Worldwide professional services firm Deloitte often says it “makes an impact that matters,” but a recent fundraising campaign for The Ottawa Hospital’s new campus development by the partners at Deloitte Ottawa takes that sentiment to a whole new level.
That’s because a number of local partners – and their spouses – recently banded together to donate $1M to the hospital’s Campaign to Create Tomorrow.
It was a unique initiative that generated a ton of excitement and passion right out of the gate, explains Deloitte’s vice-chair, and board member at The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, Mark Noonan.
“We believe as business leaders it is our responsibility to give back to our community,” Noonan says. “As a partner group, we saw this monumental build going on in the city and wanted to step up as a team to support it.”
Building on a corporate tradition of giving at Deloitte
Corporately, Deloitte is well known for its philanthropic activities through the Deloitte Health Equity Institute, the Deloitte Foundation, and other initiatives. The foundation is a not-for-profit that supports fundraising and events, promotes environmental sustainability, provides pro bono community services, and donates to educational organizations.
But Noonan says the partner campaign for The Ottawa Hospital was different: A grassroots initiative developed by local partners to donate directly to a local project.
“And right from the start a number of our partners were really into it,” he says.
“It was right around the same time as our community giving campaign at Deloitte, so people were already thinking about giving. But we said to ourselves: ‘How can we be a bit bolder? Can we be a bit broader? How can we make a generational impact that matters in our own community?’”
After an initial meeting to hash out the campaign’s monetary goal back in November, Noonan says it only took a couple of months to raise the funds once the campaign got going.
Noonan says the biggest motivation was to meaningfully contribute to an institution that will ultimately affect nearly everyone in the city.
“We either all have a personal story about The Ottawa Hospital, or we will have a personal story about The Ottawa Hospital in years to come,” he says. “And it’s really up to each one of us to invest for future generations.”
Setting an example for the community
Noonan says an additional motivation among Deloitte Canada partners and their spouses was to inspire other Ottawans to get involved and contribute to this once-in-a-generation opportunity. They are proud to be leaders in this important campaign.
“We’ve got a foundational build going on in our city,” Noonan explains. “Healthcare has to be the cornerstone of any vibrant community – we have to be able to attract the best doctors, the best researchers, to our city to have a successful future.
“And it is, I think, incumbent upon us as individuals and business leaders in this city to step up and come together as a group to help shape our future.”
The Ottawa Hospital Foundation would like to recognize the following partners for their significant commitments:
Michelle Alfieri and Stewart Paveling
David Anthony
Charles Perron and Jo-Anne Armstrong
Kevin and Kristin Armstrong
Michel Brazeau
Binna Choi
Jason Condon and Kiran Randhawa
Amy deRidder
Dan, Kari and Doré Family
Chris and Erin Duffin
Mark Dumalski
El-Khoury Family
Shannon Kot
Simon Lavigne
Shannon Lundquist
David and Diana Mason
Michael Matthews
Hilary McVey
Susan Mingie
Mark and Jenny Noonan
Brian and Kerri-Lynn Pratt
Andrea Roy and Daniel Sumner
Michael Runia and Suzanne Shillington
Mohamed Sheibani
Chris and Suzanne Stanton
Anthony and Amanda Tomacic
Annelyse and Guillaume Vadeboncoeur
Bryan and Danielle Walsh
Ruby Williams
