About the Morden Area Foundation:
The Morden Area Foundation was established in 1993 for the purposes of establishing permanent endowment funds and distributing the income for the long-term benefit of the community. The Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of our community life by funding local projects that address social, health, heritage, sport, recreational, art and culture, child welfare, youth development, family well-being, educational and environmental needs and priorities in Morden and the surrounding area.
The Foundation is funded by many donors, from all walks of life, gifts range from a few to thousands of dollars. These gifts are invested in a capital fund with only the income from the investments being used for grants, which assist a wide variety of local initiatives. Donations to the Community Foundation will serve the entire community year after year, for good, forever.
The Morden Area Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of volunteer members of the community who serve for four years and is supported by a part-time executive director. The Board evaluates each grant application and distributes grants to those projects they feel will most benefit the area.
Formal Requirements:
Grants are made to projects or programs that are delivered in or significantly positively impact the City of Morden and the surrounding area (R.M. of Stanley). Grants are made to Canada Revenue Agency (CCRA) registered charities or other qualified donees under The Income Tax Act (Canada).
Non-profit organizations that do not have a charitable registration number can be sponsored by a registered charity. It is a requirement that the non-profit organization and the registered charity have a written agreement that formalizes the relationship between the two that meets CRA requirements. The application must be made by the registered charity and include a confirmation of the written agreement.
The Morden Area Foundation grants will generally NOT fund:
Evaluation Criteria for Grant Applications
The Foundation gives preference to projects and programs where a moderate amount of grant money will have a significant impact. Successful grant proposals are ideally characterized by a well-planned approach, evidence of community support, efficient use of resources, ability to serve a need in the community, collaboration, volunteer participation and citizen involvement. In order to utilize the resources of the Foundation for maximum community benefit, each grant application will be evaluated on the following criteria:
Grant Application Guidelines and Processes:
The Morden Area Foundation Board has the authority to withhold or recover grant funds misused or misapplied and has an obligation to investigate allegations of misuse, misallocation or misconduct.
Social Impact Granting
Morden Area Foundation provides loans and investments that work alongside our conventional grant making toward dual goals: producing measurable social impact and building re-usable resources for the future. The Foundation may lend to Canadian charities and others qualified as described in Section 110 of the Income Tax Act. On occasion, not-for-profit organizations without charitable status may be sponsored by a registered charity, such as the City of Morden.
Working in concert with experienced partners and resources, funds are available for loans or investments to charities, non-profits and social enterprises that benefit this community that still meet CRA’s qualified donee criteria. The investments can help organizations acquire assets, achieve scale, and launch or expand a program. As loans are repaid, funds become available for use with other projects, creating a continual recycling of charitable capital.
The Benefits of this type of investment is that it:
Loans / Mortgages
Where determined by the Board to be in the community or surrounding area’s best interest to provide funds to an applicant for the purpose of completing a capital project or implementing a program, the Foundation may lend funds to the applicant at an interest rate and with re-payment terms as determined by the Board at the time of the loan application. The interest rate may be lower than the amount of interest earned on other investments held by the Foundation and it may also be lower than the then prevailing commercial lending rate as set by the Bank of Canada from time to time.
The loan applicant should be a recipient the Foundation has had a past relationship with, be in a sound fiscal position or have a sound fiscal plan to repay the loan, and must otherwise meet the Foundation’s grant making policy requirements.
There is no application deadline for social impact investments. Each application will be reviewed and determined on its merits on a case by case basis.
Any loan granted by the Board as stated above shall be guaranteed by the City of Morden and/or secured by a real property mortgage, whenever possible.
In the event of default, or if the loan becomes otherwise delinquent, the outstanding balance of the unpaid loan may be written off as a grant in the next or over the next several granting periods following default, at the complete discretion of the Board.
The Board, in its absolute discretion, may determine to forgive any or all payments due or the balance remaining due under a loan. In this case, the amount forgiven shall be included as part of the grant funds available for granting in the fiscal period the payment is due, or over several of the immediately following fiscal periods the payment is due.
Social Impact / Leveraging Investment Program
This is an opportunity for the Morden Area Foundation (MAF) to support projects the donor wishes to support. Leveraging funds is a strategy for donors who wish to know they are addressing an immediate need within the community by donating today, while growing the MAF endowment fund to address future needs, with the intent of granting funds to a local registered charity in need that the donor wishes to support.
For example:
Jane Doe would like to donate to a very worthwhile project within the City of Morden and area in the amount of $5,000. Instead of donating directly to that local registered charity, Jane Doe donates to the Morden Area Foundation.
When donating to the charity itself, the monies are required to be spent within one year and on that one project of interest. With the MAF, Jane Doe’s $5,000 will be deposited to the MAF general endowment fund and will be held in perpetuity. Jane Doe’s donation will earn interest for future annual granting, year after year, thereby allowing several projects to be funded over several years rather than just the one project that one year. Jane Doe also receives a tax receipt from the MAF.
The MAF Board likes the project Jane Doe chose and will support it as well. The Board then chooses to use their annual granting power to grant $5,000 as the donor’s original donation plus adds $2,000 to increase the grant. This becomes a win-win-win scenario granting $7,000 to a charity in need chosen by Jane Doe.
Jane Doe receives instant gratification by donating the $5,000 to the MAF who will grant it through to Jane Doe’s charity of choice, while the MAF endowment fund grows because of Jane Doe’s $5,000 donation, and the local registered charity receives the grant because of the annual MAF granting power.
The recipient of the funds from the MAF must meet the MAF’s formal granting policy requirements as set out in MAF’s By-laws and policies.
For recipients who do not meet the MAF’s formal policy requirements in that they lack a charitable number, the recipient is required to approach the City of Morden or the Rural Municipality of Stanley to inquire about a flow through funds agreement allowing payout of the grant in accordance with CRA rules.
Donors will receive recognition on the MAF’s website, Facebook page, other social media used by the MAF and print and media recognition for its contribution to the Foundation and the recipient’s project or program of choice. The donor will also receive satisfaction in knowing that its contribution is working in two ways: firstly, the donor’s contribution is growing the MAF endowment fund, to be available for future projects and programs. Secondly, the donor receives immediate gratification that they are contributing to a local charitable cause they are passionate about.
The Morden Area Foundation reserves the right to withhold or recover grant funds misused or misapplied and to investigate all allegations of fraudulent use or misrepresentation