The Fort St. James Community Foundation reached their goal of raising $25,000 by the end of 2012, and it is only September.
The organization, which was started back in 2010 by Joyce Helweg and and Deb Hadwen in order to try and create a capital fund which they could then invest and use the interest they make on it to help the community.
This year alone, the foundation has raised over $25,000, thanks to the District of Fort St. James matching $10,000 in funding which was then matched by Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT) to a maximum of $25,000.
The Prince George Foundation is also partnering with the local foundation in order to earn even better interest on the fund.
The foundation is hoping to set another ambitious goal and have the fund at $100,000 by the end of 2013 and is applying to once again get matching funding by NDIT, which the Fort St. James mayor and council have already offered their support for.
Once the fund seed money is established, the money will be managed by the Fort St. James Community Foundation Society.
The fund will then remain intact, but the interest it generates will be used to provide grants to persons or groups in the areas of health, social wellness, education, sports and recreation, arts and culture, disaster relief, historical preservation, conservation and ecology.
The group hopes to be able to awarding grants by 2014.
