Edmonton Community Foundation

Public service is a career built on showing up for others. The Al Maurer Awards are a way to invest in the people who do that work every day.

Established in honour of long-time City of Edmonton City Manager Al Maurer, the awards support permanent public service employees in the Edmonton area pursuing a certificate, diploma, degree, or professional designation — with priority given to those whose studies will strengthen their work in the public sector.

Applications open June 1 and close September 30.

Learn more & apply: https://ow.ly/YmU350Z8e2Z

The Don and Norine Lowry Awards for Women of Excellence are closing soon!

These awards of up to $6,000 support Edmonton women of all ages pursuing studies in energy, business, IT, healthcare, engineering, safety and more — who lead in their field and give back to their community.

Deadline: May 31 at 4:30pm.

Learn more and apply: https://ow.ly/phN750YV8Si

Earlier this year, we joined Chúng Ta Cùng Nhau for a special Lunar New Year episode of The Well Endowed Podcast exploring what it means to carry refugee stories forward and preserve family histories across generations.

As we mark Asian Heritage Month and Leave a Legacy Month this May, we're revisiting that conversation — featuring Vietnamese-Edmontonians Linh Vu of Mãi Mãi - Viet Street Kitchen and David Thao Nguyen of AGNT, alongside co-founders Lindork - Linda Hoang and Jessica Truong.

Listen to the podcast now and explore more by visiting their exhibit, Where We Came From (and where we go from here) — open select dates until June 6th at ArtsHub Creative Studios.

Learn more: https://ow.ly/1BAy50Z3qpn

When the Autism Independent Living Association - AILA Edmonton identified cooking as a skill their members needed to live more independently, they didn’t just create a program — they built a community.

Thanks to an ECF Community Grant, AiLA launched cooking classes for autistic adults, teaching practical life skills while connecting participants with each other.

ECF also helped set up a partnership with Edmonton Public Library, securing free kitchen space at the Stanley A. Milner Library, stretching the grant further and expanding the program from six classes to eight.

This work shows what’s possible when organizations, spaces, and support come together around a shared goal.

Read Independence Through Cooking in the Spring 2026 issue of Thrive:

https://ow.ly/3SWU50Z0oxE