United We Can Make
Change Possible
Join us on March 13, 2025 for an unforgettable evening of celebration and connection. Gather with our corporate partners, volunteers, and special guests to honour the incredible impact we achieve when we unite for Calgary.
Enjoy an evening of networking, inspiring guest speakers, and an amazing meal as we recognize Calgary’s leading corporate and individual changemakers for their outstanding contributions to our 2024 campaign.
We know you’ll be inspired about all we have accomplished together.
Remember, hope is in your hands to help create a better Calgary and area for everyone.
An Evening of Recognition and Connection
Linda Olsen
Host and Community Ambassador
We are thrilled to announce Linda Olsen as this year’s host. Linda brings more than 30 years of award-winning experience from Global News, where she’s covered Calgary’s most pivotal stories.
Award-winning journalist Linda Olsen is a proud born-and-raised Calgarian who has been part of the broadcast news landscape for decades. She is a familiar face and trusted journalist who has shared the stories of her hometown and beyond since 1988 when she graduated from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT).
Linda has been a host, emcee, and keynote speaker for numerous charitable events. She was also host and producer of Global Television’s Woman of Vision series.
For 15 years, she highlighted the stories of inspirational women in the community with monthly television news features and columns in the Calgary Herald, culminating with a gala luncheon every year on International Women’s Day.
An ambassador and advocate for the community, Linda is a board member with the Calgary Children’s Foundation and served as a board member with Parks Foundation Calgary, and as an honorary board member of Believe in the Gold, a local children’s cancer charity.
United Way of Calgary and Area is proud to welcome Tyler Smith as our keynote speaker for this year’s Community Impact Awards.
Tyler Smith is using his platform to raise awareness on mental health and the importance of community. A Humboldt Broncos hockey bus crash survivor and winner of the Amazing Race Canada, he’s turning adversity into action – sharing his experiences and encouraging conversations about mental health with people of all ages.
His ‘Not Alone Co.’ clothing line furthers this important conversation, helping to reduce stigma around mental health and letting people know that we are all in this together.
Tyler Smith
Keynote Speaker and Mental Health Advocate
Event at a Glance
The Community Impact Awards will bring together over 350 guests from Calgary’s top workplaces.
This year’s gala will be held on March 13, 2025 at the Telus Convention Centre.
Networking reception: 5:00 p.m.
Program: 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Ticket details: $75 each; tables of 8 are $550.
Nominations will be announced mid-January and will receive two free tickets.
(A refund is available for nominees who purchased tickets ahead of the announcement.)
Come to celebrate the 2024 campaign achievements.
Awards
The Culbert Family Award for Philanthropy is presented annually to two young professionals for their charitable giving and outstanding work in their community. Recipients of this award receive $2,000 to invest in their professional development or philanthropic endeavours.
Recipients:
Claudia Belanger & Sheliza Kassam
The President’s Award can be awarded to an individual, corporate partner, or other group and is our most prestigious award. It is at the sole discretion of the President with insight provided by staff. Recipients are not eligible if they have won the award in the past 5 years.
Recipient:
Enbridge
This award recognizes organizations that have demonstrated outstanding and innovative campaigns with active Leadership giving and a commitment to making Calgary a resilient and caring community where everyone thrives.
Nominees:
Canadian Natural Resources Limited
Enbridge
McCarthy Tétrault LLP
NOVA Chemicals
Nutrien
PCL Construction
TD Bank Group
Vermilion Energy Inc.
Recipient:
Canadian Natural Resources Limited
This award recognizes organizations that have demonstrated outstanding and innovative campaigns with active Leadership giving and a commitment to making Calgary a resilient and caring community where everyone thrives.
Nominees:
Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP
Kingston Midstream
Krywolt Insurance Brokers
NuVista Energy
Stikeman Elliott LLP
TriSummit Utilities Inc
Recipient:
Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP
This award recognizes a team or an individual who has exceeded expectations and created a greater awareness of United Way in the community and workplace by demonstrating involvement in campaign-related activities, fostering inclusivity across the organization, and maintaining a positive attitude that inspired others to engage and contribute.
