COMMUNITY GRANTS
Wells Gray Community Forest Society
The Wells Gray Community Forest Society (WGCFS) works together with the Wells Gray Community Forest Corporation (WGCFC) to distribute funding to non-profit organizations within Wells Gray Country (Thompson Nicola Regional District Electoral Area 'A') and the District of Clearwater to support a wide range of community projects. The funds come from forest management activities conducted within the Wells Gray Community Forest License.
The Wells Gray Community Forest Society (shareholder) has launched the 2025 Spring Granting Cycle and will be distributing $100,000 of the profits from the Corporation based on our mandate as follows:
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to promote the economic and social welfare of the residents of Wells Gray Country (including the District of Clearwater) including the provision of support for benevolent and charitable enterprises, federations, agencies, and societies engaged in furthering these purposes.
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to hold the Shares, and receive all the benefits of the Shareholdings, of the Wells Gray Community Forest Corporation (WGCFC), which company manages a Community Forest License (the “Community Forest”) in Wells Gray Country (Thompson Nicola Region District Electoral Area ‘A’).
The Fall 2024 Granting Cycle approved $49, 631 of the available $50,000 to nine community organizations.
We look forward to your submission on or before April 4th 2025.
Our Values
Honesty | Accountability | Inclusivity | Respectful
Our Vision
A Healthy Community Supported by a Resilient Forest
Grant Disbursement
The project consisted of purchasing a shaper router for the woodshop. The router provides training and exposure to digital wood manufacturing techniques, allowing students to produce advanced joinery projects and inlays. Students in all of the senior wood shop classes benefit from this purchase. The school and class benefit from having a bit of redundancy in production and faster thru put when multiple students want access to our CNC router. The community benefits from having students leave school with a greater range of modern manufacturing skills. The community also benefits as the school can take on more ambitious community projects for non profits within the community.
Clearwater Secondary School: Shaper Router
The purposes of the Society are:
A. To promote the economic and social welfare of the residents of the Wells Gray Country (including the District of Clearwater), including the provision of support for benevolent and charitable enterprises, federations, agencies and societies engaged in furthering these purposes;
B. To hold the shares and receive all the benefits of the shareholdings of the Wells Gray Community Forest Corporation, which company manages a Community Forest License (the “Community Forest”) in the Wells Gray Country (Thompson-Nicola Regional District Electoral Area ‘A’).
C. To distribute funds it receives through the operations of the Community Forest or otherwise as follows:
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25% to social needs in the Wells Gray Country (including the District of Clearwater) as determined by the directors
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50% to capital infrastructure improvements in which another person has matched funds in the Wells Gray Country (including the District of Clearwater);
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25% accumulating for larger projects that benefit the Wells Gray Country (including the District of Clearwater) either as a lump sum or ongoing payments.
As a shareholder, the society also ratifies and appoints the directors of the WGCFC.
The trustees on the board are comprised of:
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Three directors are Community members at large (CML) from the Wells Gray Country (including the District of Clearwater)
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Two directors are appointed from the Wells Gray Community Forest Corporation (WGCFC)
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One director is appointed from District of Clearwater (DOC)
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One director is appointed from TNRD Electoral Area A
As a requirement of the Wells Gray Community Forest (2010) Society Constitution and Bylaws, the Society held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on November 12, 2024.
Elections of Officers were held with the following results:
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Heather MacLennan – Chair
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Ron Hadley – Vice Chair
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Leslie Groulx – Secretary
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Sheila Thiessen – Treasurer
Directors Mitch Miller, appointed to represent – TNRD Electoral Area “A”
Wayne Sim, appointed representative – Wells Gray Community Forest Corporation.