The City of Swift Current will now have some official support from the surrounding community members in pursuing a new Aquatic Centre.

The brand new Southwest Facility Foundation is comprised of individuals who live in southwest Saskatchewan and feel that it's time to build the new centre now rather than later.

Their goal is to raise $8 million over the course of a decade, which would help cut the fat off the cost of a new aquatic centre which is estimated now to cost between $43 and $48 million. Pending that the City is approved for the federal government's 'Green and Inclusive' grant program, that will also help eat a portion of the cost. The City roughly expects to spend $25 million on the project.

That additional $8 million would help tip the scales for federal approval, showing strong community support for the facility.

One of the board members for the Southwest Facility Foundation is Jim Jones, who is also the Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Swift Current. He and others will be heading up the efforts to generate community support.

"Basically, what we're going to do is have like-minded people approach people and ask them if they would make contributions to the Facility Foundation that would have an escalating dollar amount that we would eventually provide to the City to pay for the municipal portion of any grant that we would get," is how Jones broke down their modus operandi.  

This kind of organization has been proven to help with grant approval. Assiniboia and Warman are both examples of medium-sized communities that, through the support of community fundraising foundations, were approved for grants enabling them to build their facilities.

Part of the reason why Jones and other board members are determined to help generate the capital needed to get the new Aquatic Centre built is the vast amount of benefit it brings to the community. Not only will it have a pool for swimming, but it would have slides for children and young adults to enjoy, as well as a lazy river that could serve as a therapy option for individuals needing physical rehabilitation.

"All of that kind of stuff brings kids there who want to swim," said Jones. "So that's what our desire would be if we could possibly do it, and if we're lucky enough to get the dollars to help support us on it, then we'll carry on and see what we can do. That's why it's important that we have a community fundraising group that can support some of this."

Jones himself has some experience with getting these facilities built back when he worked in Leduc, Alberta. Jones, who was employed there almost 10 years ago, helped to secure the funds and grants needed to build the Aquatic Centre they continue to enjoy to this day.

"We did pretty much the same thing there," said Jones. "A lot of it was just generating community, going to ask them personally. Traditionally I said if you were to come and ask me for money if I knew you, it's a lot easier for me to give you money because I trust you and I want to be associated with you as opposed to just doing a cold call where you would send an e-mail. It's too easy to push delete or not ever reply to it. But if you know somebody that's making the ask, and you respect them, then that can get you into the door with the person."

The Southwest Facility Foundation isn't blind to the idea that the City may not be approved for an Aquatic Centre, which is why they have not solely committed themselves to that possibility. They have a backup option for the funds raised to be used by the City to construct a fieldhouse, offering a location for indoor tournaments and other sporting ventures. If they do manage to tackle the Aquatic Centre first, they will be pursuing support for a fieldhouse as the next project on their agenda.

"When the group gets out and starts fundraising, we didn't want to get into the position where people were holding swimming against soccer, or swimming against indoor sports or anything like that," said Jones. "We wanted them to say, OK, our first priority is an Aquatic Centre, but once we get to that point, then I said we'll be looking at a fieldhouse. Those were the two main ones."

Currently, the Foundation has yet to begin going around seeking support in donations. They are first attempting to qualify for non-profit status, enabling any contributions made to the Foundation to be eligible as a tax write-off.

"There's a lot of community groups like the Broncos and Elmwood Golf Course that would have people that would donate to the City," said Jones. "The City can provide that tax relief, and then the City just ends up at one of the council meetings. We'll make a donation back to that group that they wished it for, Elmwood or the Broncos or whoever. We can do it as well. This makes it nice and tighter if it's done with the Facility Foundation."

The $8 million raised wouldn't need to be completed before the construction began. If they managed to get the ball rolling beforehand, that is fine, but they are trying to really generate funds that will go directly into construction costs as they occur.