Endow Manitoba‘s 24 Hour Giving Challenge takes place this weekend, effectively supercharging every dollar you give to local foundations on Saturday.
For every $5, Endow Manitoba through The Winnipeg Foundation will add $1. However, combined with another on-going challenge from the Thomas Sill Foundation, those same donations will also be matched at a rate of 1:2. Together, those matching commitments will turn a $50 donation into $60, and then again to $90.
“They just want to support us, and they see that by supporting us they make each of our foundations stronger,” Myra Peters, Executive Director of the Winkler Community Foundation says, adding while they welcome gifts any time, donations on Saturday will go that much further.
While Endow Manitoba‘s challenge only lasts 24 hours, the Thomas Sill Foundation matching continues into September 2016, to a maximum of $50,000.
“By raising $50,000, we will receive an additional $25,000 from the Thomas Sill Foundation,” Peters explains, adding the goal is to grow the Community Fund which hasn’t seen large gains for a number of years.
Peters says growing the fund will allow for more grant money to be given back to the community to not-for-profit, charitable organizations.
Donations to the community foundation are pooled and permanently invested, Peters explains. Instead, every year, those investments generate money that is distributed to support local charities.
WCF board members will also be at Winkler Co-op Food Store to answer questions or accept donations from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Earlier this fall, the Winkler Community Foundation approved $18,190 in Smart & Caring Community Grants and $40,429 in Designate Grants, for a total of $58,618 in grant money going into our community supporting 14 local projects.
For the second consecutive year, the Altona Community Foundation is also participating in the challenge on Saturday.
Board member Byron Loeppky explains the Board has set a one day goal of $10,000. “Last year we hit just under eight thousand dollars and so we’ve been working hard to get the word out that the ten thousand dollar goal is very reachable.”
Loeppky adds the great thing about community foundations is that each donation will live on forever. This money is placed into a trust and the interest earned from the principle is then granted back into the community. “It will live on forever.”
He goes on to say that the Altona Community Foundation has been very broad in its support to various projects and organizations in the area, adding it’s hard to find someone that hasn’t yet been impacted.
“Across the Arts community, (local) projects, seniors, the youth in our community as well as many other areas. It’s not just the ball diamonds, or some of the other areas, that maybe get a little bit more attention.”
Local foundations in southern Manitoba that will benefit include the Altona Community Foundation,Carman Area Foundation, Miami and Area Foundation, Morden Area Foundation, Morris Area Foundation, Pilot Mound & District Foundation, Plum Coulee Community Foundation and Winkler Community Foundation.
Article published courtesy of Pembina Valley Online .
To find a Manitoba community foundation near you, visit www.endowmanitoba.ca.
You may also want to read this related article on impact of community foundations in Manitoba: 24-Hour Giving Challenge helps Manitoba Communities