-Cash will help with archiving efforts-
OSOYOOS TIMES-March 4, 2009-
By Paul EverestrnOsoyoos Times
The Osoyoos Museum has found itself with an extra $109,200 in its purse thanks to a grant from the Osoyoos Credit Union.
The financial institution announced on Feb. 26 that it was awarding the museum with $60,000 from its 60th Anniversary Legacy Fund.
The cash, along with a corresponding grant of $49,200 from the B.C. Arts Renaissance Fund, will go into the museum's endowment fund.
Established in 2007 through a $10,000 donation from local residents and a matching $10,000 grant from the Renaissance Fund, the endowment fund now holds $129,200, said museum curator Gayle Cornish.
She added that she learned in December that the museum would be receiving the $60,000 and found out on Feb. 23 that the province would be bestowing a matching grant.
We are all very delighted, it's kind of surreal, you just can't get your head around it, Cornish said. It is so much money and is such a boost to creating a solid financial foundation for the museum.rnThe money will be used for sustaining current museum archives and processing new records that come in, possibly with the help of experts.
We are in the midst of digitizing 5,000 artifacts and that would likely take three years if we had just one person doing that job alone, Cornish said, adding that the museum will also find other uses for the money.
The museum still has so many needs and a major one is a new building and that won't happen unless we start to push for one.rnThe grant from the Osoyoos Credit Union was originally supposed to go towards a splash park project in Osoyoos.
As part of its 60th anniversary celebrations in 2006, the credit union held a competition for the Legacy Fund award.
Non-profit organizations were invited to propose a project which would be self-sustaining, would create a lasting legacy in Osoyoos and would support the social, economic or environmental well-being of the community.rnA proposal from the committee behind the splash park project beat out entries from the museum and the Osoyoos Desert Society.
The committee waived their right to the award, however, since the project has taken a backseat to a proposed aquatic centre concept for the area and because one of the conditions of the award was that the splash park be completed by Dec. 31, 2008.
The members and directors of the credit union therefore decided to give the award to the museum.
We are very pleased that our Legacy contribution will help to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Osoyoos Museum through the Endowment Fund and also that the proceeds of the donation will be put towards building up the museum's archives section, which is vital, said Jack Whittaker, chair of the Osoyoos Credit Union's board of directors, in a media release.
Cornish said she plans to show the museum's appreciation for the grant by branding the archives after the Osoyoos Credit Union.
As for how the museum's endowment fund works, Cornish said it is sort of like a bank term deposit, only the principal, or capital if you like, is tied up forever.rnThe interest on the principal, however, can be used.
In 2008 we received approximately five per cent on $20,000, so roughly $1,000, Cornish said. This year they are not certain what will happen, but hope to be able to deliver three per cent to us on $129,200.rnThat works out to nearly $3,900.
Although the 2009 budget is still being reviewed, Cornish said the museum's budget for 2008 was roughly $82,000 and that money comes from the Town of Osoyoos and the Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen.
The museum, which was established 45 years ago, also raised about $56,000 in grants last year.
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