Grant-in-Aid

Whereas s. 263(1)(c) of the Local Government Act allows local governments to provide assistance for the purpose of benefiting the community, the Municipality of North Cowichan will maintain an annual program to award community grant funding to eligible non-profit societies operating within the Municipality.

Following policy established by the Municipal Council, the Committee of the Whole will consider grant requests under the categories of tourism, economic development, social services, sports groups, and arts and culture, and will make funding recommendations to Council.

Grant Categories

Grants-in-Aid are categorized as follows:

  • Tourism
  • Economic Development
  • Social/Environmental Services
  • Sports Groups (including associated travel for events)
  • Arts and Culture

Grants can be used for capital, operating or one-off special event purposes. 

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must meet the following mandatory eligibility criteria:

  • are located in the Municipality of North Cowichan, or alternatively, provide a service which primarily benefits the residents of the Municipality of North Cowichan;
  • can demonstrate sound financial and administrative management;
  • can demonstrate a financial need;
  • are in compliance with all relevant Municipality of North Cowichan bylaws; and
  • are registered as a society under the BC Society Act, or as an association under the Cooperative Association Act.

Only applicants that meet the mandatory eligibility criteria listed above will be advanced to the evaluation stage.

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 primarily serve North Cowichan residents.

Assistance towards travel expenses for youth teams may 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.

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

Application Process

Grants-in-Aid must be applied for each year.  Completed applications must be received by October 15 of each year, or the next business day if this falls on a weekend.

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

  • completed grant application, including:
    • the name and address of the organization;
    • the name of the primary contact person;
    • the amount of financial assistance being requested;
    • a clear description of the project or event for which funding is requested;
  • all requested supporting documentation, including:
    • financial statements;
    • project budget (if applicable);
  • disclosure of all sources of assistance previously received from the Municipality such as, but not limited to, cash grants, assistance in-kind, building or rental accommodation or permissive tax exemption; and
  • a description of how the previous year’s grant money was spent (if a grant was received).

Evaluation Criteria

Applicants who have met the mandatory eligibility criteria will be evaluated under the following three categories:

  • Program/Project Quality & Merit
  • Organizational Effectiveness & Capacity
  • Community Engagement & Impact

The detailed criteria and scoring weights in each category are outlined in Appendix A of the Grant-in-Aid Policy.

Budget

The Municipality’s grant budget will be set in accordance with the establishment of the Financial Plan. The Committee of the Whole will meet in October of each year to discuss each grant application and will subsequently make recommendations to Council regarding which grants should be approved and the amount to be approved, prior to the adoption of the annual budget. Grants-in-Aid are always subject to funding availability. All applicants will be notified of the meeting at which their applications will be considered and of the disposition of their requests.

Late Applications

Council may allocate Grant-in-Aid funding in the budget for extraordinary requests received during the calendar year (e.g. one-time grant applications).

Payment

No Grants-in-Aid will be disbursed until after the adoption of the Financial Plan (after May 15 yearly).  All approvals will be considered on a year-to-year basis and continuing support should not be anticipated.

Council reserves the right to place conditions on the awarding of any grant including the provision that it may not disburse the grant funds until appropriate evidence (e.g. 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.

Application Forms

Fillable and printable version of the Grant-in-Aid Application and Policy

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