McCain family’s Daymark Foundation takes hands-on approach to mental health
Third-generation Lauren Jones-Davies heads the family’s Daymark Foundation: ‘Mental health is still not funded at the necessary levels.’
Article content
As Canada, and the world, tackles a mental-health crisis, many family foundations are rallying to implement initiatives that support research around this important cause.
It was this impetus that influenced the McCain family to create the Daymark Foundation.
Experts at CAMH, The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health – Canada’s largest mental health teaching hospital and research centres – say foundations like Daymark are crucial to helping those in need for solutions to anxiety, depression, and an array of debilitating illnesses and disorders.
“Mental-health research is underfunded relative to physical health research,” says Dan O’Shaughnessy, founder of Toronto-based OSF Partners and director at the CAMH Foundation Board, the fundraising arm of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
“External grant funding is extremely hard to come by in a highly competitive landscape. The challenge of the global crisis is huge, but there are lots of possibilities within research because of innovation and discovery – researchers at organizations like CAMH need support to make it happen. ”
In terms of advice for family foundations considering implementing a mental-health initiative, O’Shaughnessy offers the following: “Think about what areas of mental health are important to you (such as youth mental health or health equity). Learn about organizations, like CAMH, that are doing important work in the mental-health space … [and] find out how you can support [their] work.”
Lauren Jones-Davies is a third-generation member of Canada’s McCain family, who founded McCain Foods in 1957. The Daymark Foundation was founded by the Michael McCain family in 2020.
More from Canadian Family Offices
- Sascha Isaacs of Richardson Wealth family office: career path to VP
- Investor Brice Scheschuk on spotting gems in early-stage tech today
- Why well-to-do families should be less shy about using social media
- Nan-b de Gaspé Beaubien: From therapist to HR pioneer
Here, Lauren, Executive Chair of the Daymark Foundation, discusses how her grandmother, Margaret McCain, has influenced her and other members of the family with a philanthropic spirit and legacy.
She shares how every family can be affected by mental health challenges, and how we are all able to change how we look at mental health.
How did Daymark come to be established?
“Philanthropy is in our blood. My grandmother taught us about giving back from a young age, and we watched as her foundation (the Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Foundation Inc.) helped advance early childhood education for over 20 years.
At first, our family mostly engaged in philanthropy through donations and major gifts to larger institutions. We then got to a place where we were ready and motivated to take a more strategic, hands-on approach to our philanthropy by contributing to solutions on important societal challenges.”
Why is this mental-health initiative important to you and your foundation?
“Like all families, we have been directly impacted by mental health challenges. We know firsthand how hard it is to get help when you need it, and how vital timely, effective treatment is. Yet, mental health is still not funded at the necessary levels. Recognizing the value of a laser-like focus, we were all in agreement that mental health would be the single issue our foundation would seek to make a difference in.”
How can philanthropists help beyond donating money?
“We aim to have an outsized impact by taking a “more than the money” approach to our philanthropy. Yes, funding is absolutely important. But what we’ve heard from many of our grantees is that it’s the time we spend with them – offering strategic advice, making connections, convening and collaborating, building capacity – that provides the most value.
We look to allocate both our financial and human resources in order to maximize impact. There is a huge role for philanthropy to help organizations and stakeholders “think like a system” as well as to create opportunities for innovation, collaboration and policy change.”
Can you offer any advice for UHNW families who might still feel a stigma around discussions related to mental health?
“While materially better today, stigma has been an obstacle in all facets of mental health for generations. The tide is definitely turning, but we still have a ways to go.
Understanding how ubiquitous mental-health challenges are – especially since the pandemic – is helpful in acceptance, as is the ability to have open dialogue about the topic. It affects everyone”
Do you have any suggestions for family foundations that are considering establishing a mental health initiative?
“Our approach has been to connect with experts and stakeholders to learn more about the key issues, and then marry this with our family’s priority interests.
As a business family, we are very goal-driven, with strategic and collaborative approaches to achieving those goals. And, we are taking a professional approach to our philanthropy, through our super talented Executive Director. This all keeps us very focused.”
Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Please visit here to see information about our standards of journalistic excellence.