Twenty-five years and $950,000 may sum up the Salt Spring Island Foundation’s legacy of giving, but representatives from 59 community organizations, generous donors and foundation volunteers fleshed out those figures at an anniversary celebration held at ArtSpring last Thursday.

“The community foundation is a very unique beast,” said foundation chair Carol Biely. “What we really are is a steward of people’s funds. We will look after it well and distribute it in the community. We are also a catalyst, able to help make things happen.”

Biely noted Salt Spring’s community of uber volunteers has fuelled the foundation’s work for the past 25 years.

“A lot of people don’t understand what a community foundation is,” she said. “But this community does. We’ll announce our fall grants next week, but tonight, let’s celebrate Salt Spring!”

Biely singled out a trio of pro-active island volunteers who started up the foundation, plus a couple more who took their ball and ran with it.

“In 1984,” she explained, “three people who were following up on John C. Lees’ wish to creating a community foundation got together to start the Salt Spring Island Foundation — Colin Mouat, Richard Toynbee and Alan Pierce. By 1996, they had $100,000 and had already distributed $18,000. The 1996 grants went to the Salt Spring Conservancy, the Bessie Dane Hospice, Transition House, Grandma’s House, PARC and the Core Inn. Bob Rush and Patrick Lee signed the 1996 report, and they have been integral to the core group of foundation stalwarts who have helped build our current fund of well over $2-million. We now distribute between $80,000 to $100,000 a year, which I think is amazing.”

SSIF trustee and grants advisory committee chair Emily Hepburn shone the limelight on some of the recipients of foundation grants, focusing on the folks who serve in our community organizations today.

“Many of our community service providers are here this evening. They’re people, real people and our community is indeed well served by them. We appreciate your efforts over the past 25 years and look forward to moving into the future with you,” she said.

When representatives of the Salt Spring Singers and the Salt Spring Centre School took the stage, we saw some of the real people Hepburn was talking about. Both organizations have recently received foundation grants.

A quartet from the Salt Spring Singers couldn’t keep the smiles off their faces as they showed off new black binders and sheet music paid for by foundation dollars, and soon had everyone in the audience singing along to Bye Bye Blackbird.

Students Audrey Pomeroy, Emily Adam-Oro and Aidan Haigh from the Salt Spring Centre School plan to help use foundation funds to rebuild the school’s woodland walk, incorporating stream enhancement and development of a map of the area.

“The school uses the woodland trail as an outdoor classroom,” explained Pomeroy in her speech.

Haigh pulled out all the real people stops when he stepped up to the mike.

“I learned it’s terrible to come to school late on Wednesdays, because then you miss the walk! There are some signs, but some of them are a bit moldy, and I’m very thankful it can all be re-done. It’s great! I love it!”

Harold Page spoke on behalf of foundation donors, many of whom prefer anonymity. Page said community is the commonality that motivates donors.

“People are alert to each other here and want to help each other.”

Biely expressed her gratitude to one particular donor family — the Shaws.

“They were a very hard-working farm family who left a very large bequest to the community. They loved to go dancing at Fulford Hall,” said Biely. “We’re very pleased to see renovations there as part of their bequest.”

A slide show, with photos of grant recipients taken by Diane Thomas and John Cameron, concluded the evening, offering up what Biely described as “a tiny taste of the 59 organizations we’ve worked with.”

The pictures of kids, seniors and people with special challenges were the faces of a community benefiting from 25 years of foundation giving and looking forward to 25 more.