Alberta’s magazines are invested in their local communities. They care about local issues, and they give back to their community. This care can take many forms, from fundraising for community initiatives, to covering the issues that matter most, to sharing the charitable work of residents.

When wildfires spread through Jasper in July 2024, The Tomato Food & Drink publisher Mary Bailey knew she had to help. As someone directly invested in her community’s hospitality industry, she saw a side of the tragedy that is often overlooked  — the many hospitality workers whose homes and livelihoods were impacted. As described by the Edmonton Community Foundation (publishers of Thrive Magazine) in their impact report “Together We Are Resilient,” Mary partnered with community members Peter Keith (Muewly’s), Scott Downey (Butternut Tree) and Kaelin Whittaker (Awn Kitchen) to support these displaced hospitality workers. The group established the Jasper Hospitality Fund thanks to the ECF’s financial support, “providing $40,000 to help the hospitality sector recover.” 

Magazines are also supporting their communities with in-depth coverage of important local issues. The Sprawl tackles even the toughest of topics with their regular Calgary-specific content, on everything from “The Boom and Bust of Calgary’s Bike Lanes” to “The UCP’s Takeover of New School Land.”

And Avenue Calgary, perhaps best known for their Top 40 and Best Restaurant coverage, is rallying support for their Community Story Fund, which “provides a way for local organizations and community members to directly support the development of coverage in the magazine on important issues.” “A Silent Violence” — the first story developed as a result of the fund, with the support of The Calgary Foundation — addresses intimate partner violence in the city. The goal of the fund is to support issues “thoughtfully, critically and through a solutions-focused lens, highlighting the Calgarians who work to improve life here and build the city of the future.”

There’s no shortage of stories from magazines supporting fundraising efforts in their community. In fact, Leap magazine is an entire publication dedicated to promoting the Alberta Cancer Foundation, with stories like “The Drive to Help” sharing one man’s impressive volunteering and support with programs such as Wheels of Hope and the Enbridge Tour Alberta for Cancer. And airdrielife profiled Stephen’s Backpacks Society — an organization inspired by five-year-old Stephen McPhee — in their story “Long-time Airdrie charity finds creative way to raise funds” to help spread the word about the local initiative. 

Pick up any Alberta magazine and chances are good you’ll learn something about a local charity or cause!