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​Connecting communities in Calgary and abroad to facilitate improved results 
​in ​international development

Construction Ahead

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​Fig Tree Foundation is planning some major renovations to our operations and offerings to members and the bigger community of international development organizations, practitioners and supporters in Calgary and area.  Anyone who has renovated a room or two in their homes knows that the process can be tough, but when it’s all over, you wonder how you ever managed before!
 
For over ten years, Fig Tree has been supporting international NGOs with the networks, knowledge and in some cases funds to catalyze great development projects around the world.  This mandate has been an exciting, challenging and immensely rewarding endeavour, and it’s our intention to continue to achieve these goals for years to come. Over the last year we have taken significant steps to this end, but we’re not stopping there. In the current global context, we believe our mandate and your work on the ground will be more critical than ever. 
 
We’d like to introduce you to the newest addition to the Fig Tree staff team. Paul Bartel joined us a few weeks ago, and is already a huge asset in his new role as Programs & Operations Manager. This role was designed with you, our Members, in mind. Paul will be working very closely with Members and FTF volunteers alike, with a focus on increasing the quality of your engagement with the Foundation. Paul has had a very successful career in Calgary’s nonprofit sector, including launching the 211 service for Calgarians with the Distress Centre as Manager, Organizational Performance. More recently, Paul led a team of staff and volunteers as Manager of Learning and Support Services at Alzheimer’s Society of Calgary. Please join us in welcoming Paul!
 
Like so many of your own organizations, Fig Tree could not operate without its volunteers.  We’ve seen many terrific volunteers come and go, including our Roundtable Liaisons, and we want to acknowledge that starting a relationship with a new Liaison every 6 to 12 months hasn’t been easy.  We want the next iteration of our member-facing services to offer continuity of support and consistency in communication.  We plan to achieve this with a new relationship management database, targeted communications and events, and stronger navigation support related to our granting process. We hope to launch our new organizational structure this fall, and it’s likely to look quite different from what we’ve offered in the past.  We think you’re going to love it!
 
Given our immediate focus on the redesign efforts, the organization will pause the acceptance of new grant applications until the Fall of 2020. Member organizations will be notified as soon as new application materials are available. We apologize for any inconvenience that this might cause in the interim. The Roundtable team will be taking a hiatus from Member communications to focus on honing in on the best model to support Members with their organizational needs and interests. Until then, should you have any questions or concerns, please contact Paul Bartel at paulb@figtreefoundation.com. 
 
We aren’t going away - we’re working to scale up our operations in support of your missions and global impact goals. If you have thoughts about how we can better serve you, please let us know. 

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Introducing Help Bolivia to the Fig Tree Family
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Building Brighter Futures with Health, Education and Lunch Programs (HELP)
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Introducing Orbis to the Fig Tree Family
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We are an international NGO that brings people together to fight avoidable blindness. With our network of partners, we mentor, train and inspire local eye care teams to fight blindness in their own communities. We believe that no one should live a life of unnecessary blindness, simply because of where they were born.
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Changing the way the world sees
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Subscribe to the Fig Tree Foundation Newsletter
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CEO Announcement
July 3rd, 2019
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Chief Executive Officer
​Appointmen
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The Fig Tree Foundation Board of Directors, after a lengthy and very competitive search process, is pleased to announce the appointment of Lesley MacKinnon in the role of Chief Executive Officer effective July 8th, 2019. 
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Lesley joins the Fig Tree Foundation ten years into a social impact career featuring the Grameen Bank and Grameen Trust, Carleton University, Mount Royal University, and most recently United Way of Calgary and Area where for three years, she managed a portfolio of community investments supported by some of Calgary’s most committed high capacity philanthropists. She drives engagement, shared value relationships, and effective approaches to social impact.  With a diverse skill set including impact evaluation, program design, and business development, Lesley is thrilled to be responsible for taking Fig Tree Foundation to the next level. 
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“It is a true privilege to join an organization that bridges the local and the global to ensure that international development initiatives originating in Calgary are achieving strong results that improve lives all over the world,” says Lesley. “Fig Tree’s focus on transforming international development presents so many opportunities for growth. My goal is to ensure Fig Tree Foundation is a partner of choice for local international development efforts and the Calgary community.”   

​We welcome Lesley to the Fig Tree family and look forward a great future working towards transforming international development in Calgary and beyond!

 

Who we are

At Fig Tree Foundation, we are dedicated to catalyzing great development through meaningful local collaboration and raising funds for Calgary-based international development organizations in order to co-create sustainable development projects. 

Our vision
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a world where all people and communities are empowered and self-reliant

Our mission
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Through collaboration and capacity building, Fig Tree Foundation invests in transforming international development
 

Catalyzing Great Development
Our guiding principles
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Sustainability
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Effectiveness
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Collaboration
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Transparency
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Learn more
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Fig Tree grants
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Through our endowment fund, we are committed to supporting collaborative development projects and programs that demonstrate the best potential return on every dollar raised; as measured by the net positive impact on the lives of communities in need.
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With a focus on four key Development Principles; sustainability, effectiveness, transparency and collaboration, our grants works to enable ethical international development. ​​
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Roundtable network
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Our Roundtable Network provides Calgary-based international non-governmental organizations with the opportunities to connect, collaborate and learn from each other, with the goal of reinforcing best practices in international development.
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The Fig Tree Foundation does not implement projects on our own.  Instead, we work with Roundtable members already implementing projects in the field and the partners that they are working with. 
We accomplish this work through two streams
Fig Tree Foundation
119 14 St NW
Calgary, AB T2N 1Z6
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Links:
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  • Contact: info@figtreefoundation.com​
Business No: 852034172RR0001
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