Author: Chris Post

COVID-19 has changed everything, including how we will fund raise for the Chinook Fund this year.  Watch for a campaign that does not expose anyone to the virus in the Fall, when we normally host the dinner, in an effort to continue to build our endowment.

We are extremely grateful to TD Canada Trust for their continued support of the Fund.  We are in the last year of our three-year sponsorship agreement with TD and, despite the fact that we will not be hosting any events this year, TD is honoring their commitment to the fund and the monies that would ordinarily defray the costs of our events will be donated to the Fund directly.

Our ask is that we follow TD’s lead and still give like there is a tomorrow.  Details to come.

The Chinook Fund Advisory Committee has made the difficult decision to not host any events in 2020.  The COVID-19 pandemic is causing too much uncertainty for us to proceed with planning one or more events this year.

Although we considered different options that might satisfy public health requirements, none seemed appropriate for us. We consistently hear from you that your favorite part of every Chinook Fund event is the opportunity to socialize with long-time and new friends.  This year, none of the event options would make for a very congenial event.  A series of small outdoor gatherings of no more than ten masked socially-distanced donors at a time might prevent transmission of the virus… but it doesn’t sound like fun.  And though Zoom meetings were new and exciting in April, we’ve all grown a bit tired of them as well.

While we take a pause on hosting events, organizations in our local LGBTQ community may be particularly vulnerable this year, which is why the pause on events should not equate to a pause in building the fund for today and the future.

For our 10th anniversary we are proposing to change things up.  Rather than host a fundraising dinner in October, at one of Calgary’s great dining venues, we are proposing to host a series of smaller, outdoor fundraising gatherings between July 15 and September 15.   We know outdoor events are safer than indoor.  Although Stage 2 of Alberta’s re-launch plan allows for outdoor gatherings of up to 100 people we aren’t comfortable hosting (or attending!) an event of that size.  We think smaller is safer.  Better to host 4-6 gatherings of 20’ish of our donors in the beautiful backyard setting of one of our Advisory Committee members.  Essentially, a series of Chinook Fund Garden Parties, held throughout the summer months.  The events will allow us to socialize, at a distance, while giving back to the community.