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Every year in March Mayor Nenshi proclaims March in Calgary to be "Membership Awareness Month". The Federation of Calgary Communities first came up with March Membership Awareness Month as a way of promoting the importance of community associations to Calgary and the value of membership in them.
March Membership means getting attention for Calgary's community associations. In order to do this we run a month long promotional campaign based on the value of belonging to your community association.
As part of Membership Awareness Month The Federation will hang eight massive banners (about 3'x30') over major road ways in Calgary for two weeks in March. This is an excellent way to get all of those commuters stuck in traffic to think about joining their community association!
The Federation also has materials for its members including a guide on how to run a membership campaign and promotional resources for community associations.
This March we will strive to increase calls about membership while raising the profile of community associations and the value they bring to Calgary as a whole.
Celebrating Communities is a new program that recognizes and celebrates community associations and the volunteers that make Calgary's communities a better place to live.
Celebrating Communities' Successes
We are proud to celebrate communities by sharing their successes amongst our members and with the general public. We achieve this through:
- Online: We promote community successes on our website's home page
- Network: Our newsletter 'Get Engaged!' reaches over 1,700 recipients and profiles different community successes on a monthly basis
- Local Media: Raising awareness of community events in the local media including a weekly page in the Calgary Real Estate News
Celebrating Communities Events
Throughout the year The Federation hosts special events to bring community associations together:
- Annual Celebrating Communities Event
- March Membership Awareness Month
- Community networking events, meetings and conferences
Celebrating Communities' Volunteers
The Federation is dedicated to celebrating community volunteers and the hard work they do to improve neighbourhood life in all of our communities.
These awards are:
- Toole Peet Community Hero: Federation staff and board members present this award to volunteers throughout the city for all their hard work
- Community Builder Award: A single volunteer is chosen through a nomination and selection process and awarded at the Federation's Annual General Meeting in October
The Calgary Foundation, established in 1955, facilitates collaborative philanthropy by making powerful connections between donors and community organizations for the long term benefit of Calgary and surrounding areas.
The Calgary Foundation believes that strong and vibrant neighbourhoods and communities are the heart of any great city. So too are local people who engage neighbours, groups and public institutions in dialogue and shared projects.
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Neighbour Grants offers grants of up to $5,000 to support resident-involved projects that engage people in the well-being of their neighbourhoods and communities.
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Neighbour Grants looks to support projects that:
- Create a new or renewed sense of belonging, welcome and neighbourliness.
- Have meaningful resident leadership and involvement and affect a wide and diverse circle of the community.
- Have the potential to spark further involvement of residents and new local opportunities.
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Neighbour Grants generally supports public participation-related expenses for community projects. Neighbour Grants cannot support ongoing operating costs; community hall upgrades, repairs or other facility improvements, retroactive expenses or debt retirements.
Neighbour Grants are accessible to registered Canadian charitable organizations. Non-profit group without charitable status must formally partner with a charitable organization to apply. The Friends of the Federation of Calgary Communities has partnered with its member community associations on various Neighbour Grants-funded projects. Member community associations are encouraged to contact The Federation of Calgary Communities to discuss their project idea.
For more information on Neighbour Grants, visit www.thecalgaryfoundation.org/gsa_neighbourgrants.htm or contact the Neighbour Grants Program at ngp@thecalgaryfoundation.org
Click on the following links for examples of community association projects that were supported by the Neighbour Grants Program.
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