In April, the Robert Kerr Foundation officially receives registered charity status as a private foundation, and Joel Rose, Bob’s lawyer, and friend, becomes its trustee.

The foundation, now governed by three directors: Joel Rose, Jeff Lyons, and Karen Greve Young allocates its first grants, but does not yet have an operations staff. Joel, who has managed operations at Blue Star since Bob’s death, facilitates its sale to West Van, a Toronto-based trailer rental company.

In February, Bri Trypuc becomes executive director to oversee operations, charitable activity, and community grants. The foundation gets a logo and a giving strategy to target the basic needs of children, adolescents, and the chronically homeless, focused specifically on organizations that address critical health and education needs. It also implements a grant application and charity review process.

On July 26, 2015, Jeff Lyons dies unexpectedly. The board goes through a transitional period. Karen Greve Young steps down, and Andrew Freedman, Rustom Satchu, and Lorne Rose join as directors. By the end of 2018, the foundation is allocating between $350,000-$500,000 annually.

On a site visit to Evangel Hall Mission before he dies, Jeff Lyons is appalled to learn that tooth extraction is the only affordable option for homeless people who have cavities but no dental insurance. Determined to bring public awareness to the issue, he passes away before he can fully realize his vision. To honour him, the board commits $130,000 to build a new dental clinic for homeless people at Evangel Hall Mission. In June 2019, the charity breaks ground on the new facility, the foundation’s first independently led and funded capital project.

In January, the dental clinic unofficially opens its doors. Plans are put in place to hold an official ribbon-cutting ceremony in the spring but are foiled by the arrival, in March, of a global pandemic. In April 2020, in collaboration with intimates apparel brand Knix, the foundation launches an Emergency Crisis Relief Campaign to purchase personal protective equipment and distribute PPE weekly to 85 homeless organizations in the Greater Toronto Area. The foundation now allocates between $400,000-$750,000 annually.

The foundation hires a part-time program officer, embarks on a strategy to grant $750,000-a-year, and rebrands to signal its new direction and share Bob Kerr’s story more widely. After a decade during which RKF engages in program-related grant-making and helps fund a capital construction project, the foundation begins funding special capital projects. It co-launches an Emergency Crisis Relief Campaign (Knix x RKF PPE), and independently leads and funds two capital ventures: Bob’s Dental Clinic (Evangel Hall Mission) and Bob’s Kitchen (Ve’ahavta).

The foundation officially launches its new website in September and becomes a strategic donor in Toronto’s north west with investments in Big Brothers Big Sisters Toronto (North), Believe to Achieve and Philpott Children’s Tennis.   RKF has launched an online, automated grant management program to make it easier for applicants and more effective for our staff and board.