MINOT, N.D. – Mouse River Park All Faiths Chapel in Tolley received new windows partially funded by a Rural Development Finance Corporation (RDFC) grant matched by SRT Communications.
RDFC awarded a $500 grant to Mouse River Park All Faiths Chapel in 2021, which SRT matched with an additional $500 donation. The chapel used the funds to install new replacement windows – an upgrade that enhances the building’s appearance and helps to insulate it against North Dakota weather.
The chapel provides a community space for services, community meetings, family gatherings, and entertainment. Special functions include women’s bible study every Monday and a Christmas Eve mass every year. Local residents donated quilts and blankets for each pew to keep congregants warm during the late-night holiday service.
Shawna Atwood, Secretary/Treasurer and Board member of the chapel, grew up two miles from where it stands today. She recalls her father and other area neighbors supporting the idea of having a chapel by the park. In 1992 the chapel was moved from Greene, North Dakota, to its current home on the east end of Mouse River Park.
SRT is among the North Dakota rural telecommunication and electric cooperatives that are members of RDFC. A nonprofit finance and development corporation, RDFC provides funding for economic development and diversification projects in rural North Dakota. Applications are submitted to RDFC; if approved, funds are matched 100% by SRT.
“SRT appreciates the rural towns throughout our service area. We gladly match RDFC funding for projects that help our local communities thrive,” said Kristi Miller, SRT Board President.
SRT Communications, headquartered in Minot, North Dakota, is the state’s largest telecommunications cooperative. Established in 1951, SRT employs nearly 190 people and serves more than 48,000 customers across north central North Dakota. SRT is committed to bringing the benefits of fiber to rural and urban communities alike and earned the distinction as a Certified Gig-Capable Provider in 2017. Services include internet, phone, and security/surveillance systems for home and business.
The Rural Development Finance Corporation (RDFC) is a nonprofit corporation that encourages economic diversification and community vitality through the generation of funding that supports sustainable asset building. Funding for RDFC programs comes from fee income generated by Dakotas America LLC, a community development entity providing New Market Tax Credits in economically distressed census tracks across the United States. The North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives provides support to RDFC.
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