Covenant House Toronto's NextGen Council

The NextGen Council is a unique opportunity to be part of our philanthropic mission while cross-sharing your skills and growing your professional network. As a member of the NextGen Council, you’ll work with a team of like-minded young professionals from a variety of industries and backgrounds to be champions for vulnerable youth, learn from other members of the Council and expand your skillset.

Every year, thousands of youth experience homelessness and sex trafficking in Canada. And over the last few years we have seen a shift – more young people are staying with us for longer periods of time. This is because the youth we serve are facing more complex challenges. In addition to abuse, neglect and family breakdown, more youth struggle with mental health, finding affordable housing and getting stable, meaningful jobs.

You can be part of the solution. By joining the NextGen Council and supporting important initiatives across the agency, you are showing these resilient young people that they are not alone and have an entire community of people in their corner rooting for them.

Council members will also have the opportunity to learn from industry veterans. The Council will be supported by Himal Mathew who serves on the Board of Covenant House Toronto as well as its Fundraising Committee. Himal is the President of Fathom Strategies and has 40 years of experience in business strategy and improvement, as well as marketing and communications skills in a wide range of sectors.

The NextGen Council provides guidance and a unique perspective to our leadership team and their committees. Council members offer technical skills, generational insights, and business and marketing experience to help Covenant House Toronto strengthen our ability to connect with younger generations of community leaders and volunteers. 

Our ideal Council member is between the ages of 25-35. They will offer unique professional skills and be willing to engage their networks on the agency’s behalf, participate in fundraising events, and help with community development.

Whether your skillset lies in business, marketing, communications, tech, or beyond, we’re looking for members who are driven by a personal connection to the cause and are willing to be an active participant in helping us achieve our goals in supporting young people experiencing homelessness and trafficking.

Each Council member should expect to make a commitment of:

• A minimum 2-year tenure on the council, with the opportunity to extend
• Attendance at, and active participation in, quarterly one-to-two-hour committee meetings
• Meetings with Covenant House staff and sub-committees (8-10 hours annually)
• Participation in Council projects (8-10 hours annually)
• Fundraising towards your individual and collective council goals

Each Council member will be responsible for:

• Attend and participate in a minimum 75% of quarterly council meetings
• Provide input into the development of Covenant House projects
• Planning and/or participating in an annual group fundraising event that raises a minimum of $15,000
• Donating/fundraising $1,000 annually for Covenant House

The NextGen Council is comprised of 12 members representing a variety of industries, and experience. Each Council member sits for a term of two years, with the opportunity to extend.

The NextGen Council is supported by Covenant House Toronto’s Christine Foisy-Monk, Director of Development; Dillon Smith, Associate Manager of Corporate Relations; and board member Himal Mathew, President of Fathom Strategies.