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| Path: Main Street > Resources/Library > Research Articles > Feature Article |
Mountain Equipment Co-op gives green grantsMarch 27, 1996; Canadian FundRaiser
Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) has implemented an Environment Project which sees 0.4 per cent of annual gross sales, $320,000 in 1995, distributed to nearly 50 environmental projects across the country. For 25 years, the co-op has supplied wilderness and recreational gear to help Canadians experience the great outdoors, but in addition to serving its 650,000 members, it is now working to preserve the quality of the environment itself.
Last year, the company gave $100,000 to help purchase Jedidiah Island in BC's Georgia Strait, and create a new provincial park on the site. This was the largest single grant ever given by the organization, and other donations last year ranged from $350 for first aid equipment at an Ontario climbing site, to $10,300 for a survey of the Penfold Valley watershed in BC. Other projects funded include trail maintenance on sites across the country, wildlife studies in BC, Alberta, Ontario and Labrador, and educational programs in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and PEI.
A committee including directors, MEC staff, and co-op members at large, evaluates each proposal. Grants applications are accepted at any time and reviews are conducted three times a year, on January 31, May 31 and September 30. Julie Davidson, Executive Assistant to the co-op's board of directors, explains that most applications still come from British Columbia, "We try to spread the money around the country, but most of our applications still come from the west, so they may appear to be favoured in decisions." To help address this imbalance, the organization has published a grant application brochure and is promoting the project in its latest catalogue.
Aside from the environmental grant project, MEC recently developed a small endowment fund administered by the Vancouver Foundation. Members are encouraged to make individual donations, and parking lot revenue from the Vancouver store is used to build the fund which currently has a principal of about $5,000. As Davidson points out, "the endowment fund is designed to look at more long-term projects, rather than just the smaller grass-roots ones we are currently able to support."
Other grass-roots funding is available from individual co-operative retail outlets in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, and Calgary. According to Jane Perry of the Toronto MEC store, the community support program distributes about $3,000 each year in product and donations, supporting everything from rape crisis centres to the Out of the Cold program for homeless people.
MEC's environmental initiatives help to prove that the organization is as concerned about helping the environment as it is about helping people enjoy it. For more information about the Environment Project, contact Julie Davidson, Mountain Equipment Co-op, 1655 West 3rd Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6J 1K1. Phone: (604) 732-1989 Fax: (604) 731-6483. For information on local funding, contact the Co-op nearest you.
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