Dave Hale’s life was never the same – in more ways than one – after his mother passed away in 2021.
That’s because the Ottawa-based entrepreneur says he didn’t realize the effect his mom’s dedication to giving back had on the community until then.
“She received around 300 letters while she was in hospice,” he explains. His mom had previously run an at-home daycare, organized a youth group, and headed up the local choir in his hometown of Munster, just southwest of Stittsville.
“She was very community involved – a pillar of her life was giving back. And she did it in her own way,” says Hale. “It left me with this feeling that this is what we should all strive for. And the idea of legacy really started to materialize for me through that experience.”
The experience led to something else, as well – a recent $50,000 donation from Hale and his wife to The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) Foundation’s $500 million Campaign to Create Tomorrow for the new hospital campus.
‘You can say you had a role in helping to build that hospital’
Hale – a founder of local companies including Soshal Group, Craft & Crew, and most recently the RDEL Group business consultancy – says he hadn’t seriously considered donating to TOH’s campaign until he heard from Graham Thompson, the organization’s director of philanthropy.
The two had worked together in the past, Hale says. Despite this, he was initially skeptical of donating to a large organization. He wanted to be assured of transparency and accountability before committing.
“I initially assumed it was going to be a vacuum,” he says, ”and that I wasn’t going to see where the donation went. But then Graham walked me through exactly what’s happening with the Campaign to Create Tomorrow.”
He soon came to see a potential donation as an investment in both the community and his family’s health.
“Even if you don’t care about philanthropy,” he says, “if you give 50 grand to The Ottawa Hospital at the age I’m at now, and you compound that investment over the next 30 years to when you’ll likely need their services in a meaningful way, that return on investment is going to be quite high.”
He also grew excited about the ambitious nature of TOH’s $500 million campaign, along with the thought of contributing to a major healthcare centre in the heart of Ottawa — something he can tell his kids about.
“The idea that I can take a detour and show my kids, ‘Hey, you see that building over there? That’s a hospital, and we’ve given them money to help them build that hospital.’ It’s just very physical, to be able to see something being built that you had a role in helping with.”
Paving the way for the next generation of giving with transparency
Hale hopes to inspire the next generation of donors in Ottawa to contribute to the construction of the new hospital; he says TOH’s openness will be crucial in attracting younger donors to the Campaign to Create Tomorrow.
That’s because Millennials and other younger businesspeople must see a certain level of transparency before significantly committing to a fundraising campaign, Hale says.
“They’re happy to give to a good cause, but they’re not going to give their money and not know where it goes,” he says, adding that he’s also been named a member of TOH’s Campaign Cabinet. “I have immense trust in the people there. But participating, to help ensure you know where the funds go, makes it more meaningful.”
Every donation, of any size, is crucial
Most people aren’t in a position to cut a cheque for several million dollars, or even a few thousand – and that’s okay, says Hale. “There can sometimes be a feeling from people that philanthropy is unattainable if you can’t give large sums of money,” he explains. “But nothing could be further from the truth.”
Plenty of donors in the region have stepped up to give what they can – but more are needed for the campaign to hit its target.
“I wanted to be a voice for the campaign that it’s everyone’s tomorrow, and that there’s an opportunity for everyone to participate. You don’t have to contribute a million dollars to get involved in a meaningful way.
“Because even with our relatively modest commitment, every person I interact with at the hospital and the hospital foundation, every conversation starts with immense gratitude and communication of how impactful even our donation is going to be.”
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