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“Government and insurance will rebuild bricks and mortar. We're there to help rebuild the fabric of the community.”
— Noel Xavier
AFTER A WILDFIRE this summer destroyed nearly a third of the town’s structures, Jasper has come together to rebuild. And, although the process has only just begun, Edmontonians, through the Northern Alberta Resiliency Fund, will be supporting Jasperites every step of the way.
“I would hope that these dollars help to restore the community spirit of Jasper, and give folks the confidence that they have support from other communities, and that they’re not alone,” says Noel Xavier, Vice President, Philanthropy
& Donor Engagement at Edmonton Community Foundation (ECF). “We are really one big community.”
The Fund was initially developed
in 2016 to support Fort McMurray residents after wildfires tore through that community. In 2023, it was revived to help Albertans dealing with wildfires in Drayton Valley and Grande Prairie, and this year
it’s being directed to aid Jasper. A key
part of the latest activation of the fund is ECF’s collaboration with the Northwestern Alberta Foundation and the Banff Canmore Foundation. ECF is working with these foundations to identify key decision makers in their local communities to flow the funding to where it is needed most.
Each year, the money raised through the Northern Alberta Resiliency Fund goes directly to the communities that need it. In 2024, ECF matched donations to the fund up to $100,000, and less than two months after the fire, Edmontonians had already contributed more than $160,000 to support their neighbours in the mountain town to the west.
While many Jasper residents and businesses will receive support from other levels of government and reimbursements through insurance companies, the Northern Alberta Resiliency Fund will help with community needs not covered by other sources.
“Government and insurance will rebuild bricks and mortar. We’re there to help rebuild the fabric of the community,” says Xavier.
“There are a lot of community projects and grassroots initiatives that happen everywhere, whether it be Jasper or Edmonton or anywhere. And so much of a community’s vibrancy comes down to those activities that really bring a community together.”
While much of ECF’s portfolio
is centred on endowment funds, designed for giving over the long term, the Northern Alberta Resiliency Fund is a flow-through fund, intended for near- immediate impact.
“An endowment fund is invested forever so it’s really meant to be there for the long term to create sustainability into the future,” explains Xavier. “However, in a situation where, say, a fire has torn through a community, that future sustainability really depends
on more immediate needs. So we recognize that in a situation like a forest fire that’s out of control and has ravaged a community like Jasper, a long-term endowment fund is wonderful but we want to get dollars into the community faster, which is where the flow-through model comes in.”
With damages of the Jasper wildfire estimated at more than $880 million by the Insurance Bureau of Canada, there will be no shortage of use for the more than $260,000 raised to date.
And although Xavier hopes the Northern Alberta Resiliency Fund won’t be needed to help Alberta communities recover from natural disasters every year, the Fund will be there, set up and ready should the need arise again.
“It’s really about resiliency for our communities,” he says. “We’d love to think that there will be no more fires next summer, but the reality is, there probably will be. So now we’ve got this fund that’s going to stay up and running, and as needs emerge, we’ll be on the lookout and be on the ready to help our friends and families across Northern Alberta.”
6 Together we thrive