Making where we live a better place
The Community Foundation of Southeastern Alberta was started 28 years ago with a donation of $25,000.
Many years and donations later, the organization has granted millions to groups that help this corner of the world get by.
Sue Edwards took over as executive director on July 1, after a year learning from previous director Chris Christie. She says CFSEA is continuing to evolve as the years go on.
“A man named John Ignatius made the first endowment to us in 1992, and he left a bequest of over $2 million when he passed away,” said Edwards. “He left us $2.4 million dollars... everything that he has left us is still growing today.”
The premise of the Community Foundation is fairly simple. It takes in donations, then instead of giving that money out, it invests the money and gives out grants from the interest and earnings every year.
Edwards says the group has slowly been building its funds and reach over the years.
“It’s been a slow build for sure,” she said. “We had another large bequest within the last year of $2.7 million from John and Mata Rinke. That and John’s are the two biggest bequests we’ve received and it helps us grow and help more people in our community.”
People looking to donate can stop by the Community Foundation office downtown, or can call them over the phone to make plans. People can contribute money to an existing fund for an organization, or can look to start their own for a group.
Edwards says the foundation has been working through the pandemic and has helped with around $800,000 in funding around southeastern Alberta.
“It’s been busy and our investments took a hit this year,” she said. “We’ve been working to address the community’s greatest needs. This year it has been a lot of COVID relief, support for addictions, youth support and mental health support.
“Our goal is to help make where we live a better place.”
Learn more about the Community Foundation and its programs by going to www.cfsea.ca
Our goal is to help make where we live a better place.