Jill Hayward – North Thompson Star/Journal
Long term resources for long term solutions can best describe what a community foundation can do. There are currently 191 community foundations across Canada, with combined assets of more than $3.8 billion, and serving 82 per cent of Canada’s population. In 2013 community foundations granted out more than $158 million to Canadian communities.
“We are a part of this large Canadian movement and work to support healthy people, healthy land and healthy communities in the North Thompson Valley,” says Cheryl Thomas, chair of the North Thompson Communities Foundation (NTCF).
“Here in the North Thompson Valley we began when Weyerhaeuser closed its operations in Vavenby,” continued Thomas. “Their small fund of $50,000 was turned into $100,000 as a ‘matching funds’ opportunity when the Vancouver Foundation made this possible.
“Matching funding has been very important for our Foundation. With the ability to do this we’ve set up the Donnie Nicholson Memorial Trades Bursary, and also generated enough funds to really start granting from the NTCF Arts Endowment in 2014.
“We at the Foundation would like to think of endowments as ‘forever funds’. We only spend the interest earned. No one receives a pay cheque except the bookkeeper.”
“At the NTCF we realize that it’s not about us,” says Thomas. “Our work is offering support to groups of individuals who see the value in long term investment of time and energy around our children, our fields, lakes and forests; all so that we can have a myriad of healthy animals, fish and wildlife experiences for our children’s children. We’ve heard the term “nature deficit disorder” and therefore look to supporting community projects that support the health of the entire valley.”
We asked the chair what messages the NTCF would like to get out to the public at this time?
1. The NTCF has so far granted over $50,000 to support local initiatives to help build healthy people in healthy communities within the North Thompson Valley.
2. The NTCF supports using a holistic approach in focusing on healthy people, healthy land and healthy communities.
3. NTCF grants funds to a broad range of local not-for-profits; providing assistance to a wide range of initiatives helping to build strong and resilient places to live, work and play.
Thomas says one of the prime messages they would like to get out is the creation of the Smart and Caring Fund.
“For our 10th anniversary we created a Smart and Caring Fund in support of His Excellency David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, when he invited all Canadians to join in “...imagining our country as it could be, a smart and caring nation, where all Canadians can succeed, contribute, and develop their talents to their fullest potential”.”
The Honourable Judith Guichon, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, supports him in this vision.
“We’ve supported projects like the Granny/Grandpa connection box, where trained volunteers don puppets on their hands to tell First Nations stories; thus preserving the stories and ‘life-lessons’ from past generations and sharing these pearls of wisdom with the little ones,” Thomas said.
“The Smart and Caring Fund is also designed to meet future needs and wants within the valley. This fund will be available to help facilitate ideas that we don’t even know about today.”
If you would like to learn more about the North Thompson Communities Foundation go to: www.ntcommunitiesfoundation.com, or call Cheryl Thomas at 250-674-3260, or NTCF grant chair Hazel Wadlegger at 250-674-3774.