From Louisville to Canada:
Inspiring Lessons for Our Mission | Linda Dollard and I were privileged to join the US Society of Saint Vincent de Paul assembly this past August 27-30. The meeting gathered more than 800 US Vincentians around the theme “Honoring Heritage, Embracing Change” in Louisville Kentucky. We attended a full day stores workshop where experts shared their best practices and introduced new concepts to their colleagues in the hope of making their operations smoother and more profitable, to help more neighbours in need. Some of the outstanding comments included hiring and rewarding competent people, tracking efforts and results individually, including the mission in every interaction – at donation and at the cash – and the importance of rounding up donations. | We listened to fascinating keynote speakers: Stephanie Land, the author of “Maid: Hard work, Low Pay and a Mother’s Will to survive”, a best-selling book which was subsequently turned into a Netflix series spoke about dignity for those toiling as invisible service workers while surviving chronic poverty. Her talk was stirring and emotional and brought the audience to their feet. It was a fantastic reminder of the importance of the personal connections inherent to the Vincentian home visits. We ensured to attend as many of the relevant workshops as we could, including a fundraising presentation and governance and finance discussions. We were told to “just ASK” to recruit new members and listened to the Youth group speak about establishing long-lasting connections with new younger members. All were very engaging and inspiring. We will be bringing a lot of these learnings to Canada to improve our own processes in the hope of facilitating your activities on behalf of your neighbours in need. I am pleased to share that we’ve already begun to provide fundraising support and advice to any conference and council looking for help. Jim McIntyre, SSVP Canada’s new Manager, Development and Philanthropy joined us in August. Jim brings extensive experience in fundraising and donor engagement, and he has successfully led initiatives in donor stewardship, partner and major-giver relationships, strategic planning, direct mail campaigns, grant writing, and donor engagement. Jim like all National Council staff is a resource that is shared with you all, dedicated to strengthening the SSVP councils and conferences’ knowledge base and long-term viability, and advance fundraising opportunities for everyone. Read more about his plans to help you inspire donors, build trust, and ensure philanthropy makes a meaningful impact in the following article. Philippe E. Blain, Executive Director | Building a Culture of Philanthropy at SSVP | I am so pleased to be joining the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. I have already met some wonderful people, and I am excited about getting to know many more of you. As Philippe has indicated, I am here to help, so I’d like to share two of my philosophies about fundraising. One: We all have a role to play fostering a culture of philanthropy. What this means is everyone has some responsibility towards fundraising. It can be as simple as just talking about the Vincentian mission to family and friends. Vincentians share their blessings of time, talent and treasure with those who need help and hope – and what can be more inspiring than that? Donors come from anywhere and everywhere, and if we can talk passionately about our work, who knows…a donation might be coming! Along with this is sharing information about opportunities for funding. A key tip about a potential funder can make all the difference. | | Two: Fundraising does not have to be difficult. One of my fundraising heroes is Henry Nouwen, and his book “A Spirituality of Fundraising” has become an oft-quoted resource for me when I talk about fundraising. Henry taught me that fundraisers don’t really have to “ask” for donations. Our job is to make sure a potential donor knows as much as possible about what we do and be inspired by our passion to give. Vincentians across our country have amazing stories of how we’ve made a difference in someone’s life. So share that, and people will respond to your dedication and the work you do. I have had it happen that a donor thanks me for giving them the opportunity to contribute. It’s an amazing feeling! Of course, fundraising does require clear, concise, and consistent messaging. And that’s what I’m looking forward to helping with. As a National resource, I will be balancing my time between coordinating activities at the National Council and providing assistance and support to Conferences across the country. Whether it’s helping to craft grant application narratives or making suggestions on how to structure a mail campaign, I am eager to share my ideas and experiences with you. And I hope to learn from you as well. SSVP has had a long history in Canada! When I moved from business sales to non-profit fundraising over 14 years ago, I realized that I had found my vocation: it was no longer “just a job”. I had been successful in business, but there was always something missing: the social good element. With SSVP, there isn’t any question: the “good” is happening every day. Jim McIntyre, Manager Development and Philanthropy
dev@ssvp.ca | Call for Candidates for the National Council President Election | As announced during the 2025 Annual General Assembly, Linda Dollard will conclude her mandate as President in 2027. The time has come to consider candidates for the position of President of the National Council of Canada. The format, timelines and candidate eligibility considerations can be found here and taken from the Canadian Statutes and Rule of the Society in Canada (2.3.4). Only members of Aggregated Conferences and Instituted Councils are eligible as candidates or nominators. | Materials for the World Day of the Poor Are Now Available | On November 16 this year, the SSVP will participate in the ninth national campaign for the World Day of the Poor (WPD). The theme this year is “You are my hope". | | For the SSVP, this yearly event represents a great opportunity: - To educate the public about the needs of those we help in our communities.
- To increase the visibility of the SSVP’s mission and activities.
- To energize and recruit new Vincentians, and
- To collect funds and/or non-perishable goods to ensure the long-term viability of our good works on behalf of our neighbours in need.
