Friday, October 4, 2002

Casino Niagara Cares donates $750,000 to Niagara Community Foundation

Niagara Falls, ON - Casino Niagara announced today a $750,000 donation to the Niagara Community Foundation for the creation of a permanent endowment fund.

The 'Casino Niagara Cares Fund' will be used for the long-term benefit of the Niagara community, said Ron D. Barbaro, Chairman and CEO of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLGC).

"This is exactly the kind of contribution envisioned for Niagara's charitable organizations when Casino Niagara was still in the planning stages," said Barbaro.

"Since the very beginning the OLGC has been committed to ensuring that the casino has a positive and lasting impact on the region - an impact that goes beyond the obvious tourism and business opportunities to support and nurture the region's unique communities and institutions."

The Niagara Community Foundation is a not-for-profit agency that specializes in pooling charitable donations into permanent endowment funds. The foundation invests the donations and provides grants to charitable causes throughout Niagara using the revenue generated by the investments. In this way, the funds are allowed to generate revenue for grants indefinitely.

"The Niagara Community Foundation fits perfectly with the Casino Niagara Cares program," said Jay Meilstrup, the casino's general manager.

Both have a mandate to strengthen the communities of the Niagara region and to improve the quality of life for as many of its citizens as possible.

The Niagara Community Foundation was launched to the public in November of 2000 - just six months after a similar public launch for the Cares program. Casino Niagara Cares first established its support of the Foundation through a $10,000 start-up donation.

"I believe our two young organizations are going to do great things together thanks in part to the groundwork laid here today," said Foundation President John Potts.

The Niagara Community Foundation is thrilled to be teaming up with Casino Niagara Cares to do more for the future of the region? charities than either could do on their own.

Founders of the Niagara Community Foundation were Honorary Chair Frank Branscombe and Regional Chair Debbie Zimmerman.

The donation to the Niagara Community Foundation is the second largest in the history of the Cares program and the largest in the history of the Niagara Community Foundation. The donation will be paid in five annual installments of $150,000 between now and 2006.

The largest Cares donation ever came during the official launch of the program in May of 2000, when the Niagara Health System received $1.2 million toward state-of-the-art equipment for Niagara's three largest emergency rooms.

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