Message from Executive Director about Community Grants

Hello Community partners,

I trust this message finds you in good health and that you have all had found some time to relax, restore and enjoy the summer.  As I know many of you can appreciate, it has been a very busy few months responding to community need. The Fredericton Community Foundation’s focus has been on addressing the challenges brought on by COVID-19 and associating measures through the national Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF) and our own COVID-19 Response Fund.

 As we turn our minds to the future, we are re-thinking the way that we deliver FCF’s granting programs. Our commitment to grant for impact motivates us to identify the most effective and efficient way to support charities in our community.

 In that spirit, we have opted to move from having two Community Grant sessions per year to  having one session per year. The same amount of grant dollars will be available; we will simply spend the full amount in one session. This provides the opportunity for FCF to have one evaluation period, to potentially grant larger amounts per project/program, and to better measure overall community impact. Moreover, it means that charities will only need to submit one Community Grant application and final report per year, lessening the burden on what we know to be already leanly resourced organizations.

 Through participation in a variety of national funding programs, as well as through the donations of our generous donors, the Fredericton Community Foundation has invested close to $1,000,000 in our community this past year. Given that FCF just granted $363,000 through the ECSF, and considering that many fall programs may be on hold due to COVID-19, we hoped this might be the ideal year to make such a move. FCF certainly appreciates that this might require an initial adjustment to your planned grant requests but we are hopeful that, in the long run, it will simplify operational efforts.

 Please stay tuned for more details on the Community Grant deadline and on-line application. If you have any questions, please reach out to us.

Thank you,
Kate Rogers
Executive Director
Fredericton Community Foundation
(506) 454-2262
kate@fredfdn.ca