Increase in funding will benefit local students and community charities
We are delighted to be the bearer of good news… Thanks to the generosity of our donors, Dufferin Community Foundation will be giving out over $75,000 in community grants and student bursaries this year from its funds. This is a 60% increase over last year and a 125% increase since 2022.
“The beauty of a community foundation is that as our charitable investments grow, so does the annual income,” said Board Chair Debbi Goss. “We started six years ago at zero. With the support of local donors, we have grown to become one of the largest charitable funders in Dufferin County.”
The majority of the grant money comes from a number of donor-advised funds that are held within the Foundation. The families and individuals who create the funds help select which charities will receive the grants. All the organizations must serve residents of Dufferin County.
Choices Shelters & Support Services received a $5,000 grant for its men’s shelter from the Cedar Fund, a donor-advised fund held with Dufferin Community Foundation. From l-r: Dufferin Community Foundation’s Grants Chair Shirley Boxem and Executive Director Michele Fisher present the cheque to Choices Executive Director Jaime Edge and frontline shelter worker Trisha Linton. Photo by Doug Schaefer.
The Cedar Fund, for example, which seeks to alleviate poverty and promote the health of women and children, has dedicated two $5,000 grants to Choices Shelter & Support Services and Family Transition Place for the second year in a row.
“While we live in a beautiful, prosperous community, it is also a place in which many are facing challenges such as poverty, the rising cost of living, unsafe living situations, mental health issues, and food insecurity,” said the family, who wishes to remain anonymous. “We are grateful that our fund is able to support those who work with our most vulnerable neighbours.”
New this year is a bursary program from the W. & M. Edelbrock Fund, another of the Foundation’s donor-advised funds. One student from each of the three high schools in Dufferin County will be awarded a $3,125 bursary to make it financially possible for them to attend college, university or trade school. Applications will open soon.
In the fall, the Foundation will open grants streams for its field of interest funds, including the Vision Fund, the Environment Fund and the Refugee Resettlement Fund. Arts & Culture grants will also be available thanks to the W. & M. Edelbrock Fund.
“The Foundation was created in 2019 with a vision to build permanent charitable funds – or “forever funds” as we like to call them – to build our community across the generations. It’s wonderful to see this vision start to bear fruit. Every dollar is so urgently needed,” said Michele Fisher, Executive Director.
For more information, please contact Michele Fisher at michele@dufferincommunityfoundation.ca or 519-938-0780.
