News

We are thrilled to report that thanks to your support our annual Chinook Fund Dinner,  this year at Parc Brasserie, was a great success. A record 93 people attended. While we won’t know a total donated until we receive a report from the Calgary Foundation, we are certain that more than $40,000 was raised, and believe the final total will be closer to $50,000.

This amount will be added to the more than $220,000 that was already in our fund, and the interest on it will increase the amount available for our annual grants next year.

Congratulations to our grant recipients: 3rd Street Theatre to produce a new play based on the Calgary Gay History Project, Fairytales Film Festival for their Calgary and region community outreach program, and the Calgary Boys and Girls Clubs for their training program to address LGBT youth in crisis.

Congratulations also to Lois Szabo, the recipient of this years Hero Award. Lois was a founder of Club Carousel – Calgary’s first LGBT social club and has spent her entire adult life working for and with the LGBT comunity.

Donate by February 29 and Win an Original Stained Glass Piece

Whether you donated at our dinner or were unable to attend this year, we do ask that you consider making a tax-deductible donation (tax receipt from the CalgaryFoundation) to our Chinook Lesbian and Gay Fund between now and February 29th, 2016.

To donate online simply click on the following link on the Calgary Foundation website
https://payment.csfm.com/donations/calgaryfoundation/

– Note in order to donate to our fund you must click the button ‘Select from all funds’ and then scroll down the ‘Select Fund’ list to click the ‘Chinook Lesbian and Gay Fund’.

Our website also has instructions about giving online at this link http://www.calgarychinookfund.ca/donate.html

If you prefer you can mail a cheque payable to ‘The Calgary Foundation’ with the ‘re line’ of the cheque indicating ‘For the Chinook Lesbian and Gay Fund’ to;

The Chinook Fund

c/o Gary Courtney

111 Confluence Mews S.E.

Calgary, Alberta

T2G 1J1

As an added incentive to give generously, Phillip Bandura of the renowned Bee Kingdom Glass Collective has graciously donated the glass piece pictured below. This valuable work of art is a large piece, standing about a metre high!

We are very thankful for any amount that is donated. Given the value of the glass piece, the Chinook Fund has decided to enter into a draw all our donor’s names who donated a minimum of $500 to the fund at the dinner and/or donate $500 or more in the weeks ahead, up to the February 29th deadline. After February 29th we will then draw a winner of the glass piece from the names entered.

Note: If donating online in an amount of $500 or more, so as to qualify for the draw, please send us an email to garycourtney@telus.net indicating this fact as the Calgary Foundation does not indicate who donates to our fund and therefore we would otherwise not be able to know of your generosity or enter you for the draw.

 

We also want to again thank our Chinook Fund Dinner sponsors for 2015, being the Toronto Dominion Bank and the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (East Village).

HOW TO DONATE

 

We plan on continuing to keep our donors informed about the Chinook Fund through a periodic news email and by posting information on our website, found at http://www.calgarychinookfund.ca/.  Those of you hearing about the Chinook Fund for the first time, or those inclined to provide ongoing support, we remind you donations can be made on-line to the Calgary Foundation at https://payment.csfm.com/donations/calgaryfoundation/ and choosing to direct your donation to “Chinook Lesbian and Gay Fund.”

You can also write a cheque to “The Calgary Foundation” and in the note of your cheque write “deposit to the Chinook Lesbian and Gay Fund.”

Any donations directed through the United Way Annual Campaign requires specific directions to deposit your donation through The Calgary Foundation to the “Chinook Lesbian and Gay Fund.”

All donations directed through The Calgary Foundation will receive a charitable receipt in your name for the entire amount.

Thanks again for supporting the Chinook Lesbian and Gay Fund!

Martin Harvey, Advisor

Chinook Lesbian and Gay Fund Committee

For more information on our website, visit: http://www.calgarychinookfund.ca/.

The Calgary’s “Chinook Lesbian and Gay Fund” is pleased to announce the fund has grown to over $221,000.

