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PHOTOGRAPHY: KESARA KIMO
TINA THOMAS
CEO, Edmonton Community Foundation
than 800 charities and 700 students and we are on track to distribute close to $40 million in 2024. This includes $1.6 million granted to Indigenous students and Indigenous-led and serving organizations, including the Belcourt Brosseau Métis Awards (BBMAs).
The BBMAs were established at ECF in 2001 by Dr. Herb Belcourt, Orval Belcourt and Georges Brosseau, KC. BBMA recipients can use this funding for tuition, fees, textbooks and supplies.
This summer, we were saddened by the passing of Georges Brosseau. Georges believed in the importance of post-secondary education for Métis people so they can achieve self-sufficiency, realize their highest potential and enrich their lives and the lives
of their community. During his lifetime, Georges saw the BBMAs distribute more than $10.5 million in awards to over 2,600 Métis students, making it one of the largest non-governmental sources of funding for Métis students in Canada.
On September 21, we will honour the achievements of the latest BBMA recipients at the annual BBMA Celebration at the Edmonton Inn & Conference Centre.
In July, we watched in disbelief as a wildfire swept through Jasper National Park, a place dear to many Albertans. The blaze, the largest in a century, damaged 30 per cent of the town’s structures, destroying 358 of 1,113 buildings.
In response, ECF is working with the Northwestern Alberta Foundation and the Banff Canmore Foundation to mobilize the Northern Alberta Resiliency Fund, supporting long-term community needs not covered by government aid or insurance. ECF is matching donations to this fund up to $100,000.
MESSAGE
FROM THE CEO
Additionally, recognizing the large number of hospitality sector workers in the region, a group of local hospitality leaders reached out to ECF to create the Jasper Hospitality Fund. Restaurants, cafés and others in the sector are creating pop-up events, donating proceeds from their businesses and rallying support for their colleagues
in Jasper. Both initiatives are dedicated to directly aiding Jasper’s recovery and ensuring that the communities most impacted by the fires are the ones making decisions about how the funding is used.
Throughout my tenure, I have consistently heard from donors, grantees, current and past Board members and other stakeholders that ECF is Edmonton’s best kept secret. The people who know us understand the incredible work we are doing, yet many people are unaware of our impact. In fact, increasing our visibility was the top suggestion from our 2023 Donor Perception Survey.
Over the past six months, ECF has engaged in conversations with donors, grantees, staff, board and other stakeholders to gather insights on our identity, community value and unique strengths.
We’ve been using this input to reimagine how we present ourselves both internally and externally. We are excited to enhance our visibility and awareness in Edmonton and I look forward to sharing what we’ve done when we launch our refreshed brand later this year.
n June, Edmonton Community Foundation (ECF) hosted 500 donors and community partners at our Annual
Luncheon. This event reminds me of how far ECF has come since its establishment in 1989, thanks to the combined investment of $15 million by John and Barbara Poole, George and Rae Poole, and Robert and Shirley Stollery on behalf of their families. In 1990, we began granting and distributed $1 million to charities and students in the greater Edmonton area.
Fast forward 35 years to 2023, and ECF’s assets under management reached $795 million. We provided a total of $33.2 million to more
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