Staff
More than thirty years ago, a group of volunteers banded together to create a new attraction in the town of Meaford, a small craft show intended to showcase local talent and create an appreciation for rural handicrafts.
Ever since, the Apple Harvest Craft Show, a.k.a. The Little Craft Show That Could, has been a significant economic and tourism driver for the town. The Board’s generous annual donations of profits from the show have provided a vital stream of funding and support for Meaford’s not-for-profit organizations for three decades.
This fall, the Board of Directors of the Apple Harvest Craft Show decided to make the legacy of support permanent through the creation of a donor-advised endowment fund, which will provide a perpetual stream of sustainable funding to be applied to charities and qualified not-for-profits through revenues earned on the invested capital donation of $25,000.
The Community Foundation Grey Bruce will match this generous donation with an additional $10,000 from its Matched Funding Program, which adds fifty cents on every dollar for new and existing funds up to $10,000 per fund. The Craft Show Board wanted to take advantage of the Matched Funds program that is in effect until the end of 2016, to allow their funds to have maximum impact for the not-for-profit sector in Meaford.
“After all these years of working together and helping our community, giving back became second nature to our team. This endowment fund will allow us to do that forever, beyond all of our lifetimes, and will help ensure that the legacy we built through the Apple Harvest Craft Show will continue to be honoured and remembered by future generations,” said Gerry Knight, representative for the Apple Harvest Craft Show.
“It’s been a true pleasure working with the Apple Harvest Board of Directors. From the minute I met them, their commitment to each other, their respect for their shared vision and their unwavering support of their community was evident. The Foundation is so pleased to be able to help them achieve their goals to create a permanent legacy for their community through their efforts,” said Aly Boltman, Executive Director of Community Foundation Grey Bruce.
Community Foundation Grey Bruce is a public charity and grant-making organization serving charities and not-for-profit organizations in Grey and Bruce Counties. The Foundation generates long-term sustainable resources through pooled donations that create permanent endowed funds. The earned revenue from the professionally managed funds is granted to qualified not-for-profit organizations throughout Grey Bruce, supporting the widest range of organizations and initiatives possible through community giving.
The Foundation has granted upwards of $600,000 in 2015 — its largest distribution in its twenty-one-year history.
