Issues of Accountability Force Withdrawal of $1M CAMH Funding

TORONTO, June 29, 2016 /CNW/ -- The Faas Foundation announced today that it will part ways with its former grant designee, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. The Faas Foundation has withdrawn its $1 million gift for CAMH's Well @ Work program, due to CAMH's inability to demonstrate that the first installment of the funds was applied towards The Faas Foundation's objectives. CAMH is the largest mental health and addictions teaching hospital and center for research in Canada.

According to Foundation President Andrew Faas: "We deeply regret that things have come to this point with CAMH. We awarded the funds in good faith and expected results that were in keeping with the guidelines we agreed upon. The Faas Foundation is an established institution that has awarded many grants and has embarked on numerous partnerships. This is the first time in our 11 years that we have lost confidence in a grantee."  The Faas Foundation will commence legal proceedings to redirect the returned funds to projects and initiatives consistent with its mission to create psychologically healthy, safe and fair workplaces.    

The mission of The Faas Foundation is to help employees deal with the stress and emotions of their jobs by creating psychologically healthy, safe and fair workplaces across North America. Demand is high from worthy organizations. "We are only able to award a limited amount of funding every year," said Faas. "It is important that there be demonstrable accountability from the institutions that receive these funds, so that we can be confident that the funds have been applied towards our objectives. We are not satisfied that that was done in this case, which is unfortunate, because other groups could have benefited from these funds."

Faas expressed disappointment that the initiative to create a joint Canadian/American effort to solve a major global social and economic issue has been set back. However, he said, "We feel confident that with our other partners, we can make a real difference."

THE FAAS FOUNDATION was established in 2005 by Andrew Faas and supports organizations in the areas of general health, education, medical research and psychologically healthy, safe and fair workplaces. The Foundation was started because of Faas' deeply held concern for solving health issues through funding basic research projects. His work as an anti-bullying activist reflects his desire to create healthy work environments. The Foundation partners with a variety of organizations in the United States and Canada to collaborate on solutions for some of the world's most pressing medical and societal issues, such as cancer research, workplace well-being and HIV/AIDS care.

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SOURCE The Faas Foundation