THUNDER BAY — The local Crimes Stoppers office is seeking help from the Thunder Bay Police Services Board (TBPSB) to raise awareness about its donation troubles.
Solade Nicol, chair of Thunder Bay Crime Stoppers, held a deputation with the TBPSB on Tuesday on the organization's tough financial position.
The non-profit tip line service provides the Thunder Bay Police Service with a useful tool to help solve crimes with a small board of four volunteers.
“That's why we are pitching out to the community and to those who are interested in the organization or the program to support us financially. It would be very hard of an ending to see Crime Stoppers fade away in Thunder Bay or the district. We don't want that to happen,” said Nicol.
Karen Machado, chair of the Thunder Bay Police Service Board, said the impact of losing the organization would put people affected by crime in a difficult situation.
“I want to emphasize the value and vital service Crime Stoppers provides to the community and encourage community members to support the organization.” said Machado.
Nicol told the board they do not get federal or provincial funding and have to rely solely on donations from members of the public.
“Presently, we are in a difficult situation in terms of finance,” he said.
He stated that their operations take a lot of resources, including insurance and workspace.
Because of the high cost of keeping the service open, Crime Stoppers struggles to cover the cash rewards they offer in exchange for tips that help solve a crime.
Nicol told Newswatch that the organization has seen increasing competition with other not-for-profit organizations for donations over the last few years.
“There are so many things going on in Thunder Bay. And you have Crime Stoppers, you have so many other organizations, people would prefer to support so many other organizations,” said Nicol.
Machado said that the TBPSB has a good working relationship with Crime Stoppers, and committed to helping get the message out to the public.
She also said the board could help with a donation of their own. However, the board did not put forth a motion to donate funds during this meeting.
“We do have what's called our special fund, and it's kind of proceeds from crime that the police service gets. So we can allot money, and we do a lot for different things, so there are some supports that we can offer financially,” said Machado.
In the meantime, Nicol said he isn’t going to “sit back and relax.”
Nicol said Crimestoppers will be initiating a donation campaign in the coming months; however, he couldn’t provide details on what that campaign will look like at this time.
For now, he said people can go to the Thunder Bay Crime Stoppers website or email them directly to donate.
