By Marc Zienkiewicz

The Lac du Bonnet Charitable Foundation is nearly a reality and should have charitable status by September, foundation president Cliff Zarecki said this week.

The foundation began in July of last year when Zarecki was appointed chairman of a committee designed to look into the possibility of starting a community foundation for Lac du Bonnet.

Community foundations — of which there are many in Manitoba — are independent charitable organizations that help facilitate community philanthropy. They pool donations, place the money into investment funds, and use only the interest generated to support a wide variety of community initiatives.

Zarecki has been involved with trying to get a community foundation going for LdB in the past.

Several years ago, Winnipeg’s Thomas Sill Foundation — which was created in the 1980s when Sill willed his money to create it — was consulted by officials in LdB, but the project never got off the ground.

Now Zarecki is happy to report the foundation has 10 board members. Other members are Daryl Hyslop, Norm Plato, Gus Wruck, Gord Emberley, Donna Tschetter, Bob Draward, Brett Mitchell, Bill Russell, and Mauri Rutherford.

“Now it’s a matter of figuring out what we have to do to get the word out,” Zarecki said.

An education campaign will be forthcoming to explain the benefits of the foundation to area residents.

Beausejour has a foundation of its own, and it has been very successful. Today it has a pool of working capital in the neighbourhood of $300,000.

At an interest rate of four per cent, this would generate $12,000 every year for community projects.

Anyone who wants more information on the Lac du Bonnet Charitable Foundation can contact Zarecki at 345-8086.