By Suzy Kendrick
Amid the budget debate at City Council last week, it would have been easy to miss the one word that was very important to environmental activists around Ottawa.
“Carried,” said the councillors during the meeting.
City Council gave the creation of the Ottawa Sustainability Fund full support and awarded the initial and sole donation of $10,000 from the City of Ottawa.
“We are absolutely thrilled,” says Barbara McInnes, president of the Community Foundation of Ottawa who will be managing the fund. “This is a great opportunity for the community and for the future.”
The Ottawa Sustainability Fund will provide financial support to initiatives and organizations that enhance the ‘environmental friendliness’ of the City of Ottawa.
Members of the advisory committee will meet with the foundation next week to finalize the plan, says McInnes. But her next task is to look for more funds.
“Our first goal is to look at increasing the size of the fund,” says McInnes. “There are a number of opportunities and we want to use the $10,000 as a base before concentrating on distributing funds to different initiatives.”