The 2020-21 Kiwanis Children’s Fund president died November 22.
By Jennifer Morlan
Norm Velnes, the 2020-21 Kiwanis Children’s Fund president, died November 22. He was 82. A member of the Kiwanis Club of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, he was appointed as a Children’s Fund trustee in 2015.
Velnes joined Kiwanis in 1984 and held a variety of leadership positions, including club president and lieutenant governor, and he was the 2003-04 governor of the Western Canada District. Velnes was a Walter Zeller Fellow and received a Presidential Zeller Fellowship. He was a member of the Kiwanis Foundation of Canada’s Mel Osborne Fellowship.
Velnes’ involvement with the Kiwanis Children’s Fund allowed him to merge his professional expertise with his passion for volunteer work. As president of The Velnes Group, a development consulting firm, he helped organizations with strategic planning, feasibility studies and fundraising campaigns.
“Norm had tremendous insights that he was able to share with the Kiwanis Children’s Fund,” said Robert Maxwell, 2024-25 chair of the Children’s Fund. “We relied on his fundraising knowledge and his passion for supporting Kiwanis’ mission of serving the children of the world. He was an exceptional leader and had a kind heart. He was a force that will be missed by all. I offer my sincerest condolences to his family and the Kiwanis family.”
Velnes earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Divinity degrees from the University of Winnipeg and was ordained as a minister with the United Church of Canada. He served in ministry at the Birtle-Miniota Wider Parish, followed by team ministry at St. Vital United Church in Winnipeg.
He spent 12 years in fund development for the United Church of Canada in Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario and was later president of the Manitoba division of the MS Society of Canada.
In addition to his work with Kiwanis, Velnes had been chair of the Speaker’s Bureau of the United Way of Winnipeg; served as board member of Golden West Centennial Lodge; was vice chair at Winnipeg Presbytery Foundation, United Church of Canada; and was past chair of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners.
He is survived by his wife, Margaret, his four children, a stepson and six grandchildren.