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Communities Foundation Voices in the North Thompson

The North Thompson Community Foundation (NTCF) Voices features community organizations and members to provide more insight into the organization in the valley.

Barriere resident Antoon Houben is involved in a number of organizations in the North Thompson Valley including being a director for the North Thompson Communities Foundation (NTCF) which supports organizations from McLure to Blue River by providing grant funding and sponsoring events throughout the year.

Houben became a director with the NTCF in 2019 when the organization approached him due to his technology background with over 45 years of experience in information technology.

When asked about the foundation, Houben said it is one of the almost invisible organizations in the valley.

"I’d like to see that change. I find the concept of community foundations generally fascinating. I’m interested in helping our foundation grow. First to continue, and secondly to grow to do even more than it’s already doing.”

The NTCF awards grants through local charitable organizations generated from responsibly managed donations and legacies which promote community capacity building and unity throughout the North Thompson Valley.

“It’s a way for a community to take their resources and put them into a permanent savings account, where the earnings on those resources can benefit the entire community in perpetuity. The North Thompson Communities Foundation improves the quality of life for residents throughout the valley by granting $10,000-$15,000 a year to fund events, as well as creating and awarding bursaries," Houben said. 

“The least talked about element of our funding is our ability to take funds made available by the federal and provincial government and channel them into our community to organizations that qualify and have specific needs. The most recent example is the Community Prosperity Fund for which we were the only conduit in the valley. We helped them put together the applications to successfully receive that funding.”

When asked where he would like to see the foundation go from here, Houben said there are three goals the foundation has: to become more widely known, to become more familiar with other organizations in the valley, and to actively grow their endowment.

“Our endowment are those gifts that we’ve been given over the years that are locked in forever, we cannot spend them, they earn us an income and it’s the income that we grant. While we certainly would never turn down a single large gift, a better way to approach growing our endowment might be to get a business to commit to an annual, small gift that would be put in and just continue to grow. Businesses that operate in the North Thompson Valley would be ideal for our endowment growth program.”

Another large part of the foundations grant funding is the legacy aspect, such as when someone from the community leaves a gift specified in their will. Those donors can also specify what they may prefer the donations be used for such as sports, hospice, students via bursaries or scholarships in the person’s name that is leaving the donation, for example.

 “One of the interesting things is that a gift donated to us can generate a significant tax benefit to the estate of the deceased. Leaving a gift to the foundation is a means of doing that while also providing a long-term benefit for the larger community.”

The NTCF is hoping to have more volunteers come forward whether they are retired, such as Houben is, someone with expertise in a particular field or a young adult looking to become involved in a meaningful way in the valley while contributing.

“I’m in the wonderful position of being retired where I only do what I enjoy and help where my skills are best suited," he said.

The NTCF director is involved not only with the foundation but also tutors as a volunteer in the Partner Assisted Learning Program through Yellowhead Community Services, fund raises for the Barriere Food Bank and the North Thompson Activity Centre Society and is a director for the Barriere and Area First Responders Society.

If you are interested in learning more about the North Thompson Communities Foundation, volunteering or perhaps becoming a director, please contact: Chair Louise Lodge at: 250-879-1268 or email ntcommunitiesfoundation@gmail.com.