About our Fundraising
The Comox Valley has a rich heritage and agricultural history and strong sense of family and community. Nestled in between the communities of Courtenay and Comox and Campbell River is the three-acre Merville Hall site. The Merville Hall site offers a large community hall, two heritage buildings, and recreational space that are utilized by surrounding area residents for facility rentals and events – meetings, weddings, memorials, fairs and festivals, entertainment and sports.
Building on market research and an industry planning session with stakeholders, the Merville Community Association (MCA) Board has decided to build on its community mandate and expand the site to also become a tourist attraction with a heritage and ag-tourism theme.
Capital costs for the expansion are estimated to be $250,000 for:
- restoring two heritage buildings (church and church hall, built in 1915) to create additional space for facility rentals
- developing heritage storyboards to capture the rich history of the Merville, Tsolum and Black Creek areas and promote the ‘Land of Plenty’ origin and theme
- adding a pop-up retail space for events that will offer a ‘Taste of the Valley’ and showcase non-perishable product from surrounding area farms and food processors
- landscaping the greenspace with grass, flowers shrubs, trees and arbours
- creating a sustainable gardening operation with garden boxes and state-of-the-art energy and water features
- building a small timber frame shed to store antique farming equipment
- working with other halls to capitalize on strengths, develop niche markets and refer business to one another
- partnering with other groups to host educational and recreational programs
- collaborating with tourism business to host heritage and ag-tourism events
This expansion is anticipated to provide a number of benefits:
- providing an upgraded asset for the community to enjoy and that will appeal to youth, families and seniors
- creating additional revenue streams that will contribute to employment and economic development
- enhancing the site to become an attraction that will appeal to tourists that are heritage and wine & culinary enthusiasts
The MCA proposes to cover the capital cost by applying for government grants and undertaking a fundraising program.
Fundraising Program
Individuals, organizations and groups may give to the MCA through cash and contribution-in-kind.
Each level of giving is associated with a name (gumboot colour) and corresponding benefits.
The following diagram and table provide a summary of the fundraising levels and corresponding benefits.
| Gumboot Colour | Level | Recognition Benefits |
| White | $10,000 | Special recognition as a contributor, meeting room or stage naming opportunity, invite up to 10 people to the opening reception, commemorative gift, recognized on the fundraising wall and website, media exposure. |
| Red | $ 5,000 | Special recognition as a contributor, invitation for 8 people to the opening reception, commemorative gift, recognized on the fundraising wall and website, media exposure. |
| Orange | $ 2,500 | Special recognition as a contributor, invitation for 5 people to the opening reception, commemorative gift, recognized on the fundraising wall and website, media exposure. |
| Yellow | $ 1,000 | Special recognition as a contributor, invitation for 4 people to attend the opening reception, commemorative gift, recognized on the fundraising wall and website, media exposure. |
| Green | $ 500 | Special recognition as a contributor, invitation for 3 people to the opening reception, commemorative gift, recognized on the fundraising wall and website. |
| Blue | $ 250 | Special recognition as a contributor, invitation for 2 people to the opening reception, commemorative gift, recognized on the fundraising wall and website. |
| Violet | $ 100 | Special recognition as a contributor, invitation for 1 person to the opening reception, commemorative gift, recognized on the fundraising wall and website. |
| Black | Media Coverage | In return for interviewing largest donors: special recognition as a contributor, invitation for 2 people to the opening reception, commemorative gift, recognized on the fundraising wall and website. |
All fundraising contributors will be invited to join the MCA Facebook page and receive notice of upcoming events.
For those businesses that wish to provide contribution-in-kind, the following list itemizes the materials and supplies that are required:
Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment:
- Kitchen cabinets
- Kitchen appliances
Landscaping Supplies:
- Arbours
- Picnic tables
- Garden boxes
- Solar panels
- Heat pump
- Water reuse and collection system
- Composter
- Antique equipment
Building Supplies and Materials:
- Lumber
- Paint
- Cement
- Flooring
Celebration events:
- Gumboot lapel pins
Volunteers
The MCA is looking for partners to host special events that fit the heritage, agriculture, tourism and entertainment themes.
We also need volunteers to participate on committees that align with the foregoing themes and to work at events.
In Closing
The expanded Merville site will be a place to support community residents and to celebrate rich heritage and agricultural roots with tourists. The capital cost of enhancing the site builds on its current value ($1,250,000) and will provide a good return-on-investment with respect to developing additional revenue streams and employment that will contribute to economic development.
The MCA Board and Committees thank the community in advance for their support. Committees include volunteers in the following areas: fundraising, construction and landscaping, heritage, agriculture, tourism, retail, communications and advertising.
Inquiries regarding this project and fundraising program should be directed to Craig Freeman at 250-339-4249 and [email protected] .