Local charities, service organizations to get combined $772K

Local charities and service groups are receiving $506,000 to help them improving technology, training staff and expand programs, according to a news release from Sault Ste. Marie MP Terry Sheehan.

This is in addition to more than $265,000 announced last month for organizations specializing in health, addictions and social care. The organizations receiving funding announced today include:

• Batchewana First Nation, receiving $96,851
• Garden River First Nation, receiving $86,920
• Habitat for Humanity Sault Ste. Marie and Area, receiving $78,449
• Entomica Insectarium, receiving $64,000
• The Ontario Finnish Resthome Association (OFRA), receiving $45,621
• Huron-Superior Regional Metis Community - Metis Nation of Ontario Region 4, receiving $35,000
• Sault Ste Marie Innovation Centre, receiving $25,000
• Lake Superior Watershed Conservancy, receiving $25,000
• Sault Symphony Orchestra, receiving $25,000
• St. Luke's Anglican Cathedral, receiving $20,000
• Sault Search and Rescue Inc, receiving $5,000

The Community Services Recovery Fund will help community service organizations adapt, modernize and be better equipped to improve the efficacy, accessibility and sustainability of the community services that they provide, the release added.

“Community Service organizations like these are often the first to identify and respond to emerging needs, and they are often the ones best positioned to create real change at the local level," said Sheehan. "I am proud of the work they do to help those in Sault Ste. Marie and Algoma District. This funding will help these organizations expand their reach, build their resilience to better adapt to emerging challenges, and make a greater impact in the lives of the people they serve.”

The application process for this fund was managed by three National Funder organizations: the Canadian Red Cross, Community Foundations of Canada, and United Way Centraide Canada. These National Funders were selected to deliver the Community Services Recovery Fund to a broad and diverse range of community service organizations across Canada.

For more information, including a list of funded projects, visit the National Funders’ Community Services Recovery Fund website.

Quick Facts

The Community Services Recovery Fund was announced in the federal budget 2021 as a one-time, $400-million investment to help community service organizations adapt, modernize and build internal organizational capacity. This investment will strengthen the charitable and non-profit sector as it supports post-pandemic recovery in communities across Canada.

The Canadian Red Cross, Community Foundations of Canada and United Way Centraide Canada were selected as the National Funders to deliver the Community Services Recovery Fund following a solicited call and open process for expressions of interest. They will deliver funding to a broad and diverse range of community service organizations across Canada, including charities, non-profits and Indigenous governing bodies.

The Community Services Recovery Fund has two funding streams: one for local or regional community service organizations serving a portion of a province or territory, and one for community service organizations serving the entire country, an entire province or territory, or multiple provinces or territories.

Funding from the Community Services Recovery Fund will enable community service organizations to invest in their own organizational capacity under one of the following three project focus areas:

Investing in People – projects that focus on how organizations recruit, retain, engage and support their personnel.

Investing in Systems and Processes – projects that invest in the systems and processes involved in creating the internal workings of an organization’s overall structure.

Investing in Program and Service Innovation and Redesign – projects primarily focused on program and service innovation and redesign using information gained during the COVID19 pandemic.