In this issue:
- Provider Profile: Trinity Glen
- Let’s Connect at ONPHA
- Upcoming Webinar Asset Management
- Meet your Advisory Committee
- 2025 Regeneration Forum
Provider Profile: Trinity Glen
Trinity Glen is a non-profit housing provider in Newmarket, Ontario. Founded with some assistance from the United Church in 1991, it owns and operates 90 townhomes on a single site. We interviewed its Board Chair, John Ostime, about the organization and their investment strategy.
An engineer by education and a corporate operations professional during his working life, John has volunteered for several non-profit boards in the past. He also currently serves on Encasa’s newly created Advisory Committee (see above).
What does your financial landscape look like today?
The current economic climate is really putting us all in a bind. Costs are skyrocketing. Rents are basically flat. Our buildings are aging – and we need money to renovate them.
At the end of the year, we usually have a small operating surplus but it’s not enough to fund the work we need to do. At best, it might enable us to do the kitchen, bathroom and flooring in one unit. But it is a challenge to get contractors to perform that small a job and it’s not a very efficient way of handling projects.
To navigate our financial pressures and make progress on our capital plan, we depend on new funding programs and use our reserves to complement those programs.
Can you give us an example of how you use the funding programs and reserves together?
We put in heat pumps about five years ago and got a grant for $500,000. But that didn’t cover all of the units. So the Board decided that we would draw $300,000 from our reserve to do the rest. We didn’t want to get bogged down with questions like — which units? which residents would/wouldn’t get units?
Can you tell us about your capital plan and its alignment with your investment strategy?
We have a 30-year plan. It’s funny — the reason why we have this plan is because of the massive submission requirements for funding that we didn’t end up getting. That said, it prompted us to devise a detailed plan. And this informs our investment strategy.
As part of this, we’ve spent a good amount of money on studies to examine the state of the buildings – a building envelope study, consultants to look at our foundations, for example. We have invested in trying to understand where we are and what needs to be done – and when it needs to be done.
Based on our understanding of the buildings, we don’t have much in the way of short-term investments. And we have enough that we can wait out the downturns. So our investments in Encasa are in its Equity Fund.
Many housing providers have concerns about the volatility of equities. Can you tell us a bit about why your Board made this choice?
I was on another board related to a church – we managed investments. We had $18,000,000 and were required to be as conservative as we could be. But the problem is that if you’re conservative, that $18,000,000 might generate you $180,000 – and I can assure you, our constituents were looking for way more than that.
The problem today is that if you’re conservative, you can’t earn what you need to build your reserve and do the work. So you have to take some risk. And our board decided that we would. We’ve done very well with this approach.
It’s also important to remember that when you invest in the Equity Fund, you’re not investing in every speculative gold mine or the latest marijuana store! Yes, we’re in equities, but in equities with a conservative fund manager. You have to look at it closely and say what do you mean by risk? What are we really talking about here?
Thinking about the decision-making around your investment strategy and capital plan, can you tell us about the composition of your board?
We’ve focused on building a skills-based board. We have two new board members: one who works for a non-profit focused on helping women, so she is very in tune with a lot of the organizations around that. The other is a retired United Church minister. We also have board member who worked for a mental health organization. Then we have someone who was an accountant for a for-profit housing provider. We also have a few members who are generally into construction and building-related stuff. I have another one who’s joining who is a finance person and works for a non-profit housing corporation in a different Region. So it’s a board that has a combination of business, construction, financial, social services and people-oriented skills on it.
Let’s Connect at ONPHA!
Encasa will be at the ONPHA Conference this year in Ottawa. You’ll find us in the Parliament Foyer at the Shaw Centre on November 7 and 8.
If you have any questions about your investments or would like to have one of our investment advisors to meet with your board members, we’d be happy to help. You can pre-book an appointment with us during the conference or simply drop by our booth.
We will also be giving away one free registration to HSC’s 2025 Regeneration Forum (details below). Come by our booth and fill out a ballot for your chance to win!
Upcoming Webinar: Navigating Asset Management From Concept to Completion
Under the new Ontario service agreement framework, the community housing landscape is changing. With new regulations and aging buildings, capital planning has never been more important. Ensuring that your capital plan aligns with your reserve fund strategy is also vital – knowing how much you need, the time horizons for your investments and the opportunities to methodically build your reserve.
