Community Futures Wild Rose Celebrates 35 years of service

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Community Futures Wild Rose has announced their 35th anniversary and is celebrating their dedication and service to the local communities they have served throughout their tenure. 

These communities include Wheatland County, Strathmore, Kneehill County, parts of Rocky View County, the City of Chestermere, Three Hills, and Bassano, as well as the villages of Acme, Beiseker, Carbon, Hussar, Irricana, Linden, Standard, and Trochu.

First established in 1989, Community Futures described themselves in a release as a cornerstone for economic development within the service region. 

Similarly, Community Futures has released that over the lifetime of the organization, they have facilitated over $36 million in loans and investments, benefiting 1,006 local businesses. Community Futures Wild Rose itself is a non-profit organization.

This financial support has not only fueled the growth of these businesses, but also played a role in their establishment and expansion. Community Futures credits itself with being involved in the creation of 7,586 jobs.

“Our 35-year journey is filled with countless success stories of local businesses flourishing with our support,” said Amber Link, who serves as board chair for Community Futures Wild Rose in a release. “As we celebrate this milestone, we reaffirm our commitment to fostering entrepreneurship and driving economic growth in our region.”

In addition to its direct investments, Community Futures Wild Rose has leveraged over $52 million in funding for the region, specifically for the purposes of economic growth and development.

The branch operating in and around Wheatland County is one of 268 offices throughout the country, and represents part of Canada’s largest economic development movement.

Community Futures Wild Rose is operated by a volunteer board of directors, largely consisting of local entrepreneurs and business owners. It actively works to foster competitiveness within its operational region. 

The organization’s approach to supporting local businesses includes offering loans to both new and existing small businesses as well as social enterprises, providing free business information and coaching, delivering entrepreneurial training, supporting community economic development projects, and assisting with strategic planning – primarily for non-profit organizations.

Via their release, Community Futures Wild Rose stated they take pride in its “myriad success stories, underscoring the flourishing small businesses that owe their existence to the loans and business coaching provided by the organization.”

They added the organization looks forward to continuing its mission of supporting local businesses and promoting economic growth within its local service region.

Community Futures Wild Rose did not respond to requests for comment beyond what was available for quotation via their distributed release.