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Community Foundation Gets a $1.9 Million Gift

The Community Foundation of Portage and District received a donation of almost $2 million on Thursday, October 28 from a local resident.

Ann Barraclough
Executor Ann Barraclough presents first cheque from Avis Degruelle Estate for $1.75 million to President Dale Lyle
Monica Patten
Guest Speaker Monica Patten, President and CEO of Community Foundations of Canada
Founders and Friends
Founders and  Friends Celebration at Canad Inns

Ann Barraclough, executor of the Avis Margaret Degruelle Estate, flew out from Toronto to present the first cheque for $1.75 million to President Dale Lyle at the Founders and Friends Celebration held at Canad Inns in Portage la Prairie.    The value of this awesome donation will be approximately $1.9 Million. 
           
Avis Degruelle (nee Lorch) was born and raised in Portage la Prairie.  After a disagreement with her father, he suggested that she join the Navy and she did. Several years later she moved to Toronto and served as usherette at Maple Leaf Gardens where she met Ann Barraclough; their friendship lasted 58 years. Three years later she was hired by Trans Canada Airlines (Air Canada) to work in the office. Then Avis took on a position with Air France where she met her husband.  She married him in 1959 and resided in New York until the mid 80’s. At that time she moved back to Portage to live with her brother in the family home. She was a world traveler and a good portion of her time was spent in France using Portage as a home base.  Avis passed away on May 6, 2010 in Portage at the age of 86 years.

CFPD had been looking for ways to grow its Endowment Fund and came up with the idea to hold a “Drive for Five” to be announced at the Founders and Friends Celebration. Lyle said, “Amid the preparation, CFPD received the awesome news that it will be one of the beneficiaries of a sizable estate.  What a boost for the “Drive for Five” campaign.”  The Fund will increase from $2.5 million to $4.4 million.

The dollars are undesignated and will be added to the permanent Endowment Fund. Fantastic news for local charities, as the pot of undesignated money available for grantmaking will triple from $30,000 to $90,000.

Monica Patten, President and CEO of Community Foundations of Canada, was the guest speaker for the evening.  Monica has been the heart and soul of Canada’s community foundation movement for almost 17 years. There are 174 Community Foundation in Canada with assets of $2.85billion. The impact of her work will be felt in communities across Canada, and around the world, for years to come.  She talked about the benefits of philanthropy to make communities stronger.

Community foundations build and manage permanent endowments to support charities in their area. They use their broad local knowledge to connect donors to the causes and organizations that matter most to them, helping them make a lasting difference in their communities.