The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor For a charity ready to dole out more than $50,000 in financial aide, the Northern Neighbours Foundation sure keeps a low profile. Just six weeks before this year's application deadline, not a single organization has put in for grants offered through the Flin Flon-based organization. 'The foundation is still not well known in the community,' says executive director Betty Kendall. 'We do not have a large marketing budget, so it takes time to get the word out.' Nonetheless, Northern Neighbours has been in existence for almost 20 years, having been formed in 1994. Three years later, in 1997, it awarded its first charitable grants. Why the three-year wait? Because Northern Neighbours, through its endowment fund, does not actually spend the donations it receives; only the interest that money accumulates is doled out. 'The foundation provides a permanent source of funds to meet community and regional needs now and in the future,' says Kendall. Helping out the charity in the early years was the Winnipeg-based Thomas Sill Foundation, which gave Northern Neighbours $2 for every $1 in donations it received. Northern Neighbours has to date granted over $116,000 from its endowment fund. And the Moffat Family Fund, which supports charities across Canada, has contributed an astounding $559,000 to Northern Neighbours. A long and diverse list of groups and facilities have benefitted, including all local schools, most local parks, Camp Whitney, the Flin Flon Skatepark, Simonhouse Bible Camp and the Phantom Lake Soccer Club, among many others. This year Northern Neighbours is ready to award up to $37,500 from the Moffat Family Fund, with money going to benefit 'children, families and less advantaged communities.' The Northern Neighbours endowment fund has $10,000 available. The charity will also award up to $4,430 through the Joe Brain Foundation Fund. Grant applicants must be a registered charity and submit their application by March 30. Northern Neighbours supports projects in area communities within the following categories: community service, arts and culture, education, heritage and the environment, health and medical services, recreation and sports, youth and senior programs. It generally does not support administration costs. Northern Neighbours will also award $500 in the form of the Eula and Russell Storey Health Care Bursary, for an individual entering the health care field. The deadline to apply for the bursary is May 1. Applicants for grants and the bursary may be from Flin Flon, Creighton, Denare Beach, Cranberry Portage, Snow Lake or Sherridon. Northern Neighbours is run by a volunteer board consisting of Jane Robillard (chair); Tom Steven (vice chair, Creighton director); Mary Wright (treasurer, Denare Beach director); Cheryl Hordal, Sheila Dubreuil and Dave Kendall (Flin Flon directors); Betty Rudd (Snow Lake director); and Wayne Sherwood (Cranberry Portage director). To donate, or to receive a grant application or to learn more about Northern Neighbours, contact Betty Kendall, executive director, at Box 802, Flin Flon, MB, R8A 1N6 or [email protected].
