Pending council approval, non-profit and charity groups who received grants from the Town of Collingwood this year will get to keep the money provided they report back on how it gets used.
Annually the town gives out grants for community recreation and culture activities, and this year a committee awarded $47,500 in grants prior to the COVID-19 pandemic being declared.
Director of Parks, Recreation, and Culture (PRC) Dean Collver reported to the Corporate and Community Services Standing Committee on May 4 to provide information about the grants allocated and suggest the committee allow the organizations to keep the grant money, but use it in a different way.
“We felt it was going to be difficult to ask people to deliver on the promises they made in the grant application,” said Collver. “A lot of it had to do with programs that required gathering or physical engagement.”
The town - through a committee of citizens and PRC staff awarded 15 grants of $1,500 and 5 grants of $5,000.
Each organization was awarded the grant provided the project or event supported one of seven objectives, including intergenerational programs, active aging, youth involvement, learn-to programs, local and live music, cultural innovation, and collaboration.
Collver and his staff recommended the grant recipients be approved and permitted to retain their grant funds provided they be used to either help the organization survive and recover from the impacts of COVID-19, or be used for its intended purpose next year.
“They would either bank the money for next year or use the money for sustainability … as a way to help their organization stay afloat,” said Collver. “This is a time when people are just struggling, and not-for-profits are struggling to keep their head above water.”
Each recipient would still have to report back to the town on how the money was used.
If the organization saves the money for a festival or event next year, they would not be eligible to apply for the same grant in 2021.
The committee supported staff’s recommendation and the final decision will rest with the full council at its next meeting (scheduled for May 19).
The list of grant recipients this year includes
- Collingwood Climate Action Team
- Collingwood Minor Baseball
- Collingwood Skating Club
- Environment Network
- Free Spirit Gardens
- Gaslight Community Theatre
- Georgian Triangle Anglers Association
- Georgian Triangle Music Teachers’ Association
- Highlands Youth For Christ (The Door Youth)
- Nottawasaga Lighthouse Preservation Society
- Quarter Century Theatre
- South Georgian Bay Music Foundation
- The Port Music Festival
- Theatre Georgian Bay
- Voices of South Georgian Bay
- Breaking Down Barriers ($5,000)
- Collingwood Youth Centre ($5,000)
- Magic of Children in the arts ($5,000)
- The Rainbow Club ($5,000)
- Theatre Collingwood ($5,000)
You can read about last year's recipients here.
