Creative Giving
Generous hearts beget generous hearts. Shortly after the Haiti earthquake, clients called to ask MFC to mediate an anonymous matching fund program to encourage giving to the relief effort in the Border Land
School Division in southern Manitoba. These clients wanted to do more than just make a contribution — they wanted to get their community involved as well.
MFC consultant Harold Penner contacted Tim Mendel, division superintendent, to relay the challenge of a match up to $10,000. Mendel in turn contacted the school administrators and was met with an enthusiastic response. Students in 10 schools in the division participated. They organized bake sales, raffles and
art auctions, and collected donations.
The results were pooled at the division office and came in well over the mark at $12,790. When the clients heard the amount raised, they offered to match the full amount. And because it happened within the time frame when the Canadian government offered to match donations through CIDA, it could amount to double that going through Mennonite Central Committee in support of its relief efforts in Haiti.
"It was great that someone thought to involve the school division and to challenge the schools and students,” says Superintendent Mendel. "To entrust this to the students shows faith in them, that they are up to the challenge.”
Call a MFC consultant today and ask about giving- creatively.