lessons Learned
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