This year we will be able to increase our grants to almost $9,000. The deadline for grant applicants is 30^th September 2015. Details of the application process can be found at www.calgarychinookfund.ca.

Last year’s grants enabled us to support Outlink’s LGBT program assisting recent immigrants and refugees arriving in Calgary, along with a grant supporting the funding of Gay Straight Alliances in local schools.

Our goal is to build the fund’s assets to ensure it can give even more substantial annual grants. Our aim is to raise approximately $50,000 this year which will translate into minimum future annual grants of $10,000 going forward.

2015 DINNER

Please note that our 2015 annual fundraising dinner will be held October 21^st, 2015.

This years event will return to a dinner format. We will shortly be confirming a dinner location. Additional details will be announced later this summer.  We hope you will mark this date in your calendar. We look forward to seeing you there.

As in past years, our event expenses will be covered by sponsors, thus 100% of your donation will go to the Fund.  We request attendees provide a tax deductible donation. As you probably recall, all donations are managed/invested by the Calgary Foundation, with interest on the overall fund being available each year for our grants.

The Chinook Fund will again proudly announce the Hero Award at our annual dinner, recognizing the contribution of a member of our community. The Hero award was received by Delwin Vriend in 2013 and Stephen Lock in 2014.

Please help us make this years dinner an even greater success by forwarding us suggestions of people who might be interested in attending and donating to our foundation. Simply forward us the persons name and email contact and we can send an invitation.

OTHER EVENTS

Another event that might be of interest to you is the Premier’s Brunch during Calgary Pride Week, on Saturday September 6^th 2015. This is an opportunity for a community gathering and a fund raising event for Camp fYrefly, a worthy cause, and past recipient of our grants.  More information is available at www.fyrefly.ualberta.ca and click on the Premiers Pride Brunch link.

HOW TO DONATE

We plan on continuing to keep our donors informed about the Chinook Fund through a periodic news email and by posting information on our website, found at http://www.calgarychinookfund.ca/.  Those of you hearing about the Chinook Fund for the first time, or those inclined to provide ongoing support, we remind you donations can be made on-line to the Calgary Foundation at https://payment.csfm.com/donations/calgaryfoundation/ and choosing to direct your donation to “Chinook Lesbian and Gay Fund.”

You can also write a cheque to “The Calgary Foundation” and in the note of your cheque write “deposit to the Chinook Lesbian and Gay Fund.”

Any donations directed through the United Way Annual Campaign requires specific directions to deposit your donation through The Calgary Foundation to the “Chinook Lesbian and Gay Fund.”

All donations directed through The Calgary Foundation will receive a charitable receipt in your name for the entire amount.

Thanks again for supporting the Chinook Lesbian and Gay Fund!

Martin Harvey, Advisor
Chinook Lesbian and Gay Fund Committee

For more information on our website, visit: http://www.calgarychinookfund.ca/.

The Chinook Lesbian and Gay Fund committee is thrilled to announce that we exceeded our 2014 fund raising goal by collecting over $42,000.00 from your donations. We set a target of finishing 2014 with a fund total of $200,000. We surpassed this. The fund’s balance now stands at $217,000.

We would like to remind you that the fund’s principle is never touched. Grants come from the income generated by the fund, making this truly a gift that keeps on giving. Funds are invested by The Calgary Foundation.

The grants for 2014/15 were awarded to Outlink’s LGBTQ program supporting recent immigrants and refugees arriving in Calgary, and Calgary Sexual Health Centre’s Gay Straight Alliance program in local schools.

Congratualtions again to the Hero Award recipient, Stephen Lock. Stephen has been a long-time advocate regarding LGBTQ rights and helped to pave the way for greater acceptance and equal rights in Alberta and Calgary.

