EVERGREEN FOUNDATION

ASSIGNMENT

To secure $1.8 million to match monies committed by the Federal Millennium Bureau to the Evergreen Canada Initiative.

CHALLENGE

The Evergreen Foundation is a small national organization, which works to create healthy green spaces in communities and schools across the country. Its most
important program, and the one for which it is primarily known, is Learning Grounds –
a seven year old initiative that has transformed over 780 school grounds into natural
learning spaces. The challenge was to access major funding to expand the
Learning Grounds initiative, while being sensitive to the critical school, parent and teacher stakeholder groups.

SOLUTION

In order to raise the monies Evergreen required to take Learning Grounds to the next level (and help match the dollars committed by the Millennium Bureau), seeking a
Naming Partner for the program was the most viable option. The issues surrounding corporate funding for youthdirected programs, however, were top-of-mind. A&C
therefore recommended finding a corporation to coname the program with Evergreen.
Toyota Canada was secured for a three-year corporate commitment of $1.8 million,
and the program has been renamed: Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds.
An integrated partnership was created, which will, in addition to the corporate cash commitment, include Toyota dealers spearheading cause-marketing activities at dealerships across Canada.