CENTRE WELLINGTON – If it wasn’t so serious, Raymond Soucy would be feeling like Santa Claus, doling out funding to community organizations that made the “nice” list.
But it’s not Christmas, and the funding he’s dishing out is to organizations that are helping citizens get through these long, rocky, lockdown months.
Soucy is the executive director of the Centre Wellington Community Foundation, an organization that invests endowments and allocates the proceeds to local community benefit organizations.
Because of COVID-19, the federal government allocated $111,000 to community benefit organizations in this region through its Emergency Community Support Fund.
That money was channeled through the foundation and Soucy said he’s expecting another federal announcement of $60,000 for Wellington County in October.
As well, some $27,000 was allocated from the foundation’s grassroots fund – money that is donated but not allocated to any particular endowment fund.
“Normally we do granting a couple of times a year,” he said in a phone interview. “This year we’ve already done 14 rounds of granting.”
Last year the foundation released its Vital Signs report after rigorous consultation with the community. The report identified food, transportation and technology as key needs in the county.
“We used Vital Signs to inform granting,” he said. “We figured it out early that food, transportation and technology were the key needs during COVID. So that’s where the funding has gone.”
Some went to support video conferencing for organizations such as the Community Resource Centre, the Elora Farmer’s Market, the Suicide Awareness Council of Wellington Dufferin and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Centre Wellington.
Some organizations purchased tablets to help individuals stay connected socially while they were physically distancing.
Some funding went to food banks and food programs.
“The food banks have been flexible,” he said. “There are a lot of partnerships and they have been able to fill food needs beyond the food bank.”
The Community Resource Centre has been using Ride Well to help citizens in need get to appointments, the pharmacy and, in some cases, to deliver food. The funding grants have helped with this program, too.
“It’s a really bad situation and we’ve seen organizations step up,” Soucy said. “It’s great to provide the funding to help with that.”
Soucy worries that when the COVID emergency is over and the bill for emergency measures is finally tallied, there will be budget cuts.
“But the need continues,” he said.
Soucy said there were 28 community foundations in Canada in 1992 and now there are 191.
The Centre Wellington foundation has 20 endowed funds as well as the grassroots fund and grants to organizations in Minto, Wellington North and Mapleton, as well as Centre Wellington.
It has distributed $500,000 to 147 projects since 2011.
For more information, visit www.cwcfoundation.ca.
