After a successful summer fundraiser, where thanks to over thirty artists who donated works to Island Mountain Arts for a 30^th Anniversary Exhibition and Auction, and thanks to Levis Online Auctions in Calgary, the organization was able to invest $10,000 in an endowment fund. The fund was established in order to provide ongoing scholarships for programs at the IMA School of the Arts including the Toni Onley Artists’ Project for Professional and Emerging Artists.

“Our goal was to raise at least $10,000 so that we could apply to the Vancouver Foundation’s BC Renaissance Fund, which matches monies raised to start endowments,” said Dennis Bogle, President of IMA. But thanks to the Quesnel Community Foundation, which also matched the Island Mountain Arts $10,000 investment, the organization was able to approach the Vancouver Foundation with a $20,000 endowment.

“We are very excited about the potential to grow our endowment fund after seeing what our first $10,000 could do,” said IMA’s Artistic Director/Curator, Julie Fowler. “We hope it will help Island Mountain Arts to be sustainable for another thirty years.”

Fowler went on to say, that in addition to the BC Renaissance Fund, Island Mountain Arts also applied to an endowment-matching program through Heritage Canada that fetched the organization a further $10,535, bringing the total fund to $50,535.

“I would certainly encourage other arts organizations, or any non-profit organizations to consider starting an endowment fund. It has been a great experience to work with the Quesnel Community Foundation and there is so much potential to make your investment grow,” said Fowler.

Island Mountain Arts is already planning for another big online auction in 2009, and this summer is running a raffle with numerous prizes including an original work by artist David T. Alexander, who is also one of the senior artist mentors at this summer’s Toni Onley Artists’ Project.

For more information about the Island Mountain Arts School of the Arts, Public Gallery or the ArtsWells Festival visit www.imarts.com.