Message from our CEO
Luckily for us, it's also how our donors many years ago approached it. In fact, the reason we’ve been able to give back nearly $100 million to charities and communities is because donors from the past (some as long as 57 years ago) had the foresight to think about the future. I guess you could say our version of planting perennials is starting a Legacy Fund or leaving a gift to charity through your will. If you’re interested in learning more about planned giving, give us a call. Your future self and community will thank you. 🌳
Speaking of growing, the 4th annual Friendraiser is back and bolder than ever. The event on August 13th is full of so many great groups and some fun surprises. I hope to see you there! As well as the organizing the Friendraiser, our busy summer student team is squeezing in a few more events before they head back to school in the fall. It’s been so great to have their energy and enthusiasm in the office (And their snacks! They seem to always be armed with bags of candy).
I am also looking forward this month to the new experience of learning how to raise a tipi. It’s part of the Home Fire Tipi Teachings on Treaty 4. The professional development workshop focuses on advancing reconciliation in the workplace and weaves in Calls to Action 57 and 92 with the tipi teachings.
All the best and see you at the Friendraiser,
That was the question recently asked to golfers at the Scotiabank Charity Golf Classic in Regina. It’s a question that might sound easy but once the pressure is on and the minute timer started, it ended up being a fun but stressful 60 seconds for the many golf teams. In the end, the golfers from Lincoln’s Life Mattered Foundation won by naming 70 Saskatchewan communities. That’s more than one per second! They received a $200 donation to the charity of their choice. Congratulations to them and also tournament organizers for not only celebrating 30 years but raising $45,000 this year that went to CMHA Regina.
How many Saskatchewan communities can you name in one minute?
Recently we had our 100th donor sign up to became a part of our Legacy Circle! Legacy Circle members are people who are leaving a gift to charity in their will through the Saskatchewan Community Foundation. It’s a great and effective way to ensure the causes, charities, and communities you care about are supported.
Click here to learn more.
Our Legacy Circle grows to 100 members!
A special moment recently took place in Moose Jaw when Kynlee Hicks and her stepmom, Jamie Whitteker, had the opportunity to meet Ollie, a lovable dog in the care of Running Wild Rescue.
Ollie recently needed surgery, and the very first grant from Kynlee and Jamie’s legacy fund, Not Every Dog is Maya, helped cover the cost. It is a meaningful example of how generosity, compassion, and thoughtful planning can create real impact for animals and the organizations that care for them.
“Kynlee and I chip away at building our legacy fund through savings from our pay cheques (yes, hers too!), fundraising and redirecting gifts to donations because we are so fortunate. We love watching our impact grow. I am proud of how dedicated she is at such a young age to make a difference and doing so in memory of our beloved golden retriever Maya is a beautiful tribute.”
Thank you to Running Wild Rescue for welcoming the Saskatchewan Community Foundation and for the incredible work you do to help dogs and cats find safe, loving forever homes.
Putting the "fun" in fund
If you’ve never been to Ag In Motion, it’s worth the trip. The three-day event brings in 30,000 visitors and it’s a hive of activity near Langham with indoor and outdoor events. There’s new farm equipment on display, plots of mustard, canola, and wheat, tonnes of give-aways and contests, drone demonstrations, and this year among the rows and rows of tradeshow tables you would also find two people keen to talk to you about charity.
Jonah Toth from the Saskatchewan Community Foundation and Joel Mowchenko from Farmland Legacies attended the July event to let people know about a partnership between the two charities to facilitate farmland donations.
The program means there are now four different options for landowners to support the causes, charities, and communities they care about through donating all or part of their land. Not only does it benefit charities and communities, the way the donation is set-up can create pathways for younger farmers to have access to land to begin their operations.
To learn more about how farmland donations might benefit you and your community, take a look at our Farmland Donation Booklet or reach out to Jonah at Jonah.toth@saskfoundation.ca.
Turning your farmland into a lasting legacy of generosity,
Cultivate your legacy by donating farmland
Story Corner
This part of the newsletter is where we will highlight and celebrate new and existing funds at the Saskatchewan Community Foundation. We have more than 40 donor stories you can read today.
New Fund Story
100 Men Who Care Regina
100 Men Who Care Regina is a great example of a group of people doing great things in the community they love and using the Saskatchewan Community Foundation to assist in getting the work done.
The concept of 100 Men & 100 Women groups works by getting members to donate a $100 each to a charity that is decided at a quarterly evening event. Because of the collective giving, all the personal donations come together to create big impact for local charities.
The concept for this type of collective giving started 20 years ago in Michigan by a women named Karen Dunigan who started 100 Women Who Care as a quick way to raise money for local charities. That first meeting not only meant the group was able to buy 300 new baby cribs, it inspired 100s of chapters all over the world , including Regina.
The 100 Men Who Care Regina group uses a No-Fee Flow-Through Fund which means they can use the Saskatchewan Community Foundation to collect all the donations and distribute the grants, and issue charitable tax receipts, leaving the group with more time to focus on the best part: meeting and supporting amazing charities in Regina.
“We are men of all stripes and walks of life. We are stay-at-home fathers, white collar businessmen, blue collar tradesmen, farmers, business owners, and the list goes on.
Most importantly, we are all men who care.”
Legacy Impact Story
Joyce Gemmell Jessen Habitat Conservation Fund
There’s a couple of reasons why we wanted to highlight the Joyce Gemmell Jessen Habitat Conservation Fund this month. First, it is one of the competitive grants held at the Saskatchewan Community Foundation. This means charities can apply for these annual grants. The Joyce Gemmell Jenson Habitat Conservation Fund specially supports projects that preserve and conserve Saskatchewan’s native flora and fauna. Through this fund, hundreds of thousands of dollars have gone to local groups for their environmental stewardship. This year’s grant winners will be announced in September, so keep an eye on our website and socials for updates.
We also wanted to highlight this fund because we had a special visitor in July. Julie Jessen is the daughter of Joyce Gemmell Jessen and the advisor for the fund. Joyce passed away last year and we’ve learned over the years that she was humble about her many accomplishments and preferred focusing on promoting land conservation and the restoration of the prairie ecosystem rather than herself. That’s why when Julie recently came to Regina for a visit, it was important to honour Julie and her mother’s intentions and gather charities who have been supported by the fund to focus on their great work.
We arranged a special day that included Wanuskewin Heritage Park, the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Foundation, Relay Education, the Nature Conservancy of Canada Saskatchewan Division, the Saskatoon Zoo Society, and the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation. It was more than a meet and greet as the charities, Community Foundation staff, and Julie got to discuss the impact of the different projects, share stories, and talk about the future of the fund. Set in the beautiful backdrop of Wascana park, it was a great day full of strengthening connections and celebrating great work in our communities.
Click here to learn more about the Joyce Gemmell Jessen Habitat Conservation Fund.
