The Niagara Community Foundation will be able to give larger grants than ever before thanks to an $18 million donation.
The money comes from the estate of David S. Howes.
Chair of the NCF's board of directors Bob Watson says Howes was well known to the Foundation.
"David first donated $100,000 to the Foundation in 2014 to open the David & Susanne DiLalla Howes Family Fund. In a very real way, it was a test of how the Foundation would manage his legacy. All things considered, it looks like we passed the test."
The Foundation has already received the first $10 million instalment.
Bryan Rose, NCF Executive Director, says the David S. Howes Fund will be separate from the existing Niagara Community Foundation funds, with the interest directed toward larger, more complex projects than the Foundation has been able to accommodate in the past.
"This is a game changer for us. This allows us to grant to much larger amounts. So our grants right now range anywhere from $500 to $10,000, so this puts us at a level where we look at grants 15 , 20, 25, all the way up to $50,000."
As per Howes' request, the donated money will support post-secondary education, health care services, education or facilities and humanitarian issues throughout Niagara.
Since 2000, the Niagara Community Foundation has been able to grant more than $9.7 million to charities in the region.