Research has begun for the HHACF and feasibility of building an arts centre in Haliburton County. U-Links Centre for Community Based Research, headquartered in Minden, ON, accepted our application for research. In this, it had paired the foundation up with Fleming College and a graduate class out of their Frost Campus in Lindsay, ON. The entire class of students from the Advanced Environmental Planning Case Studies course (ENVR 122) will prepare a Needs Assessment Report for the HHACF. Subjects covered will include:

• state of the arts in Haliburton County

• comparative case studies with similar arts facilities

• land requirements, in-town vs out-of-town placement

• facility design needs - facility size, functional features

• infrastructure needs - storm and waste water management, parking and traffic requirements, green and renewable energy features

• provincial and municipal permit requirements, zoning

• recommendations and next steps

We’re very excited about this research as it will be the first step in focusing the scope of the project. From here, the HHACF will be able to make informed decisions on subjects for more in-depth research.

The report is slated to be completed in March with a Celebration of Research happening on Saturday March 28th from 1-4pm at the Minden Hills Community Centre. All are welcome to attend. This report will also be made public and available via U-Link’s website.

With some time off for the team, it was shaping up to be a quiet summer for the HHACF. We met in July to plan the coming months, build a list of tasks and to discuss possible charitable status in the last quarter of 2019, with some likely back-and-forth with the application.

So, we were pretty shocked to receive this letter from the Canada Revenue Agency in mid-August. Pleasantly shocked, of course! In the span of three months since mailing in the application, we’re now officially a charitable organization.

This will definitely impact our plans over the next few months. Stay tuned for updates and follow-up announcements!

After a few months of writing and reviewing our bylaws, discussing our activities and proposing our methods of fundraising, we’ve completed our charitable application. It was dropped in the mail this morning.

Needless to say, gaining charitable status at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) means we will be unlocking the door to fundraising on a grand scale, which is just about the whole purpose of the HHACF.

The Foundation has got quite the journey ahead in fundraising the millions needed to build an arts centre in Haliburton County. But it will also be about bringing our arts community together to design and build a facility that not only meets today’s needs but looks forward to the years of growth ahead for our region.