‘WE’VE BEEN VERY FORTUNATE’: Mike Stork says ‘the privilege to give back’ is what drives his philanthropy, including a new fund established through WRCF

Hennie and Mike Stork

Mike Stork is keen on making every donated dollar count.

The Waterloo Region-based entrepreneur, alongside his family, made a deep impact in business before exiting Unitron Hearing and Dspfactory, longtime tech anchors in the community.

Stork, who is one of the region’s most well-known angel investors, has also played an active role in various startup businesses, providing initial seed money to numerous companies on their way to becoming success stories.

In fact, one need only take a cursory glance around the region to find Stork’s mark on a significant portion of the tech and innovation infrastructure, either through his investments, his mentoring, or philanthropy.

The Stork Family YMCA was so named after a $2 Million donation toward the construction of the building in Waterloo.

Both universities in the region -- Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo – have benefitted from Stork family generosity, including a $1.5 Million gift toward the University of Waterloo’s Innovation Arena, which houses Waterloo’s entrepreneurship program, Velocity. Mike and his wife, Hennie, who are Wilfrid Laurier University alumni, supported the creation of the Laurier Startup Fund with a $1 Million commitment in 2014.

Other initiatives include supporting the building of the Kitchener Hospice, Innisfree House, and the Drayton Youth Academy for Performing Arts.

Stork said that the spirit of giving was instilled in him by his dad, Fred, who founded Unitron in 1964. Benevolence became a natural, albeit calculated, reflex, he said.

“We’ve been very fortunate. Our family has always believed that the ability to give back is not just a privilege, but a responsibility,” Stork said. “When you’ve done well, thanks in large part to the energy of your community, and to the amazing people you’ve worked with to build the successful companies you have invested in, there’s an obligation to give back.”

“(My dad) made some significant (legacy) donations before he passed in 2008,” Stork added. “He made community giving a norm, and we’ve been more than happy to continue that course over the last 15 or 20 years.”

Before the unification of Cambridge & North Dumfries Community Foundation (CNDCF) and Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation into Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF), Stork served on the board of CNDCF, establishing the Stork Family Fund in 2007. That fund was, and is still, designated to flow to the Cambridge Shelter Corporation (The Bridges), an organization supported by his wife Hennie. Her talents complemented Mike’s over the years with third party fundraisers for a number of non-profit and charitable organizations.

More recently, the new Stork Family Fund was established in 2023.

The fund is donor-advised, meaning the Storks can choose who to support on an ongoing basis. One organization receiving an initial and on-going grant from the fund is the rare Charitable Research Reserve, a community-based urban land trust and environmental institute that protects more than 1,200 acres of sensitive lands across eight properties in Waterloo Region and Wellington County.

“The nice thing about our fund with WRCF is it affords flexibility in terms of giving,” Stork said of the fund’s structure. “You can support one organization for a number of years and then, as other opportunities present themselves, allow priorities to evolve.”

Stork said he’d encourage anyone considering ways to donate to the community to consider WRCF.

“The thing I like about a community foundations in general is that it’s a one-stop provider of comprehensive services related to making charitable donations to the community,” he said. “WRCF provides a whole range of services, advisory as well as the different vehicles that put your money to work. It really makes giving easy.”

As to the desired impact of the Stork Family Fund? It would have to be as fundamental as building a better community.

“These donations allow the charitable organizations that you value most to achieve their goals,” Stork said. “Thereby creating a better place in which to live and raise families. One individual can’t do it all but, working together, we can.”

WRCF offers a range of fund types to choose from, depending on philanthropic interests and desires for specific levels of involvement in annual granting decisions.

Funds can be established in your name, or in the name of your family, your organization or anyone you wish to honour. If you would like to learn more about setting up a fund, contact Dan Robert at dan@wrcf.ca or 519-725-1806 x 205.

For more information about WRCF, visit wrcf.ca.