About
We’re passionate about charities. We’re moved by the essential work they do and our vision is to see more of them thrive.Blue Sea believes in the power of charities to make the world better.
For Blue Sea, a thriving charity has the money needed to accomplish its mission this year and to grow their vision next year. A thriving charity is continually building buzz, momentum, and their bottom line - all while making a measurable impact. We offer two program streams:
1. Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Events
Blue Sea visualizes, executes, and manages national peer-to-peer fundraising events that empower charity partners to:
- Fundraise more money, more effectively, more efficiently, and with less risk
- Create a meaningful community experience among volunteers, donors, and stakeholders
- Incite generosity among networks of supporters
- Gather communities of volunteers and supporters
- Draw attention to their cause and enhance the profile of their work
- Give voice to people and causes people often overlooked in society
- Learn new skills as they work with us through each event
2. Coaching + Training
Blue Sea is committed to investing into ongoing coaching and training for charities, including through our Essentials Fundraising educational program.
- Informal Coaching: Faced with a natural demand from many partners, Blue Sea offers counsel on fundraising, promotion, event management and volunteer engagement.
- Formal Training: Having identified important gaps in skills and knowledge for many partners, we launched the Blue Sea educational arm, Essentials Fundraising, in 2019. Essentials offers an intensive six-month program in fundraising fundamentals and best practices, including guiding participants as they plan for sustainable fundraising for their specific agency.
Partner Grant Program
Blue Sea is a granting foundation... with a twist.
Unlike regular foundations, we have no endowment and don't accept applications for traditional grants. Our charity partners receive grants through our Partner Grant Program, and we consider those grants to be "earned" by participation in Blue Sea events.
Through approval and participation in one (or more) of our national peer-to-peer fundraising events, Canadian social service charities can earn their grant through their successful recruiting and fundraising efforts. The more successful a partner charity, the larger the "earned grant."
When coupled with our hands-on coaching, our peer-to-peer event fundraising campaign delivers a reliable return on investment, an engaged community of support, greater awareness, and valuable knowledge of events and fundraising.
As one of our charity partners said:
"Participating in your events is more reliable than any traditional grant application - I know if I invest the hours into my campaign, I will get the grant I want at the end."
Financial Reporting
Financial Statements
Blue Sea Philanthropy Inc. is the legal name for Blue Sea Foundation.
Our financial statements have been prepared in accordance with widely-accepted Canadian accounting principles for not-for-profit organizations, as established by the Accounting Standards Board of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. Our charity number is #819882655RR0001 - visit our CRA listing page.
Every $1 invested in our charitable program produced $2.63 in earned grants.
Board of Directors
Blue Sea is governed by remarkable leaders and thinkers who care deeply about charities and the people they serve.
Melanie Reist
Chairman of the Board
Lawyer | Mediator | Morrison Reist Krauss LLP
Kitchener, Ontario
Jim Stirtzinger
Director | AVP Digital Experiences, Manulife
Kitchener, Ontario
Jeff Chatterton
President | Checkmate Public Affairs
Waterloo, Ontario
Neil Ostrander
CEO | International Teams Canada
Elmira, Ontario
Linda Goodall
Executive Director | The Orillia Lighthouse
Orillia, Ontario
Kristy Guthrie-Roth
Principal Strategist | Brightlight
Kitchener, Ontario