Nominees:
Keywest Projects Ltd, Brandy Phillips
Nutrien Campaign Committee
Payworks Campaign Committee
PCL Construction Management Inc. Campaign Committee
Tourmaline Campaign Committee
University of Calgary Cabinet
Recipient:
PCL Construction Management Inc.
This award recognizes organizations and their employees who have achieved a significant growth in the current year over the previous year, including an increase in funds raised and increase of donors. Candidates also demonstrated an increase in overall giving and significant management support.
Nominees:
AltaLink
Intact Insurance Corporation
Keyera
Wawanesa Insurance
Recipient:
Keyera
This award recognizes organizations and their employees who have achieved a significant growth in the current year over the previous year, including an increase in funds raised and increase of donors. Candidates also demonstrated an increase in overall giving and significant management support.
Nominees:
Baccalieu Energy Inc.
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
MLT Aikins LLP
NuVista Energy
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
Rockpoint Gas Storage Canada Ltd.
Recipient:
NuVista Energy
This award recognizes an organization that has demonstrated commitment, creativity and passion towards making their campaigns exceed any notion of prior expectations and create ripple effects of positive impact in the local community. The organization successfully transitioned by offering meaningful and engaging opportunities to their staff through a variety of means, both virtually and physically distanced in person. Volunteerism, education, and engagement has been judged based on an organization’s involvement in the following categories: United Way’s Impact Speeches, Day of Caring projects, Facilitated Activities, and Webinar attendance, as well as Special Events developed by their Employee Campaign Committee. All these activities demonstrate strong spirit of engagement with United Way of Calgary and Area.
Nominees:
AltaLink
BMO Financial Group
Canada Energy Regulator
Imperial
NOVA Chemicals
Nutrien
Pembina Pipeline Corporation
Spartan Controls Ltd
Recipient:
Imperial
This award celebrates noteworthy workplace campaigns that exemplify industry excellence. Recipients of this award will have demonstrated one or more of the following: strong management support, a significant increase in Leadership giving and total donations, a surge in employee involvement, or a fresh approach to their United Way campaign.
Recipients:
BMO Financial Group
Canada Energy Regulator
The City of Calgary
Krywolt Insurance Brokers
NOVA Chemicals
TD Bank Group
TransAlta
TriSummit Utilities Inc
Wawanesa Insurance
This award recognizes organizations that are supporting United Way of Calgary and Area for the first time through empowering their employees and networks to participate with United Way in improving the quality of life for all Calgarians. To be eligible, the organization must not have conducted an employee campaign during the past two consecutive years. Eligible candidates demonstrate a commitment to the community by supporting United Way in any of the following ways: sponsorship, volunteerism, collaboration, and/or fundraising.
Recipients:
CH Guenther & Son
CSA Group
Evraz North America
Harvard Developments Corporation
Precision Mounting Technologies
The 2024 Community Impact Awards are proudly sponsored by
Decor Sponsor
Trican Well Service
Coat Check Sponsor
Altalink
Community Impact Supporter
Sponsors
Sponsoring the Community Impact Awards is more than just an opportunity—it’s a powerful way to align your brand with Calgary’s most influential workplaces and changemakers. With hundreds of attendees representing our city’s top organizations, your name will be front and center with those driving real impact in our community.
By partnering with United Way as a sponsor, donor, or volunteer, you become part of a movement to ignite hope and spark positive change. Your support creates a ripple effect of goodwill, transforming lives and making Calgary a better place for everyone. Join us in leading the way to a brighter future for all Calgarians!
Please reach out if you are interested in sponsoring this one-of-a-kind social impact event.
Get Inspired at the Community Impact Awards
Every year, United Way celebrates the commitment of its partners who help make change possible.
Hope is in Your Hands
Join us in building a future where everyone thrives.
Unable to Attend? Donating to our Community Impact Fund is the best way to make an impact, as funds are targeted to where they are needed most in our community. United Way leads programs and brings together agencies, government partners and changemakers to create a better city for all. Join us in building a future where everyone thrives. Hope is in Your Hands.
Connect with us at the awards, tag #hopeisinyourhandsyyc to share how you’re creating change and celebrating impact in Calgary.