CommunityConstruction of Osborne/downtown pedestrian and cycling bridge, development of a Community Archives would help mark The Foundation’s Centennial in 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. To help mark its centennial in 2021, The Winnipeg Foundation is offering the City of Winnipeg up to $5 million in support of two City infrastructure projects. The first is the renovation of the William Street Library to create a Community Archives. The second is a pedestrian and cycling bridge between downtown and Osborne Village. Both of these City projects are well-known but at this time are not currently slated for completion within the 2021 timeframe.
Each year, The Winnipeg Foundation makes grants to charities that are working hard to realize its shared vision: ‘A Winnipeg where community life flourishes for all.’ As an endowment-based organization, The Foundation represents the generosity of donors reaching back to 1921 – a legacy from the past. And since these endowments generate an annual revenue stream, your community foundation is also a promise to the future. Accordingly, the two-part proposal pays respect to the past and also reflects the aspirations of a progressive, forward-looking city.
“For all citizens of Winnipeg, it is critical we preserve, embrace and learn from our past if we are to build a better future,” says Rick Frost, CEO of The Winnipeg Foundation. “The Winnipeg Foundation believes that by taking a ‘learning centre’ approach, a Community Archives could teach the social and Indigenous history of our city, including those parts of the story not adequately captured in archival documents.”
“The second half of our proposed centennial project looks to the future of our city – bringing people together and spanning lines that often divide,” Mr. Frost adds. “A new pedestrian and cycling bridge connecting downtown and Osborne Village will provide a direct, safe and convenient connection for walking and biking that plugs into the City’s growing active transportation network.”
Details of both of these projects are outlined in the report; A legacy from the past, a promise to the future: The Winnipeg Foundation’s Centennial Projects Proposal.
As both of these initiatives are public infrastructure projects requiring planning and construction over several years, The Foundation is asking they be considered as part of the City’s 2019 capital budget. With approval of City Council, The Foundation would enter into negotiations with the City to create a contribution agreement.
The Foundation has invested in signature capital projects in the past and our centennial creates an opportunity to do so again. Its largest grant to the City was $1 million for the recently-completed Saint-Boniface Belvedere on Tache Avenue. The largest grant in The Foundation’s 97-year history has been $6 million in support of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
The Winnipeg Foundation is For Good. Forever. We help people give back to our shared community by connecting generous donors with causes they care about For Good. We’re are an endowment-based public foundation, so gifts are pooled and invested, and the annual earnings are distributed back to the community Forever. Formed in 1921, we are proud to be the first community foundation in Canada.
-30-
Media inquiries/questions:
LuAnn Lovlin, CFRE
Director of Communications & Marketing, The Winnipeg Foundation
T: 204.944.9474 ext. 232
C: 204.781.9336
Email LuAnn