A new community foundation in the City of Kawartha Lakes launched Monday, backed by a $250,000 fund for entrepreneurship and innovation.
On Monday night in Lindsay, more than 60 residents gathered at the Kent Place Mall atrium to launch the Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes.
Mike Perry, president and co-founder, says the foundation will act as a tool to help build the community by creating more local funds.
“It’s a new way of filling gaps using social investments and funds that can be long-term and keep growing with interest,” he said.
Community foundations establish funds for donors from which money is directed in accordance with fund-holders’ wishes. The foundations pool funds together, using the market to get higher rates of return.
Perry also noted that community foundations use local charities to deliver on fund-holders’ wishes, what he characterized as a “win-win-win.”
As well, the Business and Community Development Corporation (BCDC) announced it would establish the foundation’s first fund by providing $250,000 in low-interest loans to entrepreneurs and innovators.
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“We are taken by the financial expertise and community networks of the new community foundation and look forward to working together to create this new social investment venture,” said BCDC chairperson John Bennet.
The BDCD has also provided the Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes with $25,000 in startup funding and complimentary office space at Kent Place Mall.
Moreover, Chris Handley, on behalf of organizers in Fenelon Falls, announced they would be starting a fund within the foundation to directly support current and future projects in the town north of Lindsay.
“The timing of this new foundation is perfectly aligned with many emerging projects, such as our new sculpture garden,” he said. “This will undoubtedly become a key resource for those wishing to give back and support all the good work done locally while also supporting the sustainability of all those volunteer efforts.”
John Fox, the foundation’s founding president and owner of Boston Pizza in Lindsay, said a community foundation was past due for the region. He said the flexibility of the foundation model encourages people to give locally as the funds are always there to be re-purposed at any time and are professionally managed to the highest standard.
“The more I learned about community foundations, the more I saw the need for one here in Kawartha Lakes,” Fox stated. “Anyone can come together and start a fund for a cause they would like to addressed and know that the money is being looked after well and earning higher interest. This is a great day for Kawartha Lakes.”
Groups, organizations and individuals interested in establishing a fund in the new foundation are asked to contact foundation co-ordinator Margaret Cunningham at 705-879-2719 or Perry at 705-934-2704, visit online or send an email.
“The community foundation is bound only by the imagination of donors,” Perry said. “We have the flexibility, financial expertise and partnerships to make good ideas into local realities for all of us.”
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