CFKR and the Cranbrook Community Forest Society Launch New Fund

Cranbrook, BC (May 9, 2022) – The Community Foundation of the Kootenay Rockies (CFKR) is thrilled to launch the new Cranbrook Community Forest Society Legacy Fund, to support the Cranbrook Community Forest Society (CCFS) with an annual grant, in perpetuity.

CFKR and CCFS aim to raise $20,000 to establish this new endowment fund. The fundraising is already underway, with an initial donation of $500 from Jean-Ann Debreceni, who is a long-time user of the Community Forest, along with her husband, Joe, and a further donation of $2,500, from another dedicated community forest supporter.

“The CCFS Board is excited about this opportunity to establish a new and lasting revenue stream for our organization,” said Joseph Cross, CCFS Board Chair.

Cross added, “The annual grant from this fund will support our on-going work to maintain and enhance the Cranbrook Community Forest, which is such an important recreational, educational, and environmental resource in our community.”

According to Lynnette Wray, CFKR Executive Director, “We sincerely appreciate Jean-Ann’s initiative in kick-starting this new fund, and we are so pleased to be working with the Cranbrook Community Forest Society to raise the remaining $17,000.”

“We know that so many people love to walk, bike, hike, and run in the Cranbrook Community Forest, and we are confident that people will step forward to support this new fund,” Wray stated.

CFKR welcomes tax-receiptable charitable donations to this fund via the following means:

  • Cheque:
    • Made out to “CFKR”, noting “Community Forest” in the memo, including the donor’s email address and phone number
    • Mailed to CFKR at Box 242, Cranbrook, BC, V1C 4H8 or delivered to the CFKR office in the Ground Floor Coworking Space at 131 7th Ave. S., Cranbrook
  • E-Transfer to [email protected]:
    • Including “Community Forest” in the notes, as well as the donor’s email address, mailing address, and phone number
  • Cash:
    • Delivered to the CFKR office in the Ground Floor Coworking Space at 131 7th Ave. S., Cranbrook.
  • Credit card donations, which include an additional processing fee, via the following link: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/72233
  • Employer-Matching Donation Programs: Please ask your employer if they have a program to match their employees’ charitable donations. This is a quick and easy way to potentially double the value of your donation! For example, CFKR has an active account with Benevity, a service that many companies use for their employer-matching donation programs. 

The Cranbrook Community Forest Society was established in 2000 as a BC-registered non-profit society and received their registered charity status from the CRA in the spring of 2021. This opened the door to creating this permanently invested endowment fund, which will support CCFS with an operating grant, every year, forever.

Jean-Ann Debreceni truly believes in the long-term benefits of endowment funds for local charities, having played a key role in establishing several CFKR endowment funds, including the East Kootenay Community Credit Union Fund which benefits the Cranbrook Salvation Army’s local food programs, the Cranbrook Community Theatre Legacy Fund, the Cranbrook Past and Present Teachers’ Legacy Fund, and now the Cranbrook Community Forest Society Legacy Fund.

Photo: Front row, left to right: Joseph Cross, CCFS Board Chair and Jean-Ann Debreceni, founding donor; Back row, left to right: Michele Bates, CFKR Board Chair and Sean Campbell, CFKR Director

 

Community Foundation of the Kootenay Rockies:

Established in 2003 as a federally incorporated not-for-profit and a CRA-registered charity, the Community Foundation of the Kootenay Rockies is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and employs one staff person. CFKR holds a total of approximately $4 million in 43 permanently invested funds. Since 2003, thanks to the income earned from its endowment funds as well as external project funding, CFKR has granted nearly $1 million to almost 300 local non-profit projects in the communities of Elkford, Sparwood, Fernie, Cranbrook, and the surrounding rural areas.

 

Cranbrook Community Forest Society

The Cranbrook Community Forest (CCF) Society is a registered, non-profit society established in August 2000 by a group of volunteers who were concerned about the future of the CCF and wished to become actively involved in its protection and enhancement.  The Society generates funds to support projects approved by the Province of British Columbia and carries out the required work with their supervision and support, in accordance with the management agreement between the Society and the province. In addition to fundraising and enhancement activities, the Society works to raise public awareness and support on maintaining the integrity of the CCF as a valuable educational and recreational asset.

The established objectives are to manage the CCF as an interpretive forest.  As such it is to provide opportunities for a range of non-motorized recreational experiences in a semi-primitive setting in addition to forest education and interpretation opportunities to learn about local ecosystems and forest practices.  To achieve these objectives the forest, grassland, riparian, and meadows areas must be restored and conserved.  Much work and effort has been put into access management, rehabilitation, and trail building by ministry staff and our society. We are involved in an ongoing ecosystem restoration program of tree thinning and chipping to improve the health of the forest.