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Erin Voaklander
With support from ECF’s
Endowment Sustainability Program,
Fringe Theatre is ensuring the show
will go on for generations
By AREEHA MAHAL
Photos JANICE SAXON
LIKE MANY ARTS organizations, Fringe
Theatre runs on “dreams and duct
tape” in the words of Erin Voaklander,
the theatre’s Director of Development.
But the long-term sustainability
of an organization requires a little
more than duct tape — it needs a
robust fundraising plan. That’s where
Edmonton Community Foundation
(ECF) comes in.
ECF’s Endowment Sustainability
Program (ESP) serves as a creative
toolkit for long-term financial
stability for non-profits. With
sessions spanning over five months,
participants dive into everything
from structuring endowment funds
to understanding donor motivations
in order to strengthen meaningful
engagement and relationships. They
also roll up their sleeves for hands-on
exercises, like drafting personalized
donor strategies and uncovering new
fundraising opportunities.
“ESP is really about meeting
organizations where they are and
guiding them toward a practical,
achievable path to long-term funding,”
says Sydney Stuart, Philanthropy
Advisor at ECF. “It also helps open
the door to a different kind of donor
— people who want to make a lasting
impact, often through gifts in their
wills or other legacy plans. That kind of
support can be transformational.”
Voaklander agrees.
Since joining ESP in 2022, Fringe
Theatre has actively shaped its
fundraising strategies and deepened
its knowledge of how endowment
funds can sustain unconventional, out
of the ordinary theatre for everyone, by
everyone, for generations.
ecf.ca
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