Employee Charity of Choice

Our Employees in the Community

At Manitoba Lotteries we are committed to improving the quality of life in the communities in which we live and work. As part of our “Supporting Our Communities” focus, we encourage employees to volunteer in their communities.

ECHO (EMPLOYEES CARE BY HELPING OTHERS)

In 2006, a group at Manitoba Lotteries created an employee-driven charitable giving network called ECHO, (Employees Care by Helping Others). ECHO’s goal is to unite Manitoba Lotteries employees’ common charitable giving activities and to recognize them for their philanthropic and volunteer efforts.

ECHO’S CHARITY OF CHOICE

Through ECHO, Manitoba Lotteries employees support a Charity of Choice program that provides funding assistance of up to $100,000 to registered Canadian Charities based in Manitoba for capital projects, (i.e. a tangible item/program) intended to benefit children and youth throughout the province.

ECHO’s first Charity of Choice raised $100,000 for the Children’s Hospital Foundation for the purchase of pediatric rescue extracorporeal life support equipment. The funds were raised over an 18-month period.

ECHO’s second Charity of Choice raised $100,000 for the Children’s Hospital Foundation to benefit its Asthma, Allergy & Clinical Immunology Renovation Project.

ECHO’s current Charity of Choice is the Children’s Rehabilitation Foundation. ECHO has begun raising funds to reach its $100,000 Charity of Choice goal to support the purchase of special equipment for children with disabilities.

Charity of Choice Application Process
We will not be accepting Charity of Choice applications until further notice. At this time, the following content is for information purposes only.

“Invitation to Partnership” letters are sent by ECHO’s Charity of Choice Committee to selected charities in Manitoba*. Charitable organizations with unique or exciting capital projects that meet the eligibility criteria and are interested in partnering with Manitoba Lotteries employees, may then apply to become ECHO’s next Charity of Choice.

*The list of charities selected to receive an Invitation for Partnership was established using Volunteer Manitoba’s CONTACT Database where each Charity identifies their criteria of exposure. If the Charity identified supports children/youth and met other fundamental Charity of Choice criteria, then an Invitation to Partnership letter was mailed to the charity. Charities that meet the criteria and are interested in applying for future ECHO Charity of Choice eligble status, should ensure their charitable information is provided to Volunteer Manitoba and is kept current.

Interested charities that receive an Invitation to Partnership and meet the criteria will then complete a Letter of Intent and submit same and all attachments to the ECHO Charity of Choice Committee. The application deadline varies since the selected charity(s) will remain the employees’ Charity of Choice for the period of time required to raise the needed funds or as mutually agreed upon by ECHO and the selected charity.

The ECHO Charity of Choice Committee, with assistance from Volunteer Manitoba will then review all applications to confirm eligibility. Once all eligible submissions have been compiled, Manitoba Lotteries employees will vote to select the next Charity of Choice.

To qualify for ECHO’s Charity of Choice funding, the following must be met:

• The project must benefit Manitoba’s children and youth.
• Funds must be used for capital/program purposes (the organization’s operating costs are not eligible for Charity of Choice funding).
• The organization must be registered with the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) as a Canadian charity.
• The charity must have at least five years operating history in Manitoba.
• The charity’s Board of Directors must be elected and unpaid.
• The charity must not have received Manitoba Lotteries sponsorship funds greater than $10,000 in the previous three years.
• Charity of Choice funding is not available to churches or religious programs, political causes, advocacy groups, athletic clubs, private clubs, service or social clubs, labour organizations, schools or private foundations.

Manitoba Lotteries employees raise money for ECHO’s Charity of Choice in three ways:

1. Rewards for Employee Action and Participation (REAP) which recognizes and rewards employees who volunteer for Manitoba Lotteries sponsored events as well as those charitable organizations they are personally involved with. The monetary contribution received from the corporation goes towards the Employees’ Charity of Choice. The more employees volunteer in the community, the more money is raised.
2. Employee-driven Charity of Choice fundraising activities such as staff barbeques, merchandise sales etc.
3. Through employee contributions made through the Provincial All Charities Campaign.