COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS
“The 2022 Community Grants Program supports projects throughout rural southwestern New Brunswick in arts, culture, heritage, health and well-being, education, environment, and social services” – Kirsten Rouse, Executive Director, Fundy Community Foundation (left)
Fundy Community Foundation Making Big Impact in Rural New Brunswick
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BY KIRSTEN ROUSE
n the fall of 2010, Peter and Cindy Bartlett tragically lost their young son Andrew. The close-knit family from St. Andrews, New Brunswick, had strong ties to the community and every single resident mourned the loss. While the loss was unexpected and devastating to the family, Peter and Cindy made the thoughtful decision to honour and preserve their son’s memory by setting up a fund in his name with the Fundy Community Foundation, a small foundation based in St. Andrews that serves southwestern rural New Brunswick. In addition to donations made by family and friends, Cindy and Peter initiated an annual golf tournament to raise money and awareness. Thanks to their passionate work and determination, the Andrew Bartlett Memorial Scholarship Fund is now large enough to provide scholarships to two students graduating from a local high school each year. Together, the Bartlett family has created a legacy that will positively impact young people for many years to come. The Bartlett’s story is just one example of the important and heartfelt work of the Fundy Community Foundation (FCF). As a registered charity and a public foundation, FCF fills the charitable gap between local support and local needs. The mechanics of what we do are quite simple; We accept donations, pool them together to invest them wisely and then issue grants from the earnings. In
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other words, Community Foundations connect donors with needs and opportunities and have done so since the first Community Foundation was established in Canada in 1921. Unlike other granting organizations, the spectrum of projects supported by Community Foundations is broad. We recognize that mental health and affordable housing are pressing social issues today, but our foundations also see value in a beach cleanup project, a local school breakfast program, an accessible park bench or even a historic display case. These are all worthwhile community initiatives that make our communities special. Many of the volunteer organizations supported by FCF appear to survive on volunteer sweat and the kindness of strangers. If we can help these volunteer organizations by telling their story, that’s something we want to do. If we can further help them by talking to donors about setting up a fund to benefit them forever, we want to do that too. Here are a few more Fundy Community Foundation Stories of Inspiration: New Funds to Hit the Road: Charlotte Dial A Ride recently established an endowed fund with FCF. This fund will provide valuable and stable support for their ongoing operational costs. As volunteer John Castell will tell you, the Dial A Ride concept grew from a Fundy Community Foundation led community March/April 2022
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