Clarification for community funding

Details

Published on Saturday, December 19, 2015

By Donna Morken

Chairperson

Rivers & Area Community Foundation (RACF) applied to The Burns Foundation for a grant to assist in the replacement of the roof of the train station. RACF wishes to have a home in the train station to honour the bequest from Bernard Goekoop, whose donation formed RACF and who loved to sit and watch the trains.

Previous to this, RACF accepted a challenge from The Thomas Sill Foundation for a duration of 18 months. In that time frame any financial gifts (donations, grants, flow through monies, stocks, etc.) coming to the RACF would be kept as a running total until Sept. 16, 2016.

At the end of that time, all gifts will be tallied up and Thomas Sill will donate $1 for every $2 gift, up to a maximum of $25,000.With the Burns Foundation $50,000 grant we are now at that maximum number of $25,000 from Thomas Sill; that $25,000 will go to the capital fund of RACF, not roof replacement of the train station as reported in the Nov. 27 Rivers Banner.

This extra $25,000 will then continue to grow interest and provide for many years of granting for various projects. Under the rules of Canada Revenue Agency, foundations are only allowed to spend the interest from their capital fund, not the capital fund itself, as it is a permanent endowment to the community.