The Saanich Peninsula Community Foundation (SPCF) is reaping the rewards of a $7,000 donation from Newport Realty Sidney.
The business recently sponsored the Sidney’s Got Soul concert at the Mary Winspear Centre and is giving the proceeds to SPCF.
Holly Critchison, the firm’s manager, praised SPCF’s “good work” and said Newport Realty hope more people become aware of the SPCF as “the foundation is a very worthwhile, yet little known, local organization.”
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The organization, run by a volunteer board of directors, is in its 20th year and aims to “enrich the quality of life for Saanich Peninsula residents.”
The SPCF seeks gifts, large and small, and adds them to their permanent community fund, which is part of the Victoria Foundation. These monies are pooled and invested, with returns distributed by annual grants to local charities.
The capital of the fund grows with each new donation, in turn producing increased returns that are granted to local recipients.
Grants from the foundation’s Community Fund are awarded on an annual basis every spring and range between $500 and $3,000.
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Viola Van de Ruyt, president of SPCF, says they are seeking charitable foundation status and, once achieved, will look to set up their own investment fund.
The groups the SPCF have helped dot the area and there are a range of testimonials on their website thanking them for their grants.
“SPCF continues to be a ‘quiet’ supporter of many valued organizations on the Peninsula and we are most appreciative of this,” said a testimonial on their website from the BC Aviation Museum.
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Van de Ruyt says the organization has donated $22,000 this year and aims to have $2 million in planned gifts by 2020, mostly left by people in their wills.
Responding to their latest donation, Van de Ruyt said, “It’s huge because we’ve been such a small relative unknown, only gradually building grants. It’s great to get that exposure, and also the size of donation means the grants can get bigger each year.”
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