Grant and Funding Programs Offered by RK Nursing Home Foundation

The RK Nursing Home Foundation is a community-based charitable foundation dedicated to supporting the RK MacDonald Nursing Home in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Incorporated on 9 August 1994, it grew out of the earlier “Friends of the RK Society” and has since raised close to one million dollars. The Foundation’s purpose is to raise and manage funds from pledges, gifts, planned giving, fundraising activities and memorial donations, and to direct these resources to capital expenditures, equipment purchases and other non-operating needs that are not covered by government or regular operating budgets.

Rather than offering open-call grant programs to the general public, the Foundation acts as an internal funding body for resident-focused projects at the RK MacDonald Nursing Home. Monies raised are applied to projects brought to the Foundation Board’s attention, with a clear emphasis on initiatives that enrich residents’ comfort, safety, mobility and social engagement.

The primary beneficiaries of the Foundation’s funding are the residents of the RK MacDonald Nursing Home. Over the past three decades, its support has enabled projects such as construction of the RK Pavilion, dementia-friendly healing and sensory gardens, a family room, a memorial garden and a gazebo. The Foundation has also purchased wheelchairs, walkers, recliner chairs, mechanical lift slings, Easy Lift Chairs, blanket warming units, curtains, furniture, physical aids and equipment that enhance daily living.

Cultural and recreational initiatives are also funded, including arts and music programs, horticulture projects, field trips to local sites such as Keppoch, and visits from entertainers. These investments go beyond basic care to foster a home-like atmosphere and fuller participation in community life.

The Foundation relies on several mechanisms to generate and deploy funds. Its flagship initiative is the annual Lights of Love campaign, run each November and culminating in a December ceremony. Donors purchase symbolic lights on the RK MacDonald Christmas tree at different contribution levels, with proceeds dedicated each year to a specific project, such as a Four Seasons sunroom/greenhouse, a dementia-friendly garden or “Resident Mobility Companions” that allow residents to enjoy outings in the community.

In addition, the Foundation encourages planned giving through wills, gifts of cash, securities and life insurance, offering charitable tax receipts and estate-planning benefits. These gifts are managed by a volunteer Board drawn from Antigonish Town and County, which oversees finance and investment, fundraising and public relations, and allocates funding to eligible internal projects aligned with the home’s mission.

The Board of Directors typically meets monthly from September to June and operates through committees focused on fundraising, finance and communications. Directors serve staggered terms and are recruited from the local community, ensuring that funding decisions reflect residents’ needs and community priorities. The Foundation maintains an office within the RK MacDonald Nursing Home and invites inquiries about its mandate and opportunities to support its work through donations or volunteer service.