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Meet our Partners: Stronger Philanthropy

December 5th, 2016

Stronger Philanthropy is an organization that works to multiply impact for grantmakers. Through the leveraging of donations, Stronger Philanthropy works with a variety of clients, offering their clients “streamlined systems, clear communication, worry-free administration, and accountable partnerships with charities.” Founded in 2015 by President and CEO Mark Petersen, the Stronger Philanthropy team has applied 25 years of cumulative expertise, playing a key role in $35m in grants being awarded to over 2,100+ projects by 301 healthy, effective Canadian charities through partner foundations and major donors.

When asked what prompted President and CEO Mark Petersen to begin Stronger Philanthropy after a decade of working for charities in Latin America and Asia and another 15 years spent leading a prominent private Canadian foundation he reflected, “After 15 years of leading our family foundation, I wanted to share our philanthropy best practices with others and started Stronger Philanthropy.  We serve a small group of generous people and private foundations who, inspired by their Christian faith, want to contribute wisely for the common good of society.  Our annual round of grants is called Stronger Together where we leverage our charitable donations into creating maximum impact for the organizations we support.  Our monthly Stronger Philanthropy Podcast explores generosity from a faith perspective.”

2017 will present an opportunity for Canadians across the nation to celebrate their country’s 150th anniversary from coast to coast. Unsurprisingly, the Stronger Philanthropy Team is doing its part to make this year’s sesquicentennial celebrations memorable and effective. Notes Petersen, “In honour of the 150 years since Canada’s birth as a nation, we have invested into Faith in Canada 150’s project to empower millennials to remember and reflect upon the astonishing role that religious faith has in shaping our culture. We plan to participate in the millennial gathering in Ottawa for the July 1 celebration.”

Petersen sees both faith and charitable giving as central to Canada’s future stating, “Generous Canadians of many faiths can continue to shape our culture going forward. We must not neglect our spiritual traditions but feed them through wise stewardship and generosity.”

A person of faith himself, Petersen takes active steps – literally - within his own personal life to cultivate a posture of both vibrancy and contemplation towards his own spiritual journey. In keeping with the ethos of his collaboratively focused organization, Petersen adopts this same posture towards his own spirituality. He reflects, “Over the past three years, I’ve had the privilege of walking the Camino de Santiago three times, a 1000-year old pilgrimage through Spain.  In these treks I have covered over 2000 kilometres over mountains and through the vast wheatfields of the Iberian Peninsula.  I’ve learned that walking alone can be a debilitating grind and very lonely.  Only by coming in step with companions you meet along the way will your journey thrive.  In like manner, generosity can be lonely. Joining with others who share a commitment to travel the same path is both rewarding and an inspiration to continue persevering in our good work.”

Faith in Canada 150 would like to thank Stronger Philanthropy for its generous partnership, without which, this project would not be possible. 


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