Saskatchewan manufacturer, SeedMaster, is establishing a philanthropic foundation to mark its 10th anniversary.

The foundation, Social Entrepreneurship by Design, invites community fundraising groups in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta and the U.S. Midwest to apply for grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.

“Instead of just applying SED money to a fundraiser’s bottom line, the funds will be used in an entrepreneurial way that helps generate even more money for their charitable cause than they’d originally imagined,” said SeedMaster marketing manager Cory Beaujot in a release.

“We want to encourage community fundraising groups to dream bigger about the possibilities they can achieve by using SED funds to make more money for their projects.”

For example, one rural Saskatchewan volunteer fire department used its SED grant to bring in a comedy performance as a fundraiser.

SeedMaster is committing $100,000 annually to SED, and expects to fund up to 20 fundraising projects each year. The company plans to invite other businesses and organizations to support the foundation by becoming Gold SED with donations of $10,000 each to benefit as many communities as possible.

More information on how the program works and how communities can apply can be found at: www.seedmaster.ca/sed.