Twenty-one community foundations, which are community-owned non-profit organisations, have raised GHc778,953 to fund various projects in different areas of the country to improve living standards. These foundations fall under the Ghana Community Foundations Development Project. The project seeks to increase awareness among members to play vital roles in building progressive communities to improve the lives of residents. The money, which was raised from September 2021 to December 2023, was invested in health, education, economic empowerment, youth development, water, and sanitation among others to enhance community development and livelihoods. Mr Habib Haruna, the Chief Executive Officer, of PureTrust Foundation LBG, implementers of the Ghana Community Foundations Development project, announced this during the fourth annual zonal forum of the foundations in Tamale. The forum was organised by the PureTrust Foundation LBG with support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation from Flint, USA. It was attende d by board members and management of the foundations, drawn from the northern and middle zones of the country. These were Ashanti, Bono East, Ahafo, Savannah, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, and North East regions. Participants discussed how to harness local resources for development projects as well as learn to comply with statutory requirements, among others. Mr Haruna said the project had contributed to improving teaching and learning in basic schools through the supply of textbooks, increased access to clean water through the construction and repair of broken-down boreholes, skills training for young women, and breast cancer screening among other things. 'Enhancing the capacity of Community Foundations in mobilising resources to undertake community development projects has been the priority of PureTrust Foundation LBG, hence the continued awareness on community giving for projects to safeguard livelihoods…', he said. Mr Albert Yamenu, an Auditor from Wayo Consult, who spoke on the topic: 'Managing Organisational Risk through Compliance with Statutory Requirements and Internal Control Procedures', called on leaders of the foundations to ensure their respective organisations complied with the laws and regulatory requirements. Mr Jeremy Maako Maaman, the Executive Director of Uhuru Creations from South Africa and an external consultant to the project, shared practical replicable experiences on local resource mobilisation. Madam Mamo Mohapi, Programme Officer at Charles Stewart Mott Foundation in charge of the Africa Region, commended PureTrust Foundation LBG, Ghana Philanthropy Forum and the Community Foundations for their commitment to promoting the concept in the country. 'I am really excited to see projects undertaken by the Community Foundations to bring about development and as a Foundation, we are committed to supporting the Community Foundations' development projects in Ghana to achieve the set goals,' she said. Martha Agandaa, Project Support Staff at PureTrust Foundation LBG, encouraged the l eaders to mobilise resources for developmental projects. Some of the participants expressed gratitude to Pure Trust Foundation LBG and partners for organising the forum, saying lessons learnt would go a long way to enhance their activities to bring about development. Source: Ghana News Agency