An Evening of Giving took place in Gladstone back in June, and was the first of its kind in the community. Big Grass Community Foundation secretary Secretary Sharon Vercaigne says they discussed the plan for a couple of years and made it a reality this summer.
"We had an evening in Gladstone where we invited out all the people who had applied for grants from the Big Grass Community Foundation," explains Vercaigne. "We wanted to celebrate that. We had a lovely evening, had some refreshments and had a couple speeches. Then we brought all of the donees up and presented them with their cheques. And then afterward, we all sat around for a while and had a good visit. It was just a really nice evening for everyone involved."
She notes they gave away about $32,000.
"There were a few donations that were larger this year," continues Vercaigne. "We thought that fair amount of money to the Plumas PAC Committee so that they could apply that towards their new playground equipment. We sent some money to the Gladstone's Skating rink so that they could put new flooring in for all the hockey players. We sent some money out to Langruth so that they could put new boards up in their hockey arena. And we saved some money down to Westbourne because they have gotten an initiative that they want to do in their curling rink there, as well."
Plumas Elementary School – Playground gets $5,000 grant.She notes a number of smaller grants were also distributed. You can see them all by clicking here for their website.
"We had such a good turnout and everyone had such an enjoyable evening that we've decided we're going to do this annually," says Vercaigne. "So, each spring is when we ask for people to apply for grants. At that point, after we've received the applications and decided who's getting money then, we're going to have another evening."
Vercaigne explains the criteria for applying for a grant requires groups with charitable numbers only.
"If you're an organization that has a charitable number and you have a project that you would like to do, you can apply to us," notes Vercaigne. "Guidelines are on our website that tell you what kind of projects we support. So that would be a place to go, and that's where to go to find the application form. So, it's easy one-spot shopping there."
November 13-19 is Endow MB Giving Challenge.
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