Duane Hicks
If you have a community project that will benefit children, families, and the “less advantaged,” this year is the right time to apply for a piece of the Moffat Family Fund.
The Town of Fort Frances will be receiving a whopping $93,750 this summer to redistribute to local worthwhile causes, deputy clerk Kathy Lawson told the Times on Friday.
This is significantly more money than the $60,000 the town divvied up to 17 different groups last June, she noted.
Back in December, 2001, the Moffat family entrusted $100 million to the Winnipeg Foundation, which, in turn, is responsible for investing the money and distributing it to communities in need.
Year after year, the town (along with other communities once served by the Moffat family’s cable television business) is eligible to receive some of the interest from that $100-million investment, with the amount varying from year to year.
Lawson said the notice from the Winnipeg Foundation did not indicate why the amount is so much greater than in the past but no matter the reason, it’s good news.
“It will help out the people of Fort Frances,” she remarked, noting funding for programs is getting harder to come by these days and, as such, this is an opportunity to for them acquire some of those much-needed dollars.
The town is inviting groups to start submitting applications for a share of the pot. The deadline to apply is Thursday, March 28 at 4 p.m.
Applications are available at the Civic Centre, as well as online at fort-frances.com/town/administration-finance/moffat-family-fund
These can be delivered in person or mailed.
All applications must be a registered charity and have a charitable number, or be affiliated with a group that has one.
If they do not, their application won’t be considered.
Organizations from outside Fort Frances, whose activities do not have a direct benefit to town residents, also are not eligible.
As in previous years, non-profit organizations are welcome to apply but need to keep in mind that funding proposals must benefit children, families, and the “less advantaged.”
Past applicants are welcome to apply again.
Over the years, recipients have ranged from the 908 Rainy Lake Air Cadets, Salvation Army, and KidSport to the Fort Frances Community Garden Kids’ Garden Club, “Fun in the Sun,” and Community Living Fort Frances and District.
After the deadline, the local Moffat Fund committee, which is an advisory committee to council, will review the applications, choose recipients, and forward those selections on to the Winnipeg Foundation for approval.
The Foundation will make its final approvals by late May or early June.
Successful applicants then will be contacted and likely will receive their share of the $93,750 during a council meeting in late June or early July.
