New grant fund established by Thomas Sill Foundation at SDCF
The Selkirk and District Community Foundation has a long history of generosity. They fund many projects in our community both big and small. Last week they got a big boost which will continue to help them do this good work. The Thomas Sill Foundation has given them a $1.3 million gift which is great news for our entire community.
The SDCF announced their receipt of this donation at the Gaynor Family Regional Library on Jan 26.
Brandon Sutherland, one of the directors on the SDCF board opened the event.
“We’re extremely fortunate to have some incredible news to share. This is going to increase the value of the foundation in Selkirk, St. Andrews and St. Clements,” he said.
The Thomas Sill Foundation ceased operations in Dec of 2023 and has created endowment funds with several Manitoba community foundations including SDCF to continue its namesake’s wishes.
The SDCF is a charitable organization that is built on endowments such as these. These endowments ensure that donations provide continuous support for the communities of Selkirk, St. Andrews and St. Clement because the original fund stays intact and the interest is dispersed. This has allowed donations to go to many local organizations and groups
Barbara Knoll, treasurer of the SDCF, explained how without the Thomas Sill Foundation’s generosity the SDCF may not have come to be.
“Thomas Sill lived in Winnipeg. He was a shrewd investor, and a great philanthropist. When he died in 1986, his will simply stated that he intended to create a charitable entity. His colleagues did not really expect the estate to be very large because he had given so much money away during his lifetime. It was [in fact in] excess of 30 million. His accounting firm, Sill Streuber Fisk, had offices in Winnipeg, Brandon, Selkirk, Morden, Winkler, and Altona and the first board members of the Thomas Sill Foundation were drawn from the accounting community,” she said.
The Thomas Sill Foundation issued a challenge to communities in Manitoba in the form of a challenge grant program. Selkirk was one of the communities to take up the challenge and the beginnings of the SDCF were sparked.
The Thomas Sill Foundation provided $2,500 for start-up costs for the Foundation and by 1999, the SDCF had received its $100,000 grant from the Thomas Sill Foundation.
The Thomas Sill Foundation was not the only donor back then, however, they did start a trend of generosity that has been taken up by many in our community.
Founding SDCF Board Member Bill Findlater and former Board Member and Treasurer Bill Bodman were also acknowledged at this event for their work working with the Thomas Sill Foundation in the early days of the SDCF.
Beverley Clegg, executive director of the SDCF then made the official announcement.
“Today’s Chairperson Shauna Curtin, along with the entire SDCF team are thrilled, over the moon, to announce the establishment of the Thomas Sill Fund which is being created with a $1.3 million donation,” she said.
Clegg explained that this fund is an undesignated, named community fund. This means that future grants will assist in funding for the community’s greatest needs.
Knoll and Clegg both thanked those who’ve worked hard over the years to make the SDCF what it is today.
“On behalf of the current board of directors, I would like to extend a sincere thank you to the founding members of the Foundation, to all who have volunteered their time and expertise over the past 20 years and to the Thomas Sill Foundation for providing the incentive and financial resources to create and support the Selkirk and District Community Foundation. If there had been no Thomas Sill Foundation, would there be a Selkirk and District Community Foundation today?” said Knoll.
