When You See That Things Can Be Better, Go Do Something
Susan Brown was born and raised in Guelph. She spent her twenties and thirties elsewhere, but the city always pulled her back. Growing up, philanthropy was simply part of the fabric of Susan’s family. Both of her parents were generous with their time and their money, and the expectation that you give back was never something Susan had to be taught. “I don’t ever remember thinking about it,” she says. “That’s just what you did.”
The Dr. Charles Pinch Endowed Fund was established by Susan in memory of her father, a man who packed an extraordinary amount of community service into a short life. A physician by training, Dr. Pinch served as a city councillor, helped found the Kiwanis Music Festival, sat on the board of the Guelph Humane Society, and brought the Lung Association to Guelph, among many other roles. He passed away when Susan was just eighteen, from post war-related illnesses, but his love for Guelph and his belief in showing up for others left a lasting mark. “Guelph was very important in our family,” Susan says. “That’s why I named this fund after him.”
Susan designated the Guelph Humane Society as the fund’s recipient, a choice that might surprise some people, given her and her family’s background in the medical field. But the reasoning is personal, her family grew up with a love of animals, her father was on the Humane Society Board of Directors, and Susan’s daughter is a veterinarian. The fund specifically supports dental care at the Humane Society, an area Susan believes is often overlooked despite its significant impact on animal health and wellbeing.
Susan’s connection to the Guelph Community Foundation runs deep. Invited onto the board by longtime mentor Hugh Guthrie, she stayed for many years, serving as chair of the Grants Committee, vice president, president, and past president. At the time, she was busy building Robertson-Brown Health Services, the home health care company she co-founded that grew to serve families across the Waterloo Wellington area, but once she joined, she was all in. “When you think of Guelph and you think of philanthropy,” she says, “you think of the Guelph Community Foundation.”
The fund is in Susan’s will and her sister’s will, and her children and grandchildren have grown up understanding that giving back is part of what their family does. When her grandchildren were young, Susan would let them choose a charity each year and donate in their name, helping them understand the world beyond their own experience. For anyone sitting on the fence about starting a fund, her advice is simple: the perpetuity of endowed giving is its greatest strength. “Once you start, it never ends,” she says. “If you want something that makes a lasting mark, that you can feel good about long into the future, I think the perpetuity aspect of it is enticing.” Susan Brown has spent a lifetime taking her own advice, and the Dr. Charles Pinch Endowed Fund ensures that her father’s spirit of service will continue to do the same.