Osprey Foundation launches COVID Community Response Fund to help local charities
By Contributor
The Osprey Community Foundation is launching BETTER TOGETHER, a community response fund to assist local charities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Coordinating a fundraising effort on behalf of our local charities just makes sense and we’re launching the fund with an initial $15,000,” says Tina Choi, executive director of the Osprey Community Foundation.
The fund will provide one place for philanthropists, community leaders, corporations and individuals to contribute and support organizations as they work to respond, recover and rebuild from the pandemic.
“We’re harnessing the collective desire of our community to give support where it’s needed most at any given time during this crisis.”
As Osprey board chair Norm McCarvell notes, “This is a challenging time for everyone. Low income families are likely now ‘no income’ families, mental health issues are being exacerbated, charities that have had to cancel fundraising events and income generating programs are now facing critical budget deficits.”
Choi said organizations are running to adjust programming and meet increasing demand all on shrinking budget, so Osprey is stepping in to coordinate the raising of funds, administer tax receipts and get the money out the door.
“There are a lot of funding opportunities being made available to service organizations and much of this money is now starting to flow through to our community,” Choi explained.
“This stream is for those organizations that are falling through the cracks or whose urgent need right now doesn’t fit current funding criteria. We also know that recovery will extend for months beyond this first response phase. Over the next few months, we will continue to learn more about local needs and monitor the changing nature of the situation to assess how we can best support our community’s long-term resiliency.”
McCarvell said the Community Foundation mandate is to connect donors who care with the needs in the community, and right now the need is high.
“While we are best known for our endowment fund model, we are also providing options for donors to make an immediate impact through this new non-endowed response fund,” McCarvell said. “Gifts of any size will make a difference.”
Choi said this does not take anything away from our long-term big picture approach.
“This is not a time for ‘or’; it is a time for ‘and’,” she said. “We are asking for the support of all our community partners at this time. This is a time to stand together – but 6 feet apart.”
All donations $20 and over will be eligible for a charitable tax receipt. To give to the BETTER TOGETHER Fund go online to www.ospreycommunityfoundation.ca and click on the DONATE NOW button. For more information about the Fund or how to give, email Tina at ed@ospreycommunityfoundation.ca
Charitable community organizations or their sponsors in all sectors who need support can submit an application which will be made available on Osprey’s website.
Photo Caption: Tina Choi, executive director of the Osprey Community Foundation, encourages the community to get behind the new program, BETTER TOGETHER Fund, to assist local charitable organizations. — Submitted photo
