The Community Resource Fund (CRF) was established in 2002 with a generous investment of $250,000 from EnCana Corporation. Our partners and donors are all encouraged to sponsor and contribute to this ongoing and important fund. Encana is Founding and Current Sponsor in 2011. Other contributors to the Community Resource Fund currently include Imperial Oil Foundation.

Originally created as a Small Communities Initiative, the CRF supports and enables a variety of very important outcomes. It gives Alberta Ecotrust the flexibility and critical resources to additionally contribute to projects, expenses and opportunities as a Foundation.

For example, small and rural groups undertaking environmental action in their local communities often lack the experience, contacts and resources needed for successful solutions. The CRF helps us address this situation in the following ways:

• Adds dollars to our Grant Program budget for small projects that are important in local communities but don't make the cut when competing with more established and experienced applicants and grantees.
• Covers travel costs for Ecotrust staff to convene rural meetings and trainings, and also subsidizes the costs of rural and volunteer attendees who have no source of funding.
• Contributes to the cost of workshops, seminars and conferences developed and delivered across the province by Alberta Ecotrust, including our premier "Maximize" event held every year.
• Provides bursaries and subsidies for our ENGO partners and grantees to participate in important voluntary sector and environmental training programs.
• Enables Alberta Ecotrust to provide small sponsorships for the convening of groups, venues for trainings and events.