Grant Policy

Salisbury, New Brunswick · adopted 2023-03-13

This is the exact embedded text of the captured official document. Snapshot 8b51c1b700df · verified 2026-06-07 · original document · archived snapshot · unofficial consolidation, the official version is held by the municipal clerk.

1. PURPOSE STATEMENT The purpose of this policy is to outline the evaluation and awarding criteria for grants offered by the Town of Salisbury. Community grants are offered annually by the Municipality for community initiatives and groups that are conducive to building a stronger community and/or that relate to the municipality's long- term strategic priorities. 2. DEFINITIONS "Applicant" means any group or individual submitting an application for any grant under this Policy; "Chief Administrative Officer" means the head of the municipal administration. The individual is the only employee who reports directly to Council "CAO"; "Clerk/Treasurer" means the employee appointed to oversee financial and accounting procedures and serve as the municipal Clerk, pursuant to section 74(1) and 76(1) of the Local Governance Act, SNB 2018, c.18.; "Council" means the Mayor and Councillors of the Town of Salisbury. 3. GRANTS OF $250 OR LESS Community grants valued at $250 can be requested at anytime throughout the year. Requests must be submitted through an online form and applicants must permit a minimum of two weeks for the request to be processed. POLICY Department: Administration GRANT POLICY Effective Date: March 13, 2023 Last Reviewed Date: February 19, 2023 Approval of the community grants of $250 or less are at the discretion of the Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer, or designates, while funds remain. The funds are dispersed on a first- come, first