Generous benefactor

The Town of Fort Frances divvied up over $93,000 to 17 local organizations here Monday evening, money which will help them put on events, provide free programming to the public, and buy new equipment.
This is all thanks to the Moffat Family Fund.
And while many of these groups now apply each year for a piece of the fund, not everyone realizes how fortunate the town is to get that money to disperse year after year.
The town has benefitted from the Moffat Family Fund for 17 years.
Back in December, 2001, the Randy Moffat family entrusted $100 million to the Winnipeg Foundation, which, in turn, is responsible for investing the money and distributing it to help youth and families in 12 communities where the former Moffat Communications did business, including Fort Frances.
Ever since, the town has been eligible to receive some of the interest from that $100-million investment, with the amount varying somewhat from year to year.
In 2002, the town was allocated $33,000 to divvy up.
The $93,750 it got this year was significantly more money than the $60,000 the town divvied up to 17 different groups last June.
The truth is many youth groups, sports clubs, and community organizations have to do fundraising to provide affordable–and in somes cases, free–programs and activities for children and families to enjoy. And while Fort Frances–and the entire Rainy River District–has a proven track record when it comes to generosity, each of us can only afford to give so much when there’s so many good causes to support.
And that’s where the Moffat Family Fund comes in.
This year alone, the Moffat Family Fund is helping to pay for Canada Day celebrations (including fireworks), healthy food for families who can’t afford it, playground equipment at Sunny Cove Camp, the 908 Rainy Lake Cadet Squadron’s rental fees, a Lego skills program, several summer camps, youth sports, “Trunk or Treat,” and an open air art studio program. And that’s not even the complete list.
The long and short of it is our town is very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to first apply to the Moffat Family Fund back in 2002, and 17 years later, should be grateful to be one of 12 communities which continues to benefit from the generosity of the Moffat family.