(l-r) Rick Willey, Roger Arcand, Trudy Hodges, Darlene Isley, Jim Drabble, Guy Houle,

 West County Community Fund

The West County Community Fund was established in June 2011 bringing the number of Regional Funds administered by the Community Foundation to five.

Roger Arcand serves as a director on the Board for the Community Foundation of Greater Grande Prairie and is the Chair of the West County Community Fund.  He invited Tracey Vavrek, Executive Director for the Foundation to deliver a presentation to the community and explain the benefits associated with Community Funds.

Funds of this type provide residents with opportunities to invest in their local area, forever.  Similar to other endowment funds, gifts of all sizes are pooled together until the fund reaches a size that it can start generating interest income.  That income is used to make community grants in support of local charitable activities. 

"Tracey's information was very well-received and I had a number of people approach me with their support for the idea," said Roger.  "From there we were able to recruit local residents to sit on an advisory committee; we developed the name, and outlined the area the fund would serve."

All Community Funds are led by a Fund Advisory Committee, which is composed entirely of people who either live in the local area or who have a meaningful connection to it.  These dedicated individuals ensure that the fund supports their community's current priorities along with its emerging needs and future opportunities.

It was the idea of 'forever' that Jim Drabble found most appealing.  Having retired after living and working in the area for over 35 years, he was searching for a way to give back to his adopted community.  When invited to join the fund's advisory committee, Jim was happy to accept.

"I liked the idea of protecting the principal and only using the earned investment to support projects," he said.  "To set up something that would be a legacy was an excellent idea."

Leona Hanson, Mayor of Beaverlodge, had met with Tracey previously.

"As a town council we saw the value of it and decided we would like to be involved in terms of sharing information with the advisory committee and promoting it in the local area," she said.

Roger indicated that the Advisory Council will be focussing on raising awareness of the Community Fund among area residents and creating an understanding of how it can be used benefit the people living in the West County.

For more information about Community Funds, please contact Tracey Vavrek.  You can reach her by telephone at:  (780) 538-2820 and e-mail:  tracey@buildingtomorrowtoday.com.