Fondation Desjardins Launches Call for Candidates for 33rd Desjardins Annual Prizes
Fondation Desjardins invites organizations involved in social, economic and community development to send in their applications for the 33rd edition of the Desjardins Annual Prizes. Six prizes of $5,000 each will be awarded to social and community organizations that are members of Desjardins caisses in Québec, caisses/branches in Ontario or caisses populaires in New Brunswick or Manitoba.

The Social Economy Centre of the University of Toronto invites you to the next event in our speaker series:

Gov't won't neglect inner-city needs despite Station 20 decision: Wall
Premier Brad Wall is promising to spend more money in Saskatoon's inner city despite his government's decision to pull funding to build a new multi-purpose centre in the area. "No one should doubt the resolve of this premier and this government to help those in the inner city deal with the issues that they face," said Wall at the Saskatchewan Party's annual leader's dinner in Saskatoon on Tuesday.

Gastropub serves over 27,000 in first 124 days
One of the founders of The Port gastropub in Port Williams says they’re amazed at the overwhelming response to the establishment. Director Allen Sheito said they welcomed 27,409 clients in their first 124 days of operation, which far exceeded expectations.

Good ol' fashioned rock 'n' roll
Local label Transistor 66 and co-op record store/print shop War on Music are set to release a split seven-inch single featuring Peg City rawkers Hot Live Guys and T-Dot heavyweights C'mon. That's right, vinyl. Oh, how the tables have turned. Ironically, with the digital audio player threatening the compact disc's very existence, it's been the age-old technology of the gramophone record that's enjoying a bit of resurgence.

Another good year for PCU
Yesterday was April Fool’s Day, but there was no fooling around at the Portage Credit Union’s 64th annual general meeting, which was held last night at the William Glesby Centre. PCU board president Joe Masi read the 2007 year-end report to the 82 members who attended the meeting, and the report was filled with good news. “I think (the report) clearly shows that the Portage Credit Union continues to grow and be the financial choice for this area,” said Masi.

P.E.I. ag programs up for communities funding
Prince Edward Island's government plans to flow some of the $13.7 million it will receive from the federal Community Development Trust toward agriculture programs. Premier Robert Ghiz and Prime Minister Stephen Harper confirmed P.E.I.'s share of the trust funding in a press release Monday.

The Canadian Alternative Investment Co-operative (CAIC) launched an ambitious outreach campaign in the fall of 2007 with the stated goal of advancing an additional $2 million to non profits, co-operatives and community economic development organizations who are making a positive social impact on the Canadian landscape. To date CAIC's campaign is on track with nearly $1 million in new loans to projects across Canada, and they are looking for projects that can help them meet (and potentially exceed) the $2 million target.

• Interview with Chipo Kangayi by Lindsay Kearns
  (MP3 file, 5:22 mins, 2.1 MB)

Please click on the above link to listen to the interview.

Chipo Kangayi recently finished her MSc at the University of Saskatc

RM of Elton banks on windpower
It's more than just a little passing wind to this community. There's money in that wind -- the kind passing over farm fields -- and people here aim to collect it. "We want to catch the energy going over our land and sell it into the grid," explained Dan Mazier, head of non-profit Elton Energy Co-op. What's different about this wind project from others is profits wouldn't sail away to multinational head offices.