Founded in 1995 and having recently celebrated its 25th anniversary with a bounty of special grants to non-profits, the Beautiful Plains Community Foundation certainly couldn’t be called inactive during the pandemic. However, the Foundation had been known for its fun and participatory fundraising events, all of which had to be shelved or postponed in early 2020.

Treasurer Ian Thomson says that despite this, the Foundation remained financially secure during the pandemic and was able to continue receiving contributions and giving out grants to community organisations, which includes us here at NACTV. All funds donated to the BPCF are held in an endowment fund in perpetuity, and the foundation grants back to the community out of the investment gains. This amounts to about 65 to 70 thousand dollars in grants each year out of the general fund, plus additional grants out of designated funds.

This week, community foundations across Manitoba are celebrating the Giving Challenge, in which funds contributed to the foundation are matched by funds from the Winnipeg Foundation and the Province of Manitoba to a maximum of $10,000. Brent Sorenson, president of the BPCF, tells us that the week of the giving challenge has become the foundation’s biggest fundraiser of the year, and that the community goes far above and beyond that $10,000 goal.

It might be the biggest fundraiser, but it’s not the only one. This year, the foundation also started an innovative land project. On land owned by the Town of Neepawa, the foundation received donations of labour, equipment, and inputs from agricultural businesses in the area to seed 42 acres of what was originally grassland in the midst of industrial lots. While yields in 2021 weren’t high, prices were, and the project was very profitable for the foundation.

The foundation also runs a Lunch and Learn series, now returning for a third year after an interruption in 2020. The series is free to attend and covers topics such as grant writing and developing a social media presence for local non-profits. The goal is to help organisations generate more funding for themselves, whether that’s through the BPCF or one of the many other granting bodies available to them.

Sorenson closes by encouraging people to become active with the community foundation, not just through contributions but through participating in events and even by serving on the board of directors to help make a difference in the community.