By Pepper Parr
September 12, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Changing horses in mid-stream is tricky at the best of times – and these are not the best of times for the Burlington Community Foundation that finds itself close to swamped with the demands being made of them when they stepped up to the plate and took on the task of running the Flood Disaster Relief Committee.
Add to the Relief Fund work the Roaring Twenties Annual Ball they hold as a major fund raiser for their own organization and their Annual Vital Statistics report – and you have a big plate to get through. Then add the Mental Health Round table they are doing as well
Collen Mulholland – she gets the tasks done – right?
BCF president Colleen Mulholland is stretched to more than her limit. Ron Foxcroft – the guy doing the fund raising for the Disaster Relief says he gets his first email of the day from Mulholland at around 5:30 am and the last one comes from her – often after 11 pm.
When it was clear early in August that funds had to be raised for people who were badly damaged by the flood the United Way stood up and said “we will do that for you and within hours the public was able to contribute funds to the Flood Relief using the United Way Platform.”
That made a big difference – but as August wound forward into September the United Way realized they had their own fund raising campaign kickoff coming in September – and there was serious concern about the confusion the public might have over – just who were they donating money to?
That meant the Flood Relief operation had to come up with a platform that people could go to. At the request of the United Way of Burlington and Greater Hamilton, the Burlington Community Foundation (BCF) is now accepting all donations in support of BCF Disaster Relief Committee fundraising efforts. As of today, BCF will accept and manage all funds raised by caring community members in support of flood victims.
This is what it is about – donations. We need money and we need it now.
The Committee is now responsible for all aspects of flood relief efforts including raising, holding and disbursing funds. 100% of funds raised go directly to flood victims who need it most.
“We hope this change clarifies the fundraising process and avoids any confusion for donors,” says Colleen Mulholland, President and CEO of the Burlington Community Foundation. “We would like to sincerely thank the United Way for stepping up early to begin the process of collecting donations for the flood relief fund.”
Mulholland expects the donation web site to be fully operational by the end of the day. The “donation thermometer” that is prominent on the web site inches up every time an on-line donation is made. Try is. Go on line – send then $50 and then go back in and see that it has moved. Then go back in and do it again – just to see the thermometer move.
Is this all for me wonders Burlington Community Foundation Flood Relief cheque presentation. Joining in the occasion are Mayor Rick Goldring who now has an election race on his hands, Steve Stipsits who donated the $25000 and Flood Relief fund raiser Ron Foxcroft.
Every Wednesday BCF will add the major corporate donations to the web site. One of those will be a $25,000 donation made this morning by Branthaven Homes. Interesting story behind this donation. Steve Stipsits, chief honcho at Branthaven happens to be Ron Foxcroft’s brother-in-law. Foxcroft took on the task of being the lead fund raiser – you can see where this is going can’t you.
When the presentation was being made this morning Stipsits appeared to be favouring his right arm – the result of some arm twisting no doubt.
The Branthaven organization is one of the several organizations that have made significant donations – expect to see other familiar names added to that list.
A paint store is offering significant discounts, a lube shop is sending $15 to the BCF for every lube job they do – we will get those names to you as soon as we have them.
It has taken a bit of time – longer than anyone expected to get this wagon moving but there is beginning to be some momentum.
There have been some disappointments – one very large organization in the food business decided not to come to the table – unfortunate.
Those disappointments are easier to handle when you reads about the people on Elwood Street who raised $20,000 in four hours
The BCF Disaster Relief Committee has received tremendous community support since the devastating flood on August 4th and $520,000 of cash and in-kind support has been raised to date.
Burlington Community Foundation president Collen Mullholland stalk with Branthaven Homes president Steve Stipsits in front of the Branthaven head office.
The Burlington Community Foundation is proud to celebrate 15 years supporting the highest priority needs in Burlington and helping those most vulnerable in our community. BCF currently manages 72 funds on behalf of individuals, families, corporations and agencies.
You have to buzz to get into the BCF offices on the South Service Road. “The buzzer is going all the time – people walk in with cheques for $100 – several had dropped off cheques doe $1000. The community is pulling together.
