Lethbridge, AB (May 1, 2020) – The Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta is pleased to announce $202,800 in grant funding to 15 charities working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, we established a COVID-19 Response and Recovery Grants Program with a contribution of $375,000 from our unrestricted fund. Due to the generous support this fund has received, both locally and nationally, the Community Foundation will announce a second call for funding in early May.
While successful applicants in the first round of funding include charities across the region providing urgent response work in the areas of food, shelter, and health care, the dominant request was for the provision of food. Other successful projects include providing online mental health supports, support for seniors, and emergency housing for youth-at-risk. For a complete list of grant recipients and a description of their projects, please visit the following link: 2020 Grant Recipients
Due to the high number of applications received, the Community Foundation was not able to support all requests and encourages groups to collaborate and share resources whenever possible. Funding decisions were based on urgent needs in four priority areas: food, shelter, health care, and families with children. Also considered was the financial support that charities have previously received from other sources in response to COVID-19. Before awarding funds, we made sure to research which charities have already received support from our generous community versus those who have not been as fortunate. Our goal was to ensure that everyone who needs it receives our support for the critical work they are doing.
We ask anyone who is in a financial position to make a donation, to consider working with the Community Foundation to leverage your gift for matching funds from the Government of Alberta. All donations received by the Community Foundation for COVID-19 response and recovery will go right back out to support the community. Anyone interested in supporting the Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Fund can do so by contacting Davidson at cdavidson@cflsa.ca. Gifts are eligible for a tax-deductible donation receipt. For more information on the matching donations program, please click here.
The Community Foundation is proud to support Southwestern Alberta at this challenging time, and acknowledges the generous support of our many donors and friends for their critical contributions to our work.
