The Bulkley Valley Community Foundation (BVCF) received a sizeable donation from Fritz Pfeiffer’s estate recently.
The former Telkwa mayor, businessman and philanthropist died on January 30, 2019 at the age of 96.
BVCF President Jill Dunbar knew that some money from his estate was coming but didn’t know the amount and was happily surprised when she heard they would get $1.7 million.
“It’s huge,” she said.
However, she doesn’t want other donors to feel insignificant.
“We have donations of all sizes and I don’t want this donation to overshadow those. We get donations anywhere from $25 to $1,000s, $2,500 which are also significant,” she said.
“The more little ones we get, the happier we are because it means more people are aware and involved so the little ones do mean a lot to us.”
The BVCF is a charity that supports local non-profit organizations and projects from Topley to Kitwanga by giving grants.
“We collect donations and invest them. We build an endowment so we only the spend the interest we generate,” explained Dunbar. “We have an endowment now that is about $3 million and it is enough to disburse about $50-$60,000 in grants a year and still maintain that $3 million.”
The directors and staff are currently getting ready to announce the grants for 2020. Applications for these grants were received last fall. The foundation also gives out student grants. Applications for those will be accepted in the spring.
