Stratford and Perth County Community Foundation recruiting new board members

SPCCF needs four to six board members to help with philanthropic giving

By Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Stratford and Perth County Community Foundation (SPCCF), an organization dedicated to philanthropic giving and serving as the steward of funds earmarked for local charitable causes, is looking for new board members to support its mission across Stratford, St. Marys and Perth County.

For more than 20 years, the SPCCF has supported charitable organizations through grants made possible by the responsible management of endowment funds. As the foundation continues to evolve to meet emerging needs, the board is looking for people who bring insight from community involvement, hands-on experience and a willingness to think creatively about local challenges and opportunities.

“We’re really open to four to six (new board members) at this time, and actually, if we have candidates who are really qualified, it could be more than that,” said Lee Anne Andriessen, a director on the SPCCF board and chair of the governance and nominations committee. “We do have some retiring directors, so we’re trying to stay ahead of the game in terms of being prepared that way. We’re actually operating at a minimum amount of directors and we’d like to get into a higher number. Sadly, one of our directors passed away in July – Don Hathaway passed away – so we were really sad about that.

“Typically, directors are at that retirement age and everyone takes on so much to some degree. A lot of them have already given three to four years, so it’s fair when people want to move on to other things.”

SPCCF board members are volunteers and they typically meet six to 10 times annually, though Andriessen says participation goes beyond the boardroom as she and her fellow members serve on committees of the board, attend funding announcements and other events, and work within their own community connections to identify potential donors, as well as charities and other organizations that could benefit from the funding SPCCF has available.

Andriesssen said the board is seeking members with experience that complements the work SPCCF does, whether that’s legal, insurance, finance, or business, experience working with charities and non-profit organizations, a background in long-term planning, policy development and governance, community leadership, and everything in between. While she says candidates are not required to demonstrate experience in all of these sectors, the board is looking to build a team in which each of its members bring something different to the table.

“We’re also looking for people who have their finger on the pulse of the community and what our needs are because our foundation gives money away – we grant out money,” Andriessen said, noting SPCCF manages and grows funds totalling $10 million. “So, it would be nice to know, from other people’s perspective, what is top of mind. Is it housing, is it food security, is it youth? … Some people who work in different aspects of community life have a really good way of drilling down into what’s needed.”

While Andriessen says it can be easy to find potential board members in Stratford, she’s hoping to see applicants from both St. Marys and across Perth County.

“It is a county foundation that actually allocates money across the county, from North Perth to St. Marys, Perth East, Perth South, West Perth,” she said. “We need to have voices from all those corners because when you have voices from all those corners, you have a better sense of what are those needs, and also knowing people who can contribute to foundation financially, too.”

Interested applicants are being asked to fill out an online application form at spccf.ca before 5 p.m. Jan. 5, 2026, and selected candidates will be contacted for an interview.