LAC LA BICHE - Non-profit organizations feeling the pinch of COVID are eligible for a little financial relief — a thousand dollars at a time — with a new program being offered through Lac La Biche County.
Incorporated non-profits based in Lac La Biche County that have either faced unexpected expenditures due to pandemic protocols, or lost revenues due to COVID-related changes are now eligible to apply for a piece of a $70,000 COVID-19 relief fund being administered by the municipality. Each application will have a thousand dollar maximum.
"We know there have been many community groups that have faced hardships due to COVID," says Lac La Biche County's Grants and Community Funding Co-ordinator Carl Kurppa, who drew up the new policy to assist the groups.
The funds come from existing municipal funding that was approved in the 2020 budget which had been ear-marked for event sponsorship.
"... but with COVID, they can't have their event — and then have challenges with their fundraising," said Kurppa.
The idea is to use the $70,000 to assist as many groups as possible, said Kurppa, suggesting that groups normally not regular fixtures for municipal grant assistance would take precedent — but all incorporated not-for-profits offering continuous programming would be eligible to apply.
Owl River area councillor Sterling Johnson was pleased to hear that specific criteria was in place for the new program. The councillor initially feared the fund would draw too wide a range of groups looking for a handout.
"I just don't want to give every organization a thousand dollars in our community," he said, in defence of the public purse.
The new program will have accountability factors worked in, says Lac La Biche Mayor Omer Moghrabi, explaining that representatives of groups requesting the funding will have to be incorporated societies, show how the COVID pandemic has affected their revenues or expenses, and prove that they offer continuous services to the community.
With all of council approving the new program, applications can be accepted immediately. Depending on the demand — and if more than one round of application intakes occurs — councillors say some organizations may be able to request multiple allocations, based on a case-by-case basis, and only if they meet the requirements.
Councillor Lorin Tkachuk likes the program, and suggested that depending on how the COVID-19 global pandemic affects events and organizations for 2021, it may have to be re-visited next year.
In the coming days, municipal administrators are expected to cement deadlines for applications to the program and advertise how groups can submit their applications.
