The Better Day Alliance Foundation has two departments. Fundraising and Community Projects. Both departments work closely together in order to achieve the goals of the BDAF.
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The Community Projects Department is the other half of the Better Day Alliance Foundation. It is their job to seek out existing charities that can most benefit from our support and liaise with the staff there. They then organize the necessary suppliers and businesses and oversee the community project from concept to reality.
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The Fundraising Department is responsible for organizing events and campaigns for the purpose of raising money for the foundation. They provide the life blood of the Better Day Alliance Foundation. Our goal is to operate without the help of government funding which means our Director of Fundraising is kept very busy!
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The Better Day Alliance Foundation is a volunteer run organization that has no paid staff! This means every dollar you donate goes directly towards promoting and achieving its goals!
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Adam Wiseman adam@betterdayalliance.org Executive Director
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Lori Nicholls -Vigario Lori@betterdayalliance.org Director of Fundraising
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Tanya Szabo tanya@betterdayalliance.org Director of Community Projects
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Nicole Gawley - Social Networking Coordinator nicole@betterdayalliance.org
Chantelle Szabo - Fundraising Support Specialist chantelle@betterdayalliance.org
In addition to these individuals we have many Special Event Volunteers that help out each time the BDAF has a major event.
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Adam Wiseman President adam@betterdayalliance.org
Tanya Szabo Vice President tanya@betterdayalliance.org
Jacquie Small Secretary jacquie@betterdayalliance.org
Michael Kurtz Treasurer
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Charitable Registration # 8562 78213 RR 0001
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People helping people
The Better Day Alliance Foundation (BDAF) is about people helping people. People volunteering their time and resources
to bringing unexpected happiness to those facing a variety of challenges throughout the Greater Toronto Area.
A non-denominational, registered charitable organization, the BDAF was co-founded in 2007 by three community mental
health workers who shared a vision to enhance the lives of those struggling with poverty, mental illness and many of life’s
other daily challenges. They could have passively continued to witness the struggles, and to move forward in their daily
lives. But they didn’t. Motivated to improve the lives of those they already helped through their respective jobs, they decided
to take action by creating the BDAF for the betterment of those who most need our help throughout the GTA. They challenge
you to do the same!
Volunteering to bring joy to those who need it most
A 100% volunteer-run organization, the BDAF relies entirely upon the support of local businesses and individuals to perform
its charitable work. Our mission is to work with established charities to create positive experiences that go beyond
necessity and bring unforeseen joy to people facing a variety of challenges throughout the Greater Toronto Area.
The BDAF provides grants of up to $1000.00 to registered charitable organizations throughout the GTA (Toronto, York, Peel,
Halton and Durham). These grants are given by the BDAF to help charities offer special social and recreational events and
programs to their clients that they could not otherwise afford.
Countless people across the GTA, facing all kinds of challenges, can benefit from the events coordinated by the BDAF. In
fact, the needs for a better day in our city are astonishing. It is with great sadness that the BDAF can only approve
approximately 20% of the requests it receives from local charities due to the disparity between the needs and the resources
made available through fundraising. We at the BDAF are motivated to carry our vision forward, and to help as many people
as possible experience the joy of life.
Helping to create a lifetime of memories in a single day
The simple events experienced by many of us on a daily basis are often overlooked. The luxuries of friendship, social
interaction, and the nuances of our relationships sometimes seem inconsequential as we carry on with our daily lives. But
we need to recognize these happenings, these relationships for what they are – they are vital to the very fabric of our being.
Moreover, they are an absolute necessity to help people maintain hope and remind us that we are not alone.
Everyone is confronted by different challenges, fortune, experiences, opportunities, skills and abilities; but we are all meant
to have dignity and to enjoy life. This is true whether you are facing isolation, aging, mental illness, poverty, physical or
cognitive disabilities, violence, terminal illness, or any other form of adversity.
The founders of the Better Day Alliance Foundation have witnessed first-hand the joy that can be experienced through the
personal interactions of an organized event. What is one day, even a few hours to many of us, can be a lifetime of
memories for the many in need. During one such event – a BBQ picnic organized by the BDAF – they saw that for the
individuals they served, the picnic was more than a simple meal; it was a day to forget their illness, forget their isolation,
and forget the endless stress that accompanies a life full of challenges. A BBQ picnic that cost very little provided weeks of
exciting anticipation and a lifetime of memories.
In a city full of struggling and under-funded essential social services, the value of social interaction can often get lost in the
realities of budget cuts, administrative costs and social constraints. Perhaps the memories created by the social and
recreational events supported by the BDAF will be the ones that give them hope later in life, at a time when they need it
most, on an occasion when they feel alone. We believe this to be true as the Better Day Alliance Foundation.
Help us bring a better day to those in need in the GTA!
As a volunteer-run charitable organization, we would not be able to survive without the generous contributions of the
individuals and businesses that support our cause. We are eternally grateful for their benevolence.
Here are just a few of the programs and events funded by the BDAF, which we have been fortunate enough to bring to those
in need:
• The Canadian Mental Health Association was funded to bring an interactive animal program to their Social Resource
Centre. The program was called ‘the Zoo to You’. Through the BDAF program, they were also able to enhance their
resource centre by purchasing some fun supplies, such as a Foosball table, for the enjoyment of the people they serve.
• Downsview Services to Seniors was funded by the BDAF to have an Elvis-themed BBQ for the seniors living in their
residence.
• North York Community House runs a mentoring program for young women from high-risk neighbourhoods called
‘Girls on the Go’. They wanted to have an end-of-the-school-year celebration for the young women they tutor and mentor.
The BDAF provided funding to the organization so that they could rent a bus, go out for a nice dinner and enjoy a night at the
movies.
An animal program, a BBQ, transportation and a night out may be simple pleasures to many. But the joy we witness on the
faces of the people we bring a better day to, instils in us a commitment, and a motivation to help ensure that those people
facing challenges can experience it again!
We thank you in advance for your generous support and for helping us bring a better day to the GTA!








