Page 23 - January 2023 Report

Resilience
Grant Program Committee meeting minutes (draft) (5)
8. Disability programing
a. Linkage report – Eye to Eye
A linkage report by King on Eye to Eye had been circulated. Over the past 15 years, JSF has invested $1,126,250 in the organization, which serves young people with learning differences. With the Foundation’s help, Eye to Eye has grown into a successful national program with a stellar reputation. The report concludes that Eye to Eye was a risky venture for JSF, but it was well worth it.
The report also raised questions about whether Eye to Eye can provide evidence of its claim that its Near-Peer Mentoring improves the educational experience and outcomes of its students. After a brief discussion, it was decided that staff or the Consultant will be in touch with David Flink about this.
b. Programing options
A list of Disability Programing contacts and potential grants as of October 2022 had been circulated and was discussed.
9. Disadvantaged programing
a. University of New Brunswick
Malcolm welcomed UNB Development Director Jeff Wright and Associate Development Director Marcie Nixon, who appeared before the Committee via Zoom. A letter requesting a proposed modification to the grant agreement had been circulated. The 5-year grant, which began in 2021, is to build a perpetual endowment for Promise Partnership students to attend UNB. UNB matches JSF’s $130,000 annual contribution by raising a $260,000 match for Promise Partnership scholarships and bursaries. The agreement is in Canadian dollars. The request is to revise the terms of the grant agreement to allow donations that support Promise Partnership programing and operations to qualify as matching funds. No more than 50% of the matching funds raised would be used for programing and operations.
Jeff explained that this change would help with fundraising. The university has some donors who prefer to support programs rather than scholarships and bursaries. Also, the operational support is needed to retain staff in a difficult labor market and keep the program running. Jeff and Marcie were asked whether the 50% designation would be reflected in UNB’s reporting to JSF. Marcie confirmed that the reports will show where all the dollars have gone. She expects that in some years the amount going to programs will be less than 50% of the match raised. Jeff said there is a large amount of donor interest in plans for a digital expansion of the program, which could extend the Promise Partnership beyond St. John in the next few years. Jeff and Marcie were thanked and they left the meeting.
Malcolm opened the floor for discussion. In earlier discussions with staff, Jeff had shared that the person running the program had left, likely lured away by a higher salary. Overall, the revision was deemed reasonable.
The Committee approved as presented a request from UNB to revise the current grant agreement to allow donations that support Promise Partnership scholarships and bursaries as well as programing and operations to count as Qualifying Funds for JSF’s match.
b. Elevation Scholars
Malcolm welcomed Scott Lee, Elevation Scholars President; Aminah Harris, Program Manager; and Samela Pynas, a graduate of the program. In 2021, JSF approved a grant to Elevation Scholars in the amount of $100,000 over two years with a 1:1 match. Bobby explained that this was an opportunity to hear directly from the Elevation Scholars team about the impact of JSF’s grant, which was approved during pandemic shutdowns. The organization is based in Orlando
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