Friday, 18 October 2024 09:22

SRWD donate $103,000 to local Foundation

October 3, 2024 was a red-letter day for the Southwest Manitoba Regional Foundation. A donation of $103,000 from Souris River Watershed District (SRWD) put the foundation’s principal over one million dollars. The funds from SRWD will be held in trust and used for bursaries for students located within the district, and who are attending university or college in the fields of agriculture or natural resources. The bursaries will be available in 2025. (L-R): Dana Kelm, Secretary-Treasurer at SWMRF, Dean Brooker, manger at SRWD and Donna Todd, outgoing Chair/Director at SWMRF. October 3, 2024 was a red-letter day for the Southwest Manitoba Regional Foundation. A donation of $103,000 from Souris River Watershed District (SRWD) put the foundation’s principal over one million dollars. The funds from SRWD will be held in trust and used for bursaries for students located within the district, and who are attending university or college in the fields of agriculture or natural resources. The bursaries will be available in 2025. (L-R): Dana Kelm, Secretary-Treasurer at SWMRF, Dean Brooker, manger at SRWD and Donna Todd, outgoing Chair/Director at SWMRF.

 

 

Foundations are a wonderful way to assist various community groups. Southwest Manitoba Regional Foundation (SMRF) is one of 57 in Manitoba. On October 3, 2024 SWRF received a significant donation from Souris River Water District (SRWD) when manager Dean Brooker presented a cheque for $103,000 on behalf of the district. The funds will be held in trust and used for bursaries, which will be available in 2025.

The SRWD consists of nine municipal partners, including municipalities of Boissevain-Morton, Deloraine-Winchester, Souris-Glenwood, Pipestone, Wallace-Woodworth, Brenda-Waskada, Grassland, Two Borders and Sifton.

Brooker says this is a new SRWD initiative that covers the entire district. Any graduate from the district who is pursuing an education in natural resources or agriculture is eligible to apply.

“I believe we are the only district that offers a bursary for graduating students. Part of the district’s goal is to entice students to enter the fields of conservation or agriculture,” added Brooker.

Dana Kelm, SMRF Secretary-Treasurer said while it was not a specific goal of the foundation to achieve over one million dollars in net assets, it certainly is an achievement and testament to outgoing Chair Donna Todd’s service and commitment of over 30 years to the community foundation movement in Southwestern Manitoba.

Other goals of the foundation include increasing awareness of community foundations and how endowment funds work, increasing visibility of the SMRF within the communities it serves and the impact of annual grants on non-profits and community groups. It also encourages donations from individual donors, including legacy giving.

Kelm added that the $103,000 contribution from the Souris River Watershed District will establish a Bursary Fund with the Foundation, and the annual interest earned from investing the funds will be used toward a maximum of four annual bursaries up to $1,000 each to graduates from a secondary school within the boundary of the SRWD, reside within the boundary, or have parents or grandparents who own land within the boundary. 

“Selected recipients must be enrolled in post-secondary education in conservation of agriculture-related fields of study,” she added.

by JUDY WELLS, Recorder staff

 

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