BARRHEAD - County of Barrhead councillors accepted the policy committee's recommendation and tweaked the municipality's community grants policy (Policy AD-002) during their Aug. 15 meeting.
The policy, which has been in place since February 2021, allows eligible community organizations to receive up to $2,500 in funding that can go towards a project or event that benefits county residents.
The program is capped at $15,000 annually, with funding coming from the recreation organizational reserve.
To be eligible for a community grant, groups must be a registered non-profit society, charitable organization, volunteer group or service club that provides services within or that are readily accessible to county residents. Groups must also be in good standing with the municipality and can demonstrate the grant will be used for a project, service, structure or event.
Ineligible groups include political parties or other politically affiliated organizations, government agencies or initiatives funded by different levels of government, for-profits, organizations with a closed membership and organized sports teams.
Applicants have up to one year to spend the funds and once their project is completed, must submit a final report to council.
Since the program's start, council has received 18 applications, 14 of which were approved, totalling $27,550. So far, in 2023, council has approved five applications, totalling $9,750.
County manager Debbie Oyarzun said one of the changes the committee recommended is to give council the authority to potentially exclude any group or organization from future grant eligibility that did not submit a final report upon project completion.
"The intent was to put some teeth behind the final report requirement and still give council some flexibility in granting future funding," she said.
Oyarzun added that the committee also suggested deleting the requirement for groups to demonstrate a "need for the funds" and that the organization was financially viable.
"They were not sure how to assess that, so why include it?" she said.
Oyarzun noted the committee wanted to limit what grant funds could be used for.
"The committee did not want organizations to use the grant money to pay for gifts to presenters or attendees," she said.
Coun. Walter Preugschas asked if the committee discussed limiting the location of an eligible project or where an organization is based, concerned that a group could potentially receive a community grant for something not meant to benefit county residents.
He said under the policy, to be eligible, a group or organization must be accessible to County of Barrhead residents.
That could mean an organization could plan to host an event anywhere if it was open to the public, using Linaria, Rich Valley and Edmonton as examples.
Oyarzun said the committee did discuss the potential of limiting organizations to those based in the county, but they dismissed it.
"The intent when we drafted the policy was to recognize that organizations often partner or host events in the town. Or it could be a town organization putting something open to county residents," she said.
Deputy reeve Mavin Schatz said the recent Blue Heron Fair Days, the Pumpkin Walk, the Barrhead Street Festival and the Barrhead Community Garden all received community grant funding.
"All of them are in the Town of Barrhead, but county residents are encouraged to attend," he said.
Reeve Doug Drozd interjected that they did not need to add any other protections against what Preugschas had suggested.
"It is covered in the policy statement, which says 'the county recognizes the contribution and value local groups make in supporting the culture, diversity, social well-being of the community.’"
