On February 11, 2019, Carleton announced that we have officially surpassed the $300 million goal of our Collaborate Campaign! The campaign continues and will officially close at a community celebration on April 17, 2019.

In an effort to show our gratitude and to commemorate the outcomes we achieved together through Collaborate, we’ve launched a nine-week digital initiative called Thank You Thursday. Each Thursday, we will share the positive impact realized through the campaign in various priority areas thanks to the generosity of our donors. THANK YOU for all your support—cheers to being Here for Good!

WEEK 1

Community members founded Carleton University to provide opportunity to the young people of Ottawa and to serve the broader region and its citizens. Since our inception, we’ve been committed to engaging with and serving our community in order to make a positive impact in Ottawa, Canada, and the world.

Through the Collaborate Campaign, donors and friends have helped us address community needs—supporting the creation of new programming and engagement in community service and volunteering. For example:

• We created the Clayton H. Riddell Graduate Program in Political Management, the only graduate program of its kind in Canada. With support from the Riddell family, we’re grooming the next generation of political management professionals by providing advanced training on political leadership, campaign management, ethics and policy development. The program now has more than 150 graduates who are working within all levels of government as well as for nonprofits, advocacy groups and government relations firms;
• We continue to train future architects to contribute to their urban environments through our renowned Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism. Thanks to the Azrieli Foundation and other supporters, we expanded architecture programming to maximize the impact our architecture students can have in their communities;
• With support from our donors, we launched Canada’s first Master in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership program—equipping talented young scholars and future nonprofit leaders with the skills and knowledge to pursue careers in philanthropy;
• We shared knowledge with the community and provided training to young journalism students by launching the Peter Stursberg Foreign Correspondents Lecture, which was established in 2017 thanks to the generosity of Peter’s children, Richard Stursberg and Judith Lawrie. Held in the community at the Canadian War Museum, the lecture series allows the world’s most influential foreign correspondents to take the stage and share their insights and experiences;
• We helped to inspire discovery and spark interest in biology and butterflies in the minds of young people through our annual Butterfly Show. As a free, volunteer-run community event, the Butterfly Show thrives and expands year after year thanks to crowdfunding efforts through Carleton’s FutureFunder website;
• Student-athletes from the Ravens football team passionately serve their community through outreach and engagement initiatives. The players organize an annual blood donor clinic on campus, coach youth during the Junior Ravens camps, and volunteer with community organizations including Habitat for Humanity, the Ottawa Food Bank, and the Ottawa Mission. A group of donors, led by alumnus John Ruddy, successfully fundraised to return the football program to Carleton. As the result of the team’s return, we launched Throwback—Carleton’s reimagined homecoming celebration—with the goal of bringing together alumni, community members, students, and staff and elevating school spirit;
• With leadership from Landon Pearson and support from philanthropists and foundations, the Landon Pearson Resource Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children’s Rights facilitates opportunities for youth to increase their political participation and to be advocates for social change. The Centre supports a variety of initiatives including the annual Shaking the Movers Conference, a youth-led workshop held across the country that enables children to share their unique perspectives, experiences, and recommendations on topics related to children’s rights.