Canada’s largest telecoms company, Bell Canada, is subcontracting parts
of its community investment programme to other organizations.
The company has engaged Ottawa-based Carleton University to run its
Bell Economic Community Development Fund and is to look at handing the
administration of some of its new community investment activities to
other organizations.
The moves follow an internal review which led to the creation of the
Connected to Communities programme to promote economic development at a
local level and help young people.
The Can$2million ($1.68m/£970,000) fund will be distributed by
Carleton’s Community Economic Development Technical Assistance
Programme on the basis of applications from community groups, with
little input from the company.
The Can$1m ($840,000, £480,000) Bell Community Sport Fund, which
supports youth ice hockey and soccer, is being run on similar lines. It
is being administered by the True Sport Foundation.
Lisa Banks, Bell Canada’s senior director of community affairs, said
the company believed there was ‘great potential’ for working with
intermediary organizations in this way. ‘We are finding that the
creation of dedicated, Bell-branded funds within organizations such as
Carleton University and the True Sport Foundation is a very effective
way of building partnerships at the national level, as well as
relationships at the community level, while ensuring available funding
is distributed in a fair and credible manner,’ she said.
