It’s been a busy week for the Community Foundation of Whistler. Ken Derpak was appointed to the board and Christine Buttkus was appointed to the newly created role of executive director. Plus, the foundation’s funds continued to grow.
A generous donation from Nancy Wilhelm-Morden, has enabled the Community Foundation of Whistler to create an operating endowment fund. The new fund makes a total of four endowment funds, which includes the Environmental Legacy Fund, funded by donations from the Resort Municipality of Whistler, the Whistler Scholarship Society Fund and the Whistler-Blackcomb Fund for Children, Youth and Families.
In October, the Whistler Scholarship Society made an additional donation to expand the size of the existing fund. The Community Foundation of Whistler is now on its way to meeting its goal of 10 new funds for the year. New funds allow the foundation to be responsive and diversify the areas the foundation can support.
The Community Foundation of Whistler is a registered charitable foundation established to collect and invest endowment funds and make grants from the earnings. The community foundation, which was established in October of 1999, is different from a charitable foundation like the Whistler-Blackcomb Foundation, which by law has to disperse most of its assets annually.
The foundation is also honoured to have been selected by the JW McConnell Family Foundation to participate in a project to build their environmental grant making capacity while strengthening environmental action locally and nationally. The project will receive up to $150,000 per year over a two-year period.
On Nov. 14, the foundation will host a focus group involving key environmental organizations and stakeholders to discuss the opportunity and seek input on the proposal.