This webinar offers Encasa investors practical knowledge and tools to develop sound asset management plans and budgets to keep their properties safe and affordable over the long term. We’ll delve into how to effectively:
- Use your building condition audit to inform routine maintenance and capital repair plans.
- Leverage technology for planning and decision making.
- Prioritize repairs and replacements that increase property values and minimize impact on residents.
- Identify hidden and surprise project costs.
- Build a capital budget that leverages funding opportunities and maximizes capital reserve investments.
Stay tuned for more information!
Meet your Advisory Committee
In our previous issue of Capital Ideas, we requested nominations from Encasa investors and Service Managers who could help us shape Encasa’s products and make them more tailored to the needs of the sector.
We are now pleased to introduce the members of our advisory committee. They will be advocating on your behalf – as Encasa investors and stakeholders with similar concerns and goals related to capital reserves, repairs and planning.
Steve Quinn,
Board Vice President, Vincent Paul Family Homes (Toronto)
Why are you serving on this committee?
I was asked to serve on this advisory committee at its inception likely because I asked some tough questions at one of your public meetings.
What’s your top tip for building an investment plan?
My advice is to always have some immediate monies available to do the work needed by your group when grant money becomes available. This will only work for you if you are always prepared with a current Building Condition Audit. These grant opportunities often only open up for a week. Be ready!
John Ostime,
Board Chair, Trinity Glen Homes (York Region)
Why are you serving on this committee?
It was an opportunity to impact the housing community in general rather than just my own organization and also to meet others who are involved in housing.
What is your top tip for housing providers when building an investment plan?
The investment plan needs to be coordinated with the Capital Plan. This sounds fairly simple but it is challenging due to the difficulty in building a strong capital reserve.
Georgina Daniels,
Director of Corporate Services, District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board (TBDSSAB)
Why are you serving on this committee?
As a representative of both a Service Manager and housing provider, I believe I can provide insight into the processes associated with investments. Since TBDSSAB has provided feedback on some of HSC’s other programs as a client [HSC is a co-owner of Encasa], I think I can use my experience from that to benefit the committee.
What’s your top tip for building an investment plan?
I recommend that you start with your organization’s strategic plan, long term infrastructure and capital planning, reserve fund strategy, and any other long-term planning / strategies. Knowing your organization’s long term goals and objectives will provide the basis for the investment strategy/plan and ensure that it aligns accordingly.
Cindi Briscoe,
Manager of Housing Services, City of Greater Sudbury
Why are you serving on this committee?
It’s important for non-profits to invest wisely and I want to help support that, using my experience as a Service Manager who works with many non-profits.
What’s your top tip for building an investment plan?
Speaking to subject matter experts regarding your investment plan and strategy is a great place to start.
David Hall
Executive Director, Stoney Creek Community Homes
What made you decide to serve on this committee?
I am interested in sharing my experience as a provider of housing and also as a property manager for other housing non-profits. I am also interested in any learning I can derive from other members.
What is your top tip for housing providers when building an investment plan?
Don’t focus on short term gains and losses. Set a good investment allocation and keep it rebalanced and good things happen.
Bob Davidovich, MBA, CPA
Operations Manager, Homeland Non-Profit Complex Inc., and Pillette Green Community Housing
What made you decide to serve on this committee?
I wanted to understand the investment options available to housing providers in a more in-depth manner.
What is your top tip for housing providers when building an investment plan?
Protection of Capital and steady growth are vital as our sector greatly depends on capital investments for future stability of our operations.
Encasa and its forerunner organization [SHSCFI] have served us well and we would like to see that it retains that momentum well into the future.
2025 Regeneration Forum
As you may know, HSC will be hosting its next Regeneration Forum on February 27 & 28, 2025, at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto. This year’s theme, “Levelling Up: New Approaches to Transform Housing,” will showcase how the sector has pushed boundaries through innovative approaches.
For Encasa investors, the event offers a valuable opportunity to learn from housing innovators across Canada and internationally. One of the key highlights is a dedicated learning stream focused on financial innovation.
We encourage you to register before November 1, 2024, to take advantage of early bird pricing.