The Innovation Federal Credit Union recently provided grant funding for the Gravelbourg Fire Department.
Through the Legacy Community & Development Grant Fund, Innovation was able to contribute $15,000 so that the Fire Department was able to purchase wildland suppression equipment.
Dan Johnson, CEO of the Innovation Federal Credit Union, is glad they can help support their rural centres and the communities they service through these kinds of initiatives.
"We want to make sure that all of our communities are considered in the Community Grant Fund that we've developed," said Johnson. "In this case, the community put forward an opportunity for us to support, and we thought this one hit the mark."
This is one of the latest rounds of grant funding Innovation has invested into its 27 communities. In the southwest, they have previously donated $25,000 to the SPCA Swift Current for its new facilities and $10,000 for the Swift Current Reading Trail.
"We have lots of examples throughout our region and throughout Saskatchewan for contributing to these sorts of initiatives," said Johnson.
Other smaller centres have also been in on the funding. In Lancer, the local playground project was able to get $15,000 through the grant.
"Lancer has been a key community and region for Innovation for a number of decades," said Johnson. "Their submission hit the mark on a lot of things that we've done in other communities."
Other towns like Cabri, where the grant provided $5,000 for the SWT Arena's compressor replacement project, have also gotten money from Innovation.
Johnson says that when communities apply for the grant, it is important that they formulate their request well and that it touches upon their core values and goals.
"We currently are focused on things like food security, capital projects, and things that will be in the community for the long term," explained Johnson. "That is really the essence of why we developed the Legacy Community & Development Grant Fund."