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NBACF looks to continue supporting charities through pandemic

The North Bay and Area Community Foundation (NBACF) has opened applications for funding in 2021. 

Kate Merritt-Dupelle, Executive Director of the NBACF says her organization aims to create sustainable funding for charities in the area. 

“Never has it been so clear the reason we need sustainable funding as it has been in 2020,” she said. 

Merritt-Dupelle says the COVID-19 pandemic has created a lack of fundraising opportunities for local charities. 

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“All of our smaller, local charities that rely on their carwashes and their smaller events and fundraisers like bingo and bake sales. Everything they do to bring in money is not taking place for them,” she noted. “It’s thrust a lot of them into a dark place. A place where they’re questioning their futures.”

At the beginning of the pandemic, the NBACF received some funding from the federal government which Merritt-Dupelle says resulted in over $222,000 in donations to charities in the area. 

Included in those donations was a portion of the startup money needed for BAYSAR to launch Project Lifesaver in partnership with One Kids Place and the Alzheimer’s Society. 

“That’s a great example where a non-profit working with a registered charity where both organizations benefit. At the end of the day, the community is the greatest benefactor from that collaboration,” Merritt-Dupelle explained.

The Gathering Place, North Bay Humane Society, the North Bay Food Bank are among the other local charities the NBACF has funded in the past. 

The NBACF also works with major donors within the community, either matching donations made to charities or helping identify sources in need of more funds. 

Merritt-Dupelle hopes the community will continue to support the charitable work being done in the area as the pandemic shifts into 2021. 

“There are so many great things happening in our community and the truth is, they’re struggling,” she said. “These people continue to show up for their clients, for our community and have truly been the light in the 2020 darkness. So I’m hoping the community will continue to support them.”

For charities wishing to apply for a grant, click here

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