We have wonderful news to share with our members! 

The Ottawa Chapter of The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) has awarded CFUW-Ottawa the Outstanding Philanthropic Group Award for 2023.  We are deeply honoured to have been selected for this prestigious award from what we are sure was a powerful list of potential candidates.  So much good work is being done here in Ottawa by so many! 

As Helen Keller wisely observed, “alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Nowhere is this more true than with the success of our Scholarship Trust Fund (STF).  Over the past four decades, so many members of our club have donated to this fund, while others have further made it their mandate to endow special scholarships.  When we add to this the many successful fundraising events that have been held for the STF over the years, what we have managed to build together is a very strong and enduring foundation to help students pursue their dreams of higher education.  We want to recognize all of the contributions made, and work done, by our members over many, many years, that have culminated in this award.  To borrow from Sir Isaac Newton, if the STF sees further and accomplishes more today, it is because we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. 

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your donations, for your attendance at a fundraising event, for your participation in a silent auction, for your donation of a door prize, buying a ticket for a grab bag or a gift basket, and for buying a book or a treat at a bake sale.  It is because of your generosity and unwavering support that our club is being recognized today!  And of course a very special thank you and a hearty round of congratulations must go to Patricia Duffey and the STF Trustees, both past and present. Their dedication and thoughtful stewardship have ensured that the fund has thrived and grown over the years, and the reward for all of us is that the STF now has significant impact within our local institutions of higher education. 

Finally, we would also like to take this opportunity to thank Erin Pickering for nominating CFUW-Ottawa for this award.  We are both humbled and honoured by her desire to see us recognized in this way.  Her support and enthusiasm for our program means a great deal to us, and the fact that both the University of Ottawa and Algonquin College also wrote on behalf of this nomination is deeply appreciated. 

Congratulations to all and here’s to many more years of the STF helping deserving students reach their full potential through access to higher education!