The Not-For-Profit Motive: Rick Hansen motions the way

Credit: Courtesy of the Rick Hansen Foundation

Hansen’s foundation is a big supporter of accessible locations, like this playground in Richmond

The Rick Hansen Foundation is dedicated to removing barriers for people with disabilities and to finding a cure for spinal cord injury

When Rick Hansen set off on his Man in Motion World Tour in March 1985, he planned to spend two or three years raising awareness about the potential of people with disabilities and then return to wheelchair marathoning at the Paralympic Games. Thirty-three years later, he is CEO of a foundation that funds several programs and initiatives, including the Rick Hansen Institute, a charitable organization dedicated to establishing a global network of researchers seeking a cure for spinal cord injury; and the new Rick Hansen Accessibility Certification program to rate the accessibility of buildings and outdoor spaces across Canada. 

“Even though we would be able to celebrate a significant amount of success as a legacy of that tour, in reality we were sitting at the base camp of a massive Mount Everest summit, and we had a long way to go,” Hansen explains. “So my view changed dramatically. We were left with not only the experience of the tour that changed me, but we’d raised $26 million, and we had a responsibility to make sure that money created an impact. We decided that we needed to really think carefully about what was the best way to do that.”

Hansen and his team considered supporting an existing charity, but there was no single organization addressing his dual goals: to help create awareness and remove barriers for people with disabilities; and to find a cure for spinal cord injury. They decided to create a foundation that was flexible enough to address new priorities and opportunities to make change. 

To get there, they relied on a group of advisers and assembled a board of directors with a wide range of expertise. “That really went a long way to give me confidence that, as an athlete and as a graduate in physical education, that the business mechanisms were put in place for accountability, for the ability to do the work in the program side,” Hansen remembers.

He also began to realize that the talents he had developed from doing the tour were transferrable to several leadership areas, which increased his confidence. Leadership isn’t so much having the subject expertise in a field, Hansen notes, but having a vision and assembling a team of talented individuals who work to support that vision, play their part and move toward achieving important goals. 

GIVING ADVICE: Being passionate about a cause can help you keep focused and sustain you on the journey, says Doramy Ehling, COO of the Rick Hansen Foundation. Make sure you have the right governance structure in place with clear and transparent accountability mechanisms, which will also help give future donors and supporters confidence in your vision and business model. Ehling recommends consulting a lawyer with expertise in not-for-profits about the best model and reporting requirements, and possibly your accountant or an auditor. Another key to success: bring on people who have similar values and alignment with your goals.