According to Cochrane Coun. Jeff Toews and senior manager of community services Suzanne Gaida, the fundraising initiative for ‘Rock the Waves’ (the pool/aquatic centre) is right on target.
To date, over $4.4M of the $10.6M community fundraising goal has been achieved — and according to Toews, there are plenty of events and opportunities to bring major corporate sponsors on board in the coming months.
“There was never any expectation for the community to raise millions of dollars. The expectation has always been that big business would be the major funding source for this,” said Toews.
It’s been 14 months since fundraising for the major capital project began and Toews said conversations are ‘in the works’ with some potential major sponsors, including area builders and developers.
Gaida said that last Friday’s community celebration for Rock the Waves sent the message that this project is not just a vision — it’s a reality.
She added that the fundraising is taking place over a five-year period — well after the facility’s slated March 2017 opening.
While the economy would likely have some sort of effect on donations from the private sector, both Gaida and Toews are confident that the project would come close, if not meet, the goal of $10.6M within that time frame.
Gaida said the mayor’s challenge for the community to raise $100,000 is not an added pressure, only a way to get the community excited and involved.
Toews said that in the event of a shortfall there are other options, such as diverting funds from elsewhere or using a year of MSI funding to top up the project, but that he felt these options were not likely at this point.
He also said that this project is especially important, with the consideration of Cochrane’s tremendous growth in recent years — which seemingly has no end in sight.
He added that no decision has yet been made with respect to the land at the current Big Hill Leisure Pool location.
Learn more at rockthwaves.ca.
