Call it a sign of the times.

Victoria residents will soon have the opportunity to make a donation toward their cityB次元官网网址檚 capital projects, if a new legacy fund gets the green light from city council.

While endowment funds are typically directed to a social service or centre for the arts, the proposed Shape Your Future Legacy Fund will direct citizen donations to such projects as bike lanes, playgrounds or bus shelters.

B次元官网网址淚n the long term we could use this fund to build a new swimming pool, or do anything that citizens want to do,B次元官网网址� said Coun. Lisa Helps.

She is scheduled to introduce the idea to council at its governance and priorities committee meeting tomorrow (July 19).

At a time when the city faces an infrastructure deficit of approximately $500 million, the fund could help the city achieve the types of things that improve quality of life, freeing up money to deal with necessary infrastructure projects, such as sewers and roads.

If council approves the fund B次元官网网址� alongside a $7,500 contribution B次元官网网址� it would likely be the first in Canada. It could prove to be the new frontier of philanthropy as municipalities across North America find creative ways to deal with crumbling infrastructure and declining revenues.

Whether Victoria residents will have an appetite to donate is another question. Taxpayers have come to expect their tax dollars will pay for the types of projects that this legacy fund targets.

B次元官网网址淚t may very well have some appeal, but itB次元官网网址檚 hard to say,B次元官网网址� said Sandra Richardson, CEO of the. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 perhaps not as appealing (as other endowment funds), but if you think about all the wonderful things that are in the city and if people think B次元官网网址榤y goodness, the city canB次元官网网址檛 afford to do this, maybe if I left something of my estate, the Crystal Pool could continue to exist.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

When Richardson first heard of the idea, she called Helps and offered to partner with the city to manage the fund.

The Victoria Foundation has offered $7,500 on condition the city matches the contribution.

People could make a small monthly donation, or make a large one-time donation, Helps said.

Crystal Pool, she pointed out, was built thanks to a legacy from the McPherson family. Today, the pool is nearing the end of its serviceable life, but the city has no funds allocated to replace the facility. A new campaign through the Legacy Fund could put donations to work to build its replacement.

Embracing this type of fund will take an attitude of ownership, said Richardson.

B次元官网网址淚t should be more about B次元官网网址業f this is our community, how do we keep it to be this beautiful, vibrant community?B次元官网网址� Funding in all three government sectors has really been pushed back, so it does cause people to say, B次元官网网址榟ow can we work differently?B次元官网网址� It will be quite interesting to see the result of this.B次元官网网址�

rholmen@vicnews.com