$150,000+ raised through Place2Give for grassroots and localized flood relief

The flood reveals Alberta’s spirit of networked humanity

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 1, 2013

Calgary, Canada – In a time that could have truly brought out the worst in individuals, the businesses and people of Southern Alberta have come together to support one another. The Place2Give Southern Alberta Emergency Relief Fund, which was set up within 5 hours of the declared state of emergency, is one of these localized relief efforts. To date over $150,000 dollars has been donated to the fund. 

The fund aims to aid local and grassroots registered charities who are on the frontlines of flood relief in Alberta. At this time, there are twelve charities on the Fund’s list, with more being added as Place2Give learns of need. The twelve charities are:

·         Calgary Police Foundation ·         EMS Foundation ·         Foothills Search and Rescue ·         Servants Anonymous ·         Rotary Club of Canmore ·         Calgary Drop In Centre

·         Federation of Calgary Communities ·         Alpha House ·         Inn From The Cold ·         NeighbourLink ·         Calgary Humane Society ·         Bridges

In addition to the option to donate to one of these specific organizations, donors can also choose to donate to a general fund. The monies from this specific fund will be directed towards areas of greatest need as we recognize that there will be long-term clean-up and rebuilding needs.  "We are committed to providing open and inning communication about how the funds are being managed and disbursed, as well as how the funded agencies have used the donations."

Place2Give has also established a fund with the Tides Foundation to be able to accept undesignated donations in US dollars. Late next week the Southern Alberta Emergency Relief Fund will begin distributing the funds to the designated charities.

“In order to meet the needs our community both Place2Give and Dexterity Consulting have focused our efforts entirely on the crisis” says Gena Rotstein, CEO & Founder of Place2Give “It was evident that the larger organizations could not turn the switch as quickly as we could, so we did it. We used the power of social media, the relationships we have with the grassroots organizations and their partners as well as the donors and their advisors that we work with on a daily basis to make sure we could get something out as quickly as people were asking.”

Several local businesses have also partnered with Place2Give to support these grassroots charities. These companies include Eisenberg's Fine Furniture, Original Joes, Agar Canada, Jones Brown Insurance, Triple Flip and Claudius du Plooy Law Firm. FirstEnergy Capital has also pledged a generous $100,000 donation to the fund and challenged their community to do the same.

Thank you to the organizations who are helping out with this initiative and supporting those organizations who are working on the front lines.  The Place2Give Emergency Flood Relief fund community partners include: Charity App Challenge, Dexterity Consulting, AcceleratorAB, YYCHelps,  DeliverGood.org, and The Zinc Tank.

If you would like to make a corporate donation please contact Gena Rotstein at 403-860-7572.

For more information about Place2Give, to enquire about investing in the company or to sign-up for a free account visit www.place2give.com.

-ends-

Contact:

Meghan Somers

 The Agency

+1 (587) 899 0615

meghan at theagencyinc dot ca

Karine Aviv                                                                                                                        
Dexterity Ventures Inc.                                                                                                
+1 (866) 936-GIVE or +1 (403) 909-8235                                                 
                                                                                        

Notes to Editors:

Dexterity Ventures Inc.
Place2Give.com was developed by Dexterity Ventures Inc., a leading developer of philanthropic automated solutions for Canadian donors. Dexterity Ventures Inc. operates Dexterity Consulting, Canada’s first philanthropic brokerage firm and Place2Give.com.

Since 2008, Dexterity Consulting has facilitated over $3MM in charitable transactions working with donors, their advisors, and charities across Canada.  Our foundation partners include: Benefaction Foundation for Canadian transactions, Cidel Trust for charitable trusts, and the Tides Canada Foundation, for cross-border philanthropy.  Dexterity Ventures Inc. works with several community foundations across Canada.

Dexterity Ventures and Place2Give.com were named a TechRev Innovator for 2012.