‘500 Club’ closes campaign with $75,000 in charity donations

Charities from across Saskatchewan have received more than $75,000, thanks to The 500 Club.

The 500 Club was created to encourage Saskatchewan residents who weren’t struggling to donate their $500 Saskatchewan Affordability Tax Credit cheques to a charity of their choice. The pledge campaign closed in December.

All told, the campaign saw $75,075 pledged to 97 different charities by 147 separate donors.

Nicole Berg, one of the group’s co-founders, said she’s very happy with the end result, and noted that most donors gave the entire $500. Pledges ranged from $100 to $1,000, she added.

“We always encouraged people to give what they could,” Berg said.

Charities that addressed food insecurity received the most money, Berg said. Food banks in major centres such as Saskatoon, Regina, North Battleford and Prince Albert received over a third of the campaign’s money, with the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre getting just shy of $10,000.

“It captured the spirit of the campaign,” Berg said.

The 500 Club had a lofty goal of raising $1 million for charity when it was first created, but Berg said she’s happy to see the generosity from those around the province who gave whatever they could.

Berg said she is open to running another similar campaign if the provincial government chooses to send out another round of affordability cheques.