Each Christmas Crawford Smith and Swallow organizes an in-house fundraising campaign with its partners and staff. In the past, funds raised have supported a number of community initiatives.

In 2001, their annual campaign took a different twist. The firm partnered with the Niagara Community Foundation to develop a new way to support the community each year permanently endow a portion of the funds raised and use the balance to support community projects in which their employees and partners were interested in getting behind. The endowment fund was created as a community legacy in recognition of over 60 years of operating in Niagara. To date the firm has donated $28,800 to the Foundation, endowing $20,000 and making the balance available for community projects.

The first group to benefit from this partnership is the Virgil Arena Campaign, which received a $5,000 grant at the end of 2002 from the Crawford, Smith and Swallow Fund through the Niagara Community Foundation. Niagara-on-the-Lake resident Rob Weier, who is a partner with the firm and a member of the Arena Campaign Committee, made a convincing case for the arena to receive support from his accounting firm. "Our firm has deep roots across Niagara and, in particular, has served the community of Niagara-on-the-Lake for many years. It just made sense for us to come on board with this initiative."

Crawford, Smith and Swallow is one of the largest firms of Chartered Accountants in the Niagara Region. Founded over 60 years ago by the late Laurence C. Crawford, FCA, the firm has grown from a small local operation to a regional firm with 18 partners and a combined partner/staff complement of over 70. Crawford, Smith and Swallow is owned and operated by residents of the Niagara Region.

Established in 2000, the Niagara Community Foundation is a collection of endowed funds and resources given by caring citizens who have chosen to make their community a better place to live and work. To date $1.9 million has been raised for the endowment funds.

For release: Jan. 10, 2003

For further information contact: Rob Weier, Crawford Smith & Swallow (905) 937-2100

Liz Palmieri, Executive Director, (905) 684-8688