The Problem

Balancing growth with purpose.

ClearWater Futures Foundation is a charitable organization located in Georgina, Ontario, focused on sustainability and water-based education for children and youth. Over time, ClearWater developed a diverse site that includes a working farm, an education barn, and a mix of programming that blends environmental education with public-facing events. In partnership with Future Chicken, a digital platform designed to teach sustainability to young audiences, ClearWater has built a strong foundation for environmental learning.

As the organization expanded its programming and event offerings, it also encountered new operational challenges. Weddings and food workshops increased in frequency, but staff began reporting that these events often conflicted with the farm’s schedule. During rentals, farming operations had to pause due to noise and logistical interference. Staff also described being under-resourced and unclear about how their day-to-day work contributed to the organization’s mission. While the rebuilt barn helped restore programming after a major fire, the deeper question remained unresolved: how should ClearWater organize its work to support its mission more effectively?

Finding and Defining Opportunity

Clarifying priorities and decision points.

When ClearWater engaged NetGain, the team was not simply looking for short-term solutions. They were seeking clarity on how to manage competing demands on the property and the organization as a whole. During our first phase of work, NetGain conducted a series of interviews with ClearWater staff, reviewed operations, and assessed the physical layout and use of the site.

Several key questions emerged:

• Should the working farm remain a central part of the organization?

• Could a mission-aligned restaurant provide a more consistent source of revenue?

• Is it possible to streamline programming to strengthen the educational focus?

• Can the current hybrid model be sustained with improved coordination and staffing?

NetGain also completed a scan of peer organizations to better understand comparable models, identify areas of overlap, and highlight what makes ClearWater unique. These findings served as a baseline for strategic planning.

Rising to Challenges

Supporting informed decisions.

One of the central issues was the lack of distinction between ClearWater’s for-profit and non-profit activities. The overlap between commercial rentals, farming operations, and charitable programming created confusion for staff and limited the organization’s ability to evaluate impact. Without clear structures, there was no reliable way to allocate resources, set priorities, or measure success against the mission.

NetGain’s role was to help the ClearWater leadership team build a clear and adaptable decision-making process. We are currently supporting the organization in evaluating several possible directions. These include:

• Closing or relocating the working farm

• Opening a farm-to-table restaurant that connects food, education, and sustainability

• Revising program offerings to better reflect the original mission

• Maintaining current operations with more defined roles and improved coordination

Each scenario is being developed with supporting financial models, mission alignment analysis, and operational feasibility reviews. Our work is focused on creating clear, actionable options that reflect the organization's goals, limitations, and capacity.

Results and Final Takeaways

Building alignment between mission and operations

ClearWater Futures Foundation has built a valuable community resource with a strong commitment to environmental education. NetGain’s work has focused on identifying where internal systems and external activities can be more closely aligned with that mission.

This project illustrates how charitable organizations with diverse programs can face operational strain when commercial activities are introduced without clear boundaries. It also shows the importance of slowing down to evaluate what is working, what is not, and what the organization truly wants to prioritize.

NetGain is continuing to support ClearWater by developing a framework for decision-making that balances financial sustainability, staff capacity, and mission impact. Our goal is to ensure that ClearWater can move forward with clarity, whether that means restructuring the current model or committing to a new path entirely.

By working closely with ClearWater staff and leadership, NetGain is helping to shape a strategy that is both realistic and rooted in purpose.