This year again, the National Council is offering you material that you can use as is or adapt according to your needs. You can access it on our site: WORLD DAY OF THE POOR MATERIAL | | | Warm up your neighbours on the coldest night of the year! Members of SSVP St Matthew Conference in Oakville decided to host a Coldest Night of the Year (CNOY) walk, held across Canada on Saturday, February 22nd 2025. They hosted a new site for the 2km/5km walk in the neighbourhood; participants met for the kick-off, walked the distance of their choice on the approved properly-marked and supervised route, dropped in at the rest stop at Glen Abbey United Church and finished off the event together in the Saint Matthew Church Hall, warming up over a small meal. READ MORE | | | | Beyond our Border – Project Northern Alberta – Cadotte Lake The primary aim for Project Northern Alberta in its first year was to address, in some small ways, a lack of the necessities of life in one community in Northern Alberta, Cadotte Lake. In a second year, these same needs would be addressed there, as well as in different communities in Northern Alberta if other SSVP conference wanted to participate. It was suggested that St. Theresa’s Conference take the leadership role since their members had some related experience through their work in shipping containers of essentials to various Arctic communities through the North of 60 Project. READ MORE | | | | | SSVP is driving change through affordable housing with the support of the Knights of Columbus The Ottawa Central Council’s affordable housing for Indigenous people initiative was among the projects which benefited from the Knights of Columbus Annual Charity Golf Tournament in Kanata, Ontario this past May. This project will create much-needed Indigenous-specific housing units in Ottawa. Thank you to the Holy Redeemer SSVP Conference for generously donating its proceeds. Representatives of the Knights of Columbus Council 9544 presented the cheque, which was gratefully received by Patrick Nzobo (President, Ottawa Central Council) and Bernie Hartlin (Treasurer, Ottawa Central Council), along with the President and Communications/Senior Advisor of the Holy Redeemer Conference. | | | | Great Fundraising from the Golf Tournament for Aylmer SSVP A charity golf tournament held on August 24 at the Gatineau Golf Club raised over $11,000 for the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in Aylmer. Thanks to the generosity of the club and many local sponsors, the event brought together golfers and guests for a day filled with activities: tournament play, raffles, a silent auction, and more. Aylmer SSVP warmly thanks all the volunteers, donors, and community members for their support. These funds will provide much-needed assistance to those most in need, while also celebrating the spirit of giving and solidarity. | | | John van der Zalm, President of Hamilton Particular Council, ON John is doing an outstanding job. His fundraising efforts, including a dinner/dance/silent auction, a lottery, a golf tournament and a purse bingo have raised a great deal of funds in support for the work of the SSVP. His collaboration with Hamilton West shows how well Vincentians can all work together. His commitment to growing our store operations is terrific and his willingness to try new projects, like adopting a new donor management system, shows excellent vision. He is a very caring and hard-working person, a wonderful Vincentian. | | We invite you to submit your nominations to recognize a Vincentian in our community whose work and dedication deserve to be celebrated. | Faith in action…finding God in the poor! Let us honour and celebrate together the feasts of the Society’s co-founder, Blessed Frédéric Ozanam, on September 9th, and patron Saint Vincent de Paul, September 27th. | If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your desire with good things, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in. (Isaiah 58:10-12) REFLECTION | | Fundación MAPFRE awards SSVP
the prize for Best Social Organization 2024 | The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has been honored with the Fundación MAPFRE Award for Best Organization for its Social Trajectory, a recognition endowed with €40,000 that distinguishes organizations committed to fields such as social action, culture, or health. The financial support will be allocated to promote international cooperation for development projects and aid in disasters and emergencies, as well as to support projects and solidarity initiatives led by young people, particularly international youth volunteering, as the driving force and future of our mission of solidarity in the world. The award ceremony will take place next October 8 at the Casino of Madrid, with the presence of H.M. Queen Sofía. READ MORE | | Question & Answer What are National Support Fees and why are they paid to the SSVP National Council of Canada? | | These used to be called “Pass up contributions” with the name being changed to “National Support Fees” early 2025. This is a mandatory amount of $300 to be paid annually by each Conference and Council to help National Council provide support to Conferences/Councils. This payment should be paid to your next higher level and Regional Councils are responsible for making quarterly payments to National Council. For more information, check out 6.3.7-FIN-007-Financial-Contributions-to-the-NC-Canada-2025-03.pdf The support provided by National Council to Conferences and Councils includes administration, training, and financial support to facilitate member efforts on behalf of our most vulnerable neighbours. More details about the support provided can be found at Role of National Council. | We regularly publish exciting facts about the SSVP. Visit our Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn frequently to find out more about the Society. To promote our publications, please like and share them. Links to our social media can be found at the bottom of this newsletter. We are always looking for Vincentian testimonials and conference/council activity stories. Send your stories to share with Vincentians across Canada to editor-editeur@ssvp.ca. If you received this from a friend, you can subscribe to receive our newsletter directly. SUBSCRIBE HERE | Connect with us on social media | | | | |
