Community Foundation announces focuses for coming year

Commentator/Courier Photo by Anna Smith Signs of the Future: Niki Gray addresses the crowd at the 2023 VitalSigns launch event.

By Anna Smith
Commentator/Courier

Faces from throughout the region piled into the Beveridge Building in Medicine Hat, to hear where the Community Foundation of Southeastern Alberta has set their sights this year.

The event took place over lunch on October 30, treating guests from throughout the wide area CFSEA supports to sandwiches and illuminating conversation as they awaited the reveal of the 2023 Vital Signs.

“We’re thrilled to have you join us and to hear a little bit about the up to date Vital Signs report to listen to some impactful speakers offering their expertise for some of the most critical issues addressed in the report and conversations regarding opportunities and solutions across southeast Alberta,” said Niki Gray, Executive Director of CFSEA.

CFSEA, or the Community Foundation, is one of 205 Community Foundations across the country. Their mission in the community of Medicine Hat and southeast Alberta is to create meaningful connections between donors and local charities for the benefit of southeastern Alberta, said Gray.

Every year, the foundation gathers data from their neighbouring nonprofits, municipalities, and from community members choosing to lend their eyes and ears to the place they live and share their thoughts via the VitalSigns survey.

Through this data, the foundation picks a series of points to focus their efforts on for the year, based on where the data shows help is most needed that year. 

This event was the first full launch they had been able to throw since 2017, featuring impact speakers from various organizations from the southeastern corner of Alberta, speaking to their areas of expertise to help connect with those who need it within the region.

This year, CFSEA will be focusing on the areas of Connection and Belonging, Work and Economy, and Basic Needs, the latter of which is a look into food, housing, and health. 

These areas will inform where grants are given throughout the communities and regions they serve, though they’ll be far from the only areas that will be helped with the money generated off investments from those who choose to “give where they live.”

The full report, including data on respondents to the survey, and all areas that CFSEA studies, is available on their website.