Grant-In-Aid

The Municipality of North Cowichan maintains an annual program to award civic grant funding to eligible not-for-profit organizations operating in the District of North Cowichan. Municipal Council reviews applications for social services, tourism, economic development and travel. Eligibility criteria, types of grants and the process is detailed below.

Eligibility

Organizations will be considered for funding providing they:

• are located in the Municipality of North Cowichan and/or;

• provide a service which primarily benefits the residents of the Municipality of North Cowichan;

• demonstrate sound financial and administrative management;

• demonstrate a financial need; and

• adhere where applicable to all Municipality of North Cowichan bylaws and policies.

Grant requests from organizations providing a regional service, in the opinion of the Administration and Finance Committee, will be referred to the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD).

Types of Grants

Grants-in-aid will be categorized as follows:

• Tourism

• Economic Development

• General

• Sports Groups

Grants will not restrict in any way. They can be used for capital, operating or one-off special event purposes.

In some instances, assistance in cost-sharing capital improvements to facilities that are not located in North Cowichan may be considered, provided that these organizations serve North Cowichan residents. Assistance towards travel expenses for youth teams will be considered if they are representing North Cowichan at either a provincial and/or national championship level. Youths participating in individual sports at a provincial and/or national championship level may also be eligible.

Application Process

Applications of a recurring nature must be re-applied for each year. If the organization is completing a specific project using the requested funds, a copy of the project budget must also be provided. Completed applications must be received by February 15 of each year.

The following information must be provided in order for an organization to have its application considered:

• name and address of organization

• name of contact person

• specify the amount of financial assistance required

• description of the project or event for which funding is requested

• disclosure of all sources of assistance in-kind, building or rental accommodation or permissive tax exemption

Budget

The District of North Cowichan’s grant budget will be set in accordance with Council’s Financial Plan. Council meets every March to discuss each grant application prior to adoption of the annual budget and decides which grants should be approved and the amount to be approved. All applicants will be notified of the disposition of their requests.

Late Applications

Council may leave a contingency in the budget for extenuating circumstances that it deems appropriate in approving a grant request throughout the operating year, i.e., one-time grant applications.

Payment

No grants-in-aid will be paid until after adoption of the Financial Plan or prior to the collection of taxes in July. All payments are subject to the following:

• the term of grant shall be for one year (or less) only;

• applicants are advised that grants may not be continued from year to year; and

• renewals are not automatic nor is any increase to funds.

Council reserves the right to place conditions on the awarding of any grant including the provision that it will not disburse the grant funds until appropriate evidence (i.e., submission of receipts) is received that the funds have been expended for the intended purpose. Representatives of organizations may also be requested to attend a Council meeting to provide a narrative summary of how the funds were expended.

For more information, please contact:

Printable version of the Grant in Aid Application 

Microsoft Word Version - Grant In Aid Application