Eva Friesen provided an update on the state of fundraising in Calgary.
I am pleased to provide an update on the Calgary Foundation’s pandemic response program. When the city went into its state of emergency, I had just arrived back in Calgary. That was on a Monday, and by the following Thursday, our board had organized its first Zoom meeting. The next day we initiated our first COVID-19 response action, which I think will be our most effective action. We created a place on our website for charities to post their pandemic needs, and we now have 311 charities and not-for-profits listed. If you are interested in following the progress of a charity, you can see their fundraising progress on the site.
As COVID-19 prevents charities from doing their usual work, we directed three million dollars to our COVID-19 response. We gave one million dollars through the United Way, and we granted two million dollars through our process that is more broadly-based than the United Way.
W have opened our process for people to give, but we do not fundraise directly. We continue to consider grant requests and could provide up to five million dollars to worthy causes.
We try not to fund initiatives supported by the provincial and federal governments. It is crucial that there not be any duplication in support. For example, we could receive a request to support mental health in an area funded by the provincial government. While we might have supported such an initiative before the provincial funding commitment, we would subsequently direct the applicant towards the province. We must be flexible to make the best use of the monies in our care.
Our staff is working harder than ever, mainly while we work with the United Way. There is another sector with high needs, and that is the arts community. Many in the artist community have lost jobs, or grants, owing to cancelled performances and closed museums and galleries. You can just imagine how stressful that is for them.
We have joined with the Rozsa Foundation to support artists. We also work with the Calgary Arts Foundation to support artists. There are many needs, and I think anything that anyone can do makes a difference.
The lunchbucket challenge is a great idea. We can save a lot of money by not meeting at the Palliser for the next while, so imagine what our club can do. We can donate to the United Way’s COVID-19 response fund, and that would make a big difference to vulnerable populations.