Ruth MacKenzie is the president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP), a position she has held since 2013, and also serves as executive director of the CAGP Foundation.
Ruth has a 30-plus year background in the non-profit sector, working at the local, provincial, and national levels. She was president and CEO of Volunteer Canada from 2007 to 2013 and previously held the position of director of volunteer development with the Nova Scotia division of the Canadian Cancer Society.
Ruth also has experience running a small business, having established and run her own microbrewery, for which she was recognized with an entrepreneur of the year award.
Ruth is, of course, a committed volunteer. She serves on the board of Immigrant Women Services Ottawa and has previously served as a director and later board chair of CanadaHelps, served on the board of the International Association for Volunteer Effort, and chaired the eastern region Grant Review Team for the Ontario Trillium Foundation – Canada’s largest granting agency. Ruth also served on the governor
general of Canada’s Volunteerism and Philanthropy Advisory Committee. In acknowledgement of her contribution to volunteerism, Ruth was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 and the Ontario Volunteer Service Award in 2019.
On GivingTuesday, Ruth MacKenzie, CEO of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners, calls on the charitable sector to collaborate and celebrate the different elements of social good – fundraising, philanthropy, and generosity – to build back better.
Introduction How can we better understand the role volunteering plays in strengthening citizen engagement, social inclusion, and building resilient communities? Reflecting on some of the
