Community groups and individuals looking for financial support from the City of Cold Lake will soon have to go through their Community Grant Advisory Committee.
The bylaw creating the committee that will review grant applications from the public and make recommendations to council was a topic at the table during Cold Lake's corporate priorities meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 19.
CAO Kevin Nagoya said the purpose of the group is to receive applications and delegations, and based on their criteria, determine if the organization's request satisfies the grant policy.
The committee would be made up of two councillors, two members at large, and two youth.
“That was interesting to us. It appeared that a few communities wanted to try to get a different age demographic at the table, helping to make some of these decisions,” expressed Nagoya.
Including youth in the committee was a smart move, Coun. Chris Vining said.
“I like the idea of having a position held for youth members… I think that has some promise. It’s a road we haven’t gone down before, which I think has some merit."
Vining had expressed interest in creating a grant advisory committee during their Dec. 11, 2018 meeting as a way of addressing the high number of financial support requests the municipality receives.
On Jan. 8, council instructed administration to prepare a policy that would establish the Community Grant Advisory Committee.
Although the bylaw and policy for the committee is a work in progress, Nagoya said they wanted to get some feedback from council on the direction they were heading.
Under the current bylaw, the group would meet on a monthly basis, however, application deadlines would be quarterly.
Council is considering requiring applications to be submitted at least 60 days before the event, "to allow for appropriate time for consideration by council," Nagoya detailed.
Currently, "we're trying to do things one week to the next," added Nagoya.
"This would be something we would have to educate the public about, that they won't get a grant if they're within that 60-day window."
There are seven streams of funding under the new policy, including the development grant.
"The purpose of this is to encourage and support new recreation and culture programs in the community," explained Nagoya.
Groups can obtain a maximum of $2,000 through this option.
"There's the community event grant, (which is) to support diverse and comprehensive recreation and culture events, or tournaments within the city," continued Nagoya.
Up to $2,500 is available for eligible organizations under that stream.
Nagoya expanded, "These events must bring significant economic benefit to the community, enhance the quality of life for the citizens of Cold Lake, contribute to the culture richness of the community, and create affordable entertainment."
The major community event category is the next step up and is available to groups looking for funding for an event that will enhance the profile and visibility of Cold Lake.
Under the travel grant, teams or individuals can seek up to $500 for one person or $1,000 for a team to assist in participating in athletic or cultural events. They must qualify to compete on a provincial, national, or international level in order to receive money.
No more than $1,000 is available under the equipment grant, which helps new or existing non-profit organizations in Cold Lake in repairing or purchasing equipment needed to run existing or future programs.
The city will match up to $750 for an individual or $2,000 for an organization through the leadership grant. The purpose of this funding is to assist with the development of coaches, officials, and cultural group leaders who are interested in upgrading their skills and knowledge for the greater benefit of the organization and community. In order to be eligible, the training clinic or opportunity must be offered within Cold Lake.
For the applicants that don't fall under any of these categories, the committee will have an 'other funding and goodwill request' option.
Some of these streams are already available, but are currently being managed by council.
Nagoya noted some "tweaks" have been made to the grant policy guidelines, but for the most part, they're fairly similar.
Over the years, the city has funded a wide-range of events and organizations from fundraisers to sporting tournaments. Administration is hoping this new framework will create some guidelines for the committee when it comes to distributing money.
Each category will have its own budget. What that will look like hasn't been decided at this point.
Council agreed that any requests exceeding $10,000 would be automatically directed to council, not the committee.
After a few adjustments suggested by council are made, administration will bring the bylaw and policy to a meeting for further review.
