Eric Avner joins Waterloo Region Community Foundation as President & CEO
WATERLOO REGION, ON – The Board of Directors of Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Eric Avner as President & CEO of Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF). As the inaugural leader of the newly unified Foundation, Eric will be accountable for collaborating with individuals and organizations across Waterloo Region to further WRCF’s vision of “Sustainable, Equitable, Thriving Communities”
Eric joins WRCF with a depth of experience in trust-based philanthropic roles. Most recently, as the Vice President of The Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation (2008-2022), he oversaw the Foundation’s community development grantmaking and impact investing, directing more than $45M to strengthen Cincinnati’s distinctive urban neighborhoods, a talented regional workforce, and a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation. Eric also founded and was CEO of People’s Liberty (2014-2019), a nationally-recognized philanthropic lab that explored a new role for foundations interested in investing in place by investing in people.
Previously, Eric advised Cincinnati's top CEOs on economic development and public policy issues as Associate Director of the Cincinnati Business Committee (2000-2008). During this period, he held prominent roles in the creation of a nationally recognized nonprofit development corporation, the bond issue campaign to remake all Cincinnati Public Schools’ facilities, the exploration of new funding models for the arts and culture sector, and the disruption of the local media landscape by launching Soapboxmedia.com to focus on stories of economic and physical transformation in neighborhoods.
Eric arrives at WRCF with a demonstrated passion for hands-on community involvement. Over his tenure in Ohio, he chaired an effort to convert an abandoned railroad bridge into the Purple People Bridge, a half-mile-long award-winning linear pedestrian park (1998-2000), and served in leadership roles for capital campaigns for Know Theatre of Cincinnati, the 34-mile CROWN urban trail loop, American Sign Museum, and Findlay Kitchen food business incubator. He chaired the board of Cincinnati Development Fund – the region’s largest Community Development Financial Institution – and served on boards for Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, Philanthropy Ohio, Artworks Cincinnati, Catalytic Development Fund of Northern Kentucky, LISC Cincinnati, and Represent OTR. In 2021, Eric was awarded Fellowship of Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, UK “recognizing outstanding achievements to social progress and development.
Eric received his B.A. (Geography - Urban Systems) from McGill University and attended Cornell University to pursue an M.A. (Historic Preservation Planning).
“An important step in the unification process was to seek the input of Fundholders, partners and people from across the region. Through those engagements, Board members knew that we wanted our inaugural WRCF CEO to honour the organization's legacy, history, and culture, to integrate the organizations effectively, and also to set an engaging, energizing and equity-based path for the future”, said Lori Payne, Board Chair, Waterloo Region Community Foundation. “We wanted to ensure that we selected someone who has a proven track record with grassroots philanthropy, working with an equity focus, and who is fully committed to collaborating deeply with all of the communities in Waterloo Region to understand priorities, to try new things, and to do more good.”
“I am grateful for this opportunity to return to Southwestern Ontario and to work with this dynamic community. Waterloo Region is blessed with an incredible depth of talent, passion and compassion, and I’m looking forward to actively listening to individuals across the region to better understand the issues we’re facing,” said Eric Avner, President & CEO, Waterloo Region Community Foundation. “I’m excited to continue building on the work that has already been done by amplifying more voices, maximizing more resources and co-creating more solutions particularly in the areas of focus identified by WRCF’s Board including affordable housing and equity. Collaboratively, we’ll explore the role of our community foundation in these rapidly changing times.”
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Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF) collaborates with partners to create sustainable, equitable and thriving communities. We connect regionally and locally, working with three cities and four townships – to include the people and places across our region. Together, we develop forward-thinking innovative solutions and seize opportunities to meet current and future needs of our community. We make philanthropy easy for individuals and companies to support organizations and issues they care about. WRCF is focused on Granting, Impact Investing and Convening to make measurable and sustainable impacts. Gifts are directed to WRCF's endowed funds that drive positive change through grants with the income generated being distributed in partnership with Fundholders to support a wide range of charitable causes within our community. A portion of the endowed funds are also used for impact investments that deliver both financial returns as well as positive social or environmental outcomes. As a leading community-building organization, we also work to amplify voices and issues of importance by convening conversations and sharing information, while approaching our work with an equity mindset. www.wrcf.ca
For additional information about this release or to schedule an interview, please contact:
Lynne Short
Vice President, Waterloo Region Community Foundation
519-725-1806 x 204
lynne@wrcf.ca
