Saskatoon Community Foundation gets record-breaking number of requests
Lacking the resources to meet the increasing need, it has had to turn down more than half of them.
The Saskatoon Community Foundation has received the highest number of requests for funding in its 49-year history.
The 80 requests received for the Foundation’s Quality of Life Granting Program for 2019 are a noted increase from the 69 requests the program received in 2018 and the 53 it received in 2017.
Lacking the resources to meet the increasing need, it has had to turn down more than half of them.
“You’re always saying no to lots of things when you’re involved in granting, said Don Ewles, the foundation’s grants and communications manager. “But this year was kind of unprecedented with the sudden sharp rise in the numbers.”
Ewles said a list of factors contributed to the increase, including a new focus on projects addressing themes of reconciliation and social inclusion leading to new applicants.
Quality of Life is the foundation’s main granting program, which helps support community initiatives across a range of focus areas. Recipients of the grant are typically announced in late April.
Although the number of applicants is increasing, the number of accepted applications has not. The foundation granted funding to 27 applicants in 2017 and 22 in 2018.
The 27 organizations whose letters of intent were approved to submit a formal application package for March 1 still aren’t guaranteed full funding. The foundation has $323,589 to fulfil $423,000 worth of requests; the difference is made up by either granting less than requested or not granting anything to some applicants.
“Ultimately, the funds are what they are,” Ewles said. “We have as much as we do, and we do our best to grow that.”
Businesses and individuals who want to donate can do so through the Give YXE Fund and receive a charitable tax receipt. Funds from those donations can either go to support current projects or towards the Quality of Life Granting Program.
“If the people of Saskatoon want to get involved and make a contribution, we’ll see to it that their contribution goes somewhere that is going to create a more compassionate and inclusive community,” Ewles said.
Read Article Via Saskatoon Star Phoenix
