About the Foundation

The first Canadian community foundation was created in 1921 in Winnipeg. By 2005, Canada had approximately 150 community foundations holding aggregated assets of $2 billion. The grants from the investment income are affecting millions of Canadian lives. Community foundations are the fastest growing, most dynamic form of philanthropy in North America.

A community foundation is a collection of endowed funds established by individuals and corporations – a community of donors – to enhance the quality of life in a particular area. These funds are pooled and a board of directors supervises the resulting investment portfolio. The income from the portfolio is made available for distribution to support charitable activities in the local community.

The Lac du Bonnet & District Charitable Foundation, Inc. is dedicated to improving the quality of life in the Town and RM of Lac du Bonnet and the adjacent area of the RM of Alexander through the creation and management of funds gifted in perpetuity and the distribution of investment earnings for local charitable purposes.  The Lac du Bonnet & District Charitable Foundation is a philanthropic organization focused on building permanent endowments to address long-term community challenges as well as meeting immediate needs in the community.  

Every donor must know and appreciate that a gift to the Foundation is a gift to the community of Lac du Bonnet.  Your gift to the community is invested and the yearly investment proceeds of that investment will be granted to qualified donees to address charitable needs in the community of Lac du Bonnet.   This will be your contribution to make Lac du Bonnet a better place to live every year in the future whether you are here or not.

The Lac du Bonnet & District Charitable Foundation:

• is officially registered as a charity and has been designated by the Canada Revenue Agency as a tax exempt Public Foundation and has been assigned a Business Number /Registration Number: 823854559RR0001 that identifies the charitable status of the Foundation;

• is independent and autonomous and it is governed by a body of volunteers, that will usually be independently appointed, which represents and is accountable to the community it serves;  

• is not controlled directly or indirectly by any government, corporations, associations, individuals, related family members, or particular religious, cultural or ethnic groups;

• will maintain a broad grants program providing funding to many different grantees in a range of fields of interest and segments of the population in the Lac du Bonnet area.  Grantees must be "qualified donees" as defined in the Income Tax Act;

• will be structured primarily as a growing collection of permanent and non-permanent endowment funds, which includes a pool of unrestricted dollars, that support the diverse charitable purposes specified by the governing body and by its donors;

• will focus its grant-making and charitable services primarily in the commercial trading area around Lac du Bonnet;

• will be a prudent and responsible steward and investor of charitable funds, while maintaining complete and accurate financial records;

• will regularly monitor its internal processes and activities with the goal of meeting the highest standards of practice in all its activities.

BROAD GOALS the Lac du Bonnet & District Charitable Foundation

The undertaking of the Corporation is restricted to the following as taken from the articles of incorporation: 

 (a) To fund and give grants to "qualified donees", as defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada), which are involved in the relief of poverty, the advancement of education, the advancement of social welfare and health, programs for the aged & the disabled, the preservation and protection of the environment, the advancement of the arts, the prevention of delinquency and substance abuse, advancement of recreation and sport, youth development and other community activities that are of a charitable nature;

 (b) To raise funds through donations, gifts, bequests and other means in order to further the foregoing objectives;

(c) To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of other registered charities through the holding of conferences and the provision of administrative services.

The Three Roles of Community Foundations

The undertaking or goals of Lac du Bonnet & District Charitable Foundation are consistent with the three roles of community foundations as described by the Community Foundations of Canada.  These roles are:

1)       Broad and effective grant making

Community foundations bring local knowledge, experience and a network of community relationships to their grant making.  Using their broad view of community needs and opportunities, community foundations make grants to a wide range of registered charities, primarily in their defined geographic area, to address short-term and long-term priorities across many fields. They are able to see "the big picture" and build on community strengths.

2)       Endowment building and flexible, comprehensive donor services

Community foundations build and prudently invest permanent endowments and other types of funds to benefit registered charities in their communities and beyond their communities.  They offer a wide range of flexible giving opportunities and have special expertise to help many different donors achieve their particular charitable goals. They facilitate giving at all levels and promote philanthropy.

3)       Inclusive community leadership

As knowledgeable partners in community life, community foundations offer leadership to their communities on issues of importance to the community. They use their broad perspective and their networking opportunity to help build strong, caring, engaged communities.  They work to empower others, connect diverse parts of the community, foster dialogue, develop partnerships and mobilize the community to improve quality of life.  They strive for visionary thinking and creative, inclusive collaboration that builds social capital.

Operating principles for the  Lac du Bonnet & District Charitable Foundation

As adopted from the Community Foundations of Canada

PRINCIPLE 1  Building Community Capacity

We will nurture and build on our community’s strengths and assets. Communities are strengthened by initiatives which increase the capacity of organizations and individuals to respond to challenges and opportunities, develop local leadership, promote self-reliance, emphasize prevention and mobilize civic participation and resources.

PRINCIPLE 2  Understanding the Changing Nature of Our Communities

To be strategic in all our activities, we need to know our communities well. This involves spending time in community consultation, making ourselves available for discussion, being active participants in the community, monitoring local and national trends and being aware of the impact of change in our communities.

PRINCIPLE 3  Creating Opportunities for Dialogue

Because of our broad mandate to nurture a vital community, we will bring together people with different ideas and points of view.

PRINCIPLE 4  Developing Partnerships

Since more can be accomplished when we act together, we will form, encourage and support partnerships among individuals, neighbourhood and community groups, service clubs, foundations, professional advisors, businesses, governments, the media and others.

PRINCIPLE 5  Reflecting Diversity and Fostering Renewal

We believe there is strength in diversity and that our communities will be better served when we understand different points of view and engage the broader community in our deliberations and decision making.

PRINCIPLE 6  Establishing an Effective and Imaginative Grants Program

We will strive to continually improve our skills as grant makers, making a visible and lasting difference in our communities through a granting program that is balanced, flexible, creative and responsive.

PRINCIPLE 7  Building Community Assets and Facilitating Philanthropy

As we build permanent endowments and other assets for the future of our communities, we will help our donors derive the maximum possible benefit and satisfaction from their giving by learning about their charitable goals, providing them with information about ever changing needs, integrating their goals with community opportunities, and providing flexible giving options. We will champion the values of philanthropy.

PRINCIPLE 8  Evaluating and Sharing Results

We will evaluate our activities to improve our skills and knowledge and we will share key findings with others.

PRINCIPLE 9  Implementing Responsive and Accountable Processes

We will engage in practices that are open and accessible, fair and objective, flexible and timely as we work with grant seekers, donors, volunteers and others in the community.

PRINCIPLE 10  Balancing Our Resources

Because our fund development, grant making and other community leadership activities are inter-dependent, we will commit and balance our human and financial resources among them.

Summary

The following diagram will summarize the Key Roles and Operating Principles of a Charitable or Community Foundation