For several years now, the Town has followed a process for awarding grants to Community organizations. Requests must be submitted by the end of October, an opportunity is provided to make a presentation to Council – basically to sell the idea – Council sets a budget total to be distributed, then the budget amount is allocated to lucky organizations. In 2018 there were 24 requests for community grants for $77K from the 2019 budget and 18 were approved for a total of $51K. In 2019, 30 applicants asked for $143K with 26 awarded for $49.5K. But in this Covid-19 era, only 10 applicants asked for $32K. All 10 applicants wanted to present to Council but at the last minute, one was not able to be on the Zoom call.
Two applicants asked for support for events they would be having in 2021 but were not sure that this would be possible – it would depend on the Covid-19 situation. Another didn’t say but their events depend on Victoria Park being fully open.
The meeting was scheduled to last an hour so presentations were short – 5 minutes maximum. There were no decisions made at the meeting – the budget meetings starting Tuesday will set a budget and a later meeting would decide how that was allocated.
Community Grant Requests
| Organization | Presenter | Description | Amount Requested |
| Ecology Garden | Dora Body | Garden Maintenance | $2,314 |
| Cobourg Museum Foundation | Mary Dunphy | Tax Forgiveness Hire of Student 4 Tablets & Stands for Displays |
$4,300 $2,000 $2,000 |
| Lawn Bowling Club | Donna | Parking Passes – cannot operate without them! | In Kind – no dollar value |
| Victoria Hall Volunteers | Leona Woods | Rental of Vic Hall and Citizen’s Forum * | In Kind – $5,000 |
| Cobourg and District Historical Society | Leona Woods | Rental of Citizen’s Forum * | In Kind – $1,516 |
| New Ventures Band | Glenn Bailey | Shortfall on Hall rental | $4.000 |
| Les Amis | Michael Pepa and Ken Prue | Support of live concerts | $3,000 |
| La Jeunesse Choirs | Denise Raymond (was not on Zoom) | Subsidize 2 – 4 children | $3,000 |
| 89.7 FM | David Newland | Summer Concerts * | $800 in kind + $1,500 cash |
| S.O.N.G. | Trish Dryden | Support program | $2,500 |
| Total | $31,930 |
* Depends on Victoria Hall and Victoria Park being open.
Stay tuned for more on the Town’s budget.
Links
- Council chooses community grants for 2020 – 9 January 2020
- Grant requests well over budget – requests for 2020 – 24 November 2019
- Community Grants Approved for 2019 – 14 March 2019
- Town’s Page about Community Grants
Addendum – 15 December 2020
Although Community Service submitted their request for a grant on time, they made their presentation and request for $10K at a following Council Meeting on December 14. They want the $10K to help them expand their service in Cobourg.
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