Northern Credit Union (Northern) – in partnership with some of Canada’s top athletes – is launching a new crowdfunding website, TrueNorthStrong, to raise money for worthwhile projects in the 
communities Northern serves.
“Crowdfunding” is a new and popular method of fundraising where a large number of people each contribute a small amount of money to reach a fundraising goal. In this case, Northern’s goal is to showcase and support charitable campaigns in communities across Northern Ontario.
“Corporate social responsibility is a cornerstone of Northern’s True North Strong philosophy,” says Al Suraci, Northern’s CEO. “Our new crowdfunding website allows our members and other visitors to donate to a range of campaigns they care about, generate new fundraising ideas, and learn more about Northern’s unique delegate governance system.”
The project is being launched with two campaigns. Sault Ste Marie’s hometown heroes Ryan Fry, E.J. Harnden and Ryan Harnden from Team Jacobs, Canada’s Olympic gold medal-winning curling team, are raising money for the Northern Ontario Curling Association, while the Marcoux Brothers, a gold and bronze-winning Paralympic alpine ski team, are supporting Parasport Ontario’s Ready Willing and Able program. This initiative allows athlete ambassadors with disabilities to share their inspirational stories with school communities and other local organizations.
To kick off the project, over the next week Northern is committed to matching all funds raised up to $3,000 for each of the two campaigns.
“Empowering people with physical disabilities by helping them realize their full potential is something that’s very close to my heart, which is why my brother BJ and I are so proud to promote this exciting new crowdfunding initiative,” says Mac Marcoux. “We’re delighted to work with Northern to make a difference in the True North Strong communities we call home.”