Adam Prudhomme
Editor
The Community Foundation for Lennox and Addington is making a push to raise $10,000 by the end of 2023.
Using Giving Tuesday as their rallying cry, they’ve launched the Making A Difference Close To Home Campaign in the hopes of encouraging L&A County residents to consider their cause when donating to charity this holiday season.
Their mission is to build a ‘never-ending resource for charitable causes’ in the L&A region. Donations are used to build endowment funds that are available today and into the future for a wide assortment of local non-profit organizations.
“We’re a central point for a lot of charities in the community,” said Bob Baker, executive director of the CFFLA. “People or companies can donate to us and support whatever cause they want and build a legacy forever. Whether they want to support an area like the environment or healthcare or if they want to support something specific, if they want to support Morningstar to create a fund or to support food insecurity more broadly, they can do that with us. It’s incredible what the foundation has done since 1987 and in the last decade really. Through us, $1.6 million has been donated and almost half of that is for student awards.”
Baker says the CFFLA has big ambitions for 2024, including a revamped website and increased social media presence as they look to broaden awareness for their cause. In the meantime they’re looking to close of this year on a high note with their Giving Tuesday campaign.
“Charities tend to step in where government is not supporting,” said Baker. “The need for services and the users of services are increasing while the revenues are going down. One of the things we’re even seeing nationally is while the amount of money is increasing from individuals to charities, the actual dollar amounts are increasing, the number of donors has consistently been decreasing over the years.”
Using a donation of a million dollars as an example, Baker explained the role the CFFLA plays in distributing funds to an organization.
“We can be the conduit, the donor could give us the million dollars and we invest it, we pool our money with the Toronto Community Foundation, we have about $3.6 million on investment right now…(the charitable organizations) don’t have to worry about the cumbersome management of the money. We would facility that whole thing,” said Baker.
Cheques and monetary donations can be made at their Napanee office, located at 116 John Street, Unit 2, as well as digitally at https://www.cffla.ca/.
“Whatever someone can afford to do and support a charity close to home is really important to us,” said Baker.
Founded in 1987, the CFFLA was created following a monetary gift from the estate of Edgar Creighton Hogarth. The Community Foundation manages 39 endowed funds and granted just over $127,000 to local charities, scholarships, and bursaries all in Lennox & Addington this year.