On November 15, the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough announced the allocation of $79,000 in grants to nine local charities during an online reception. Over the past five years, Vital Community Grants have contributed nearly $480,000 to 57 different local charities.
“This year, the Foundation prioritized applications from charities that work to advance equity in our community,” says Jennifer DeBues, Executive Director of the Foundation. “The need this year exceeded our capacity to give. We heard from organizations that work in the arts, social services, human rights, and more.”
As part of the grant-making process, the Foundation invited successful applicants to participate in a granting circle, empowering its members to collectively decide how to best distribute the $79,000 on offer.
“We continue to use a granting circle to decide how to distribute this money,” says DeBues, “because front-line agencies know what they’re doing. They know their clients, and they know our community. It’s our privilege to facilitate the open-hearted conversations that take place in that circle.”
Vital Community Grants are made possible by pooling the funds from fifteen of the Foundation’s many endowments, including the Arts & Culture Fund, the Mayor Bennett Fund, and the Almira Grover Foley Fund, which has been dedicated to serving the marginalized since the late 1800s.
The full list of recipients is as follows:
- Artspace
- Down Syndrome Association of Peterborough
- Heads Up for Inclusion
- Peterborough Aids Resource Network
- ReFrame Film Festival
- Right to Heal
- The Council for Persons with Disabilities
- The Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough
- YWCA Peterborough Haliburton