The Weyburn and District United Way was named as one of 66 charities or programs across Canada to receive a $2,500 grant through the Monsanto Fund, the non-profit organization announced on Monday evening just prior to their regular board meeting at the Weyburn police station.
The announcement was made jointly by United Way chair Sabrina Kraft, and local producer Carmen Sterling, who nominated the United Way as part of the 2016 Canada’s Farmers Grow Communities program.
The program received over 500 nominations from local farmers across Canada, and 66 were chosen out of that list to each receive $2,500 from the fund.
The winners of the funds were drawn for by board members of the independent administrator, Agriculture in the Classroom for Manitoba, at a meeting in October of 2016.
“It was an easy decision for me. I know the work that the United Way does in the community, and that they sometimes have challenges, depending on how things go year to year,” said Sterling.
“So many great agencies receive benefits from these funds, so I took the time to fill out the application for the funds and was hopeful the United Way would be one of the charities chosen,” she added.
Kraft said the money will be put to good use, as it will assist with the funds raised from the annual major fundraiser, the Communithon, which was held in October.
The board’s decisions on how the funds will all be allocated will be announced at the United Way’s annual general meeting to be held early in the spring.
“You hear $2,500 and you might think that’s just a drop in the ocean. What I’ve learned from speaking with farmers and charities across Canada is that this can be a huge amount for some, or even just enough to push a fundraising project to meet its goal, and all because a farmer believed in the cause enough to take action,” said Kelly Funke, public affairs manager for Monsanto Canada.
The Canada’s Farmers Grow Communities program is now in its fifth year, and is offered through the Monsanto Fund, which is the non-profit philanthropic arm of the Monsanto Company.
The program generated a wide variety of ideas from farmers on how local groups could benefit from the grants, and several rural-based charities also contributed ideas online.
