5 Indigenous-led community groups to distribute $350K from Manitoba MMIWG2S endowment fund
Family members of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in Manitoba can now access an endowment fund to cover costs associated with a search, court proceedings or healing opportunities, Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine says.
Five Indigenous-led organizations will distribute $350,000 from the Manitoba MMIWG2S+ healing and empowerment endowment fund to family members of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people. The money will help families access "a wide range" of low-barrier and direct support, Fontaine said at a news conference on Monday.
The province set up the fund a year ago through an initial $15-million investment, generating $650,000 in just six months, Fontaine said.
The community organizations will be given responsibility for distributing two-thirds of the fund's revenue each year. The province will direct the rest to similar organizations.
Eligible costs that can be covered by the endowment fund may include search costs, gas, hotel bills, funeral expenses, headstones, food and even tuition, Fontaine said.
"I think it's really important for Manitobans to know and to be proud of the fact that we are the only jurisdiction across Canada that has set up a MMIWG2S+ endowment fund to operate in perpetuity for families and communities," Fontaine said at the news conference.
"No matter what government is in power, this endowment fund will exist for years to come."
Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, the Southern Chiefs' Organization and Giganawenimaanaanig — the province's MMIWG2S+ implementation committee — will each receive about $90,000, the province said.
The Manitoba Métis Federation's Infinity Women's Secretariat will get around $40,000, and the Tunngasugit Inuit Resource Centre in Winnipeg will get $25,000.
The endowment fund, managed by the Winnipeg Foundation, is currently near $25 million, Fontaine said. The goal is to eventually double that, which could result in upwards of $2 million in revenue generated each year, she said.
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