To the editor;
And so my friends I was just thinking about the Member Rewards part of the statement all the members of the Credit Union get….. You see the Members of the Credit Unions get a share of the profits as the members are the share-holders. One could think of it as free money, and if so, a person might also like to be offered the opportunity to invest in the future of the valley.
I’d like to tell you about some of the endowment funds you might choose to support in your Communities Foundation.
You might choose to support the Arts, children and youth, seniors, health, education, poverty or protection of the environment. These are all ‘envelopes of interest’ that people support in the valley.
If that selection is not enough; in November of 2012 we initiated a new fund called the Smart and Caring Community Fund. With the help of such groups at the Royal Purple #302,the Clearwater Festival and Events Society and a variety of individuals and businesses donating funds to this more generalized fund we are excited to let you know that our granting cycle is looking good for the future. Indeed, one family in Barriere has begun work on establishing a more specific fund. It will be a bursary, to encourage valley youth to go into the trades; They, friends and family are doing this in memory of their son who passed about a year ago. Watch for more information about this bursary in the near future.
In order to help you with your decision to ‘give’ to an endowment of your choice, the Foundation directors have voted to ‘match’ any new donations given to the areas of interest this season until the moneys we’ve allotted run out.
You see, we thought that it would be a lovely legacy to all; and a fitting use for the funds we have been stewarding. Some funds were received as the result of a most generous man’s naming of the Foundation in his will. He was a generous contributor of both time and wisdom while he was with us – it is only fitting that we consider ways to make this legacy help as many locals as we can for years to come.
So folks, as you move about your daily lives, please consider the future. Personally our family choose to ‘give’ monthly by having funds transferred from our account to the Foundation account automatically (the number is 5018635 – community builders account) – but, hey – why not consider ‘depositing’ the Member Rewards into your local Credit Union/ NT Communities Foundation account – mark it according to the envelope you’d like to support (see above). Whereas, it is nice to support Foundations and Causes outside the valley – I thought I would give you this option.
Cheryl Thomas,
Chairman
North Thompson
Communities Foundation