By Jordanna Tennebaum, Mara Selanders and Diana Matthews
A small philanthropic team in Ottawa is reinterpreting traditional models of charity work through a local holiday food drive that relies on grassroots fundraising.
The 11 members of GoodGuysTri, or as they like to call themselves, “Do-Gooders,” are focusing their food drive on communal involvement and the exclusion of corporate spending.
The group came together in 2007 when founder Mike Herzog heard reports of charities spending large sums of money on administrative and legal fees.
Photo via LinkedIn.
“Having been involved in fundraising, I thought somebody needs to do something about this,” Herzog said.
Now in its second year of operation, GoodGuysTri already has 20 organizations participating, ranging from the Orleans Veterinary Hospital to a sports injury-oriented Holistic Clinic.
Cheryl Rutherford of the Orleans Veterinary Hospital supports the medical center’s shift from aiding pets to people. “At this time of year there is a greater need. Last year we did a food drive that helped animals only and this year we opened up our boxes to people with needs,” Rutherford said.
Herzog’s ability to incorporate diverse organizations with differing mandates is central to his project as he aims to include the interests and contributions of over 100 volunteers.
“We’re a collection of all sorts of different people. It’s open to everybody. People come to me and ask ‘what should I do to help?’ and I try to answer that question, even if it doesn’t have to do with us. I’m not trying to build an empire.”
According to Herzog, empire building tends to be at the heart of many affiliate charity organizations that have experienced exponential growth over the past decade.
Herzog is particularly critical of the Movember campaign, an annual event that addresses men’s health issues through its focus on prostate cancer. While it has enabled many participants to hit lofty fundraising targets, he points to a potential lack of substance and concern for its mission.
“I’m not sure how much awareness growing a mustache for Movember brings in. There’s so much white noise. It’s the lowest common denominator of effort that you can put into doing something,” Herzog said.
Donations collected at Holistic Clinic.
For the group’s food drive this year, Herzog wants community members to collect and deliver non-perishables to the Ottawa Food Bank. He said they must take logistics into account when putting multiple food bins in place throughout the city. As such, one of the greatest challenges he faces during the execution of the holiday food drive is ensuring the participation and engagement of volunteers.
“If volunteers aren’t involved or passionate about what they’re doing in the campaign, I’ll tell them that it’s not resonating with them. I try to get them engaged in an area they’re interested in. They need to feel a connection to what they’re doing,” Herzog said.
“Watching somebody turn on and realize what they like is amazing. When I see someone become passionately engaged, how much is that worth? One million dollars? Ten million? You can’t put a price on that.”
The holiday food drive’s provision last year of about 1.5 tonnes of non-perishable goods to the Ottawa Food Bank has placed much attention on the budding organization, and to its hopeful ability to churn out similar figures this year.
From left to right: Dr. Isaac Cristoveanu, Dr. Troy Sturtevant and Dr. Todd Norton, practitioners at the Holistic Clinic in Ottawa.