The venue for last falls annual fundraisor was at Wine Ohs. The format of the event was changed to respond to your requests to give people more of a chance to mingle. We greatly appreciated Daniel Mallett’s and Allen Klaasen’s live musical performances and drag artistes AKA Dynamite. We would like to thank Peter Ewenson and all his staff at Wine Ohs for their efforts to help put the evening together.

We would also like to thank our sponsors for the evening, East Village’s Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) and Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer, LLP Law Firm.  Their generosity ensured that 100% of your donations were deposited into the fund account at The Calgary Foundation.

You should have received your charitable receipt for the entire amount issued by The Calgary Foundation (should you have any questions about your receipt please contact Kelly Ernst at kellyernst@telus.net).

For those of you hearing about the Chinook Fund for the first time and wishing to doante, or those inclined to provide ongoing support, we remind you donations can be made to the fund through the Calgary Foundation (https://payment.csfm.com/donations/calgaryfoundation/). Please direct your donation through the Calgary Foundation to the “Chinook Lesbian and Gay Fund”.

We encourage your further involvement with the Fund as well as your assistance in informing others about it. Please feel free to forward this notice to friends and loved ones that you think might be interested in learning more about our efforts. Please feel free to give us your feedback on this year’s event, along with any ideas you have to improve it for our fall 2015 event. We also welcome your suggestions for grant recipients and for the 2015 ‘Hero Award’, or the functioning of the Chinook Fund in general.

Thanks for supporting the foundation!

Martin Harvey, Advisor
Chinook Lesbian and Gay Fund Committee

For more information on our website, visit: http://www.calgarychinookfund.ca/.

The Chinook Lesbian and Gay Fund committee is pleased to announce the date of this year’s fundraising event.  We hope you will mark the evening of Thursday 23^rd October on your calendar.  We are in the final stages of completing the arrangements for this year’s event and we are planning something a little different…. a cabaret at Calgary’s original cabaret location, Wine Ohs. We hope to see you there.Your donations over the last few years have been able to grow the fund to just over $167,000. The fund does not use its principle to give grants as all donations are invested with the Calgary Foundation. Grants are made up of the income generated by this investment. Donations will therefore produce yearly grants forever. Our hope is to keep increasing the fund and thereby keep increasing our yearly grants. Thank you for making this possible.

Grant Report

Calgary Outlink’s Beyond Borders immigrant support program is in it’s early stages.  Our grant assisted in the set up of this needed program. Already the program has helped people from Pakistan, Russia, Ghana, Kenya and Venezuela. The program registered its first refugee claimant, and others are being assisted in the process. Many more seek information about immigration procedures. Other types of services delivered include: peer support, immigration procedure information and referrals to Legal Aid, Calgary Legal Guidance and Immigrant Services Calgary for assistance with the application for permanent residency and the language bank.

Third Street Theatre grant helped spark the development of original theatre in Calgary. It was a small grant, but it leveraged considerable work. Third Street Theatre was able to develop ‘The Passion of Sergius and Bacchus’.  This is a story of two openly gay Roman soldiers who were secretly Christian. They were wed by church officials in a private brother-making ceremony called Adelphopoiesis, and were later executed for their religious beliefs. The remainder of the Chinook grant will assist them work with a dramaturge to further develop the script for ‘This Is How I Left’ during the 2014-2015, a play that touches transgender issues.

Fairytales Presentation Society’s Queer Youth Media Program received a grant to assist youth to make film for the Fairytales Film festival. This also initiated the original creation of 2 songs for the films. The youth film makers were at the festival and spoke to the impact of the grant on their ability to make film in their schools – they called their opportunity “transformational” in their lives as gay and lesbian youth.

Keep an eye out for your official invitations to our fundraiser.  If you know of anyone who may be interested in attending and making a meaningful contribution to our fund that may be off our radar, then please let us know.  Remember, your donation goes to an endowment fund where the principle is not touched, but the income generated goes to support the GLBT community of Calgary.  This truly is the gift that keeps on giving.

Martin Harvey, Advisor
Chinook Lesbian and Gay Fund Committee