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CFSEA to serve Oyen through Prairie Crocus Fund


JAMIE RIEGER


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People in the Oyen region who would like to make contributions to the Community Foundation of Southeastern Alberta (CFSEA) will now be ensured that the money donated will be staying in the region as the organization has established the Prairie Crocus Community Fund.


“Prairie Crocus is a new initiative for the Foundation. It is here to serve the needs of the region; Special Areas No. 2 and 3 and the MD of Acadia. We’re doing this so people can give where they live,” said Kim Stief, coordinator for the Prairie Crocus Community Fund who was hired for the position a few weeks ago.


At the end of February, the CFSEA announced Stief’s hiring for coordinator of the Prairie Crocus Fund, along with Michelle MacLean for the Rural Community Fund of Forty Mile, and Nicole Nichols for the Brooks and District Community Fund.


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“My role is to spread the word. I’ve been doing presentations, attending council meetings, having one-on-one meetings, and presenting to small groups. It’s really exciting,” said Stief, adding the community has been very supportive of the community fund.


To assist Prairie Crocus Community Fund get on its feet, CFSEA is matching the first $10,000 that is contributed. Of that $20,000, half will be used for endowment and the other half for disbursement.


“We really need the support of our residents. By being donors, this will grow,” she said.


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CFSEA was founded by John Ignatius more than 25 years ago with an initial endowed donation of $25,000. Since its inception, the purpose of the foundation has been to be an entity for people to make financial contributions to be disbursed to charitable organizations, projects, and initiatives in and around the region. When Ignatius passed away in 2000, he contributed more than $2.4 million.


The funds have grown substantially over the years, partially because of donations


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and because of investments, of which they are receiving a 7.4 percent return. The CFSEA annual report for 2017-18 shows the endowment fund sitting at more than $12.2 million.


An advisory committee, comprised of volunteers from throughout the region, helps decide which applications for grant funding will be chosen.


“The advisory committee knows the region very well and makes sound recommendations to the Community Foundation,” she said, adding the grant application deadline recently passed, with the final decisions to be made early next month.


A launch of the Prairie Crocus Fund and the announcement of grant recipients will take place in Oyen on June 6.


For Stief, her new role as coordinator of the Community Fund is a perfect fit. Stief, who is from Manila, Philippines, has lived in Oyen for the past six years. With family in Toronto, Stief wanted to come to Canada to be closer to those family members and soon learned there were plenty of opportunities here.


“In 2012-13, everything fell into place. There were opportunities in Canada, and in particular, in Alberta. In Manila, we would hear about Toronto and Vancouver, but not the rest of Canada, so I started doing Google searches,” she said.


“So, I grabbed the opportunity to come here and thought if it didn’t work out, I could always go back to the Philippines,” she said.


Less than a year after arriving in Oyen, she met her future husband, who grew up in the area and was starting a new job.


“I knew I would be staying here. It’s all just destiny. Something urged me to come here. Everything fell into place and now I love this community,” she said.


For further information on the Prairie Crocus Community Fund, contact Stief at 403-664- 9571 or via email at prairiecrocusfund@cfsea.ca


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