Community grant program

Emily Cowan, Grants and Special Projects Coordinator for the County.

Organizations encouraged to apply for community grants

The municipality is offering grants of over $5,000 to eligible organizations based and offering services primarily within the geographical boundaries of Prince Edward County. An information session led by Emily Cowan, Grants and Special Projects Coordinator, was held at Shire Hall on Monday afternoon. Representatives from six different County organizations attended the meeting where Cowan described the eligibility criteria and application process. Eligible applicants must be a not-for-profit, community group or organization that provide services or programs in an accessible, open and inclusive manner. “There are a wide variety of groups that tend to come to us for community grants,” says Cowan. “There’s art and heritage, there’s health and human services, there’s youth. Basically community-oriented projects that need a bit of financial help to get the program off the ground, or to start a new program.”

This year’s application process has been delayed by about a month due to the municipal election. Typically about 15 to 17 groups will apply for the grants. Last year, 14 grants over $5,000 were awarded. Grants of less than that amount fall under the purview of The County Foundation, which has a separate application process. “There’s not an upper limit in writing, so I guess the sky’s the limit, depending on what your project is and what you need the money for,” says Cowan. “Typically it’s between five and 25 [thousand]. We’ve been asked for more in the past. Sophiasburgh Food Hub got $75,000 last year, and that was obviously a one-off project that required a larger amount of money.”

Cowan is anticipating that there may be less money available in 2019. “It’s hard to predict what council will decide in terms of how much money they are going to allocate to community grants,” she says. “I’m cognizant of the fact that the hospital build is going to be taking off next year, and funds have been promised to the Hospital Foundation for that, and the affordable housing project. There’s a lot going on, so it’s hard to anticipate if that is going to mean a smaller amount in the pot. We won’t know until they have their budget in January.”

Applications are judged on their merit and their value to the community. “I do believe one of the eligibility requirements is keeping in mind the community development strategic plan and, we would also imagine, the Vital Signs report,” says Cowan. “Anything that speaks to our biggest community issues. There is merit there, but art and heritage is very important to the community as well. It really depends on the makeup of council and what they believe the community needs.” There is an accountability process to ensure that the grant money is being spent for the purpose it was given.

One group seeking information about the grant application was Music at Port Milford (MPM), which provides intensive four-week summer camps focusing on chamber and choral music for young players 12 to 18 years old. They are offered a very high level of professional instruction and coaching, and they give back to the community by providing several free public concerts. Another group interested in the grant process is Friends of Community Schools. It is a registered charity and plans to offer low-cost or no-cost summer day camps to County children. There are some restrictions on what the grants can be used for. “Costs for major capital equipment, renovations and minor renovations is not eligible for community grants,” says Cowan.

The deadline for application is December 7. For more information about the community grants, please contact Emily Cowan at 613.476.2148 extension 2503, or by email at ecowan@pecounty.on.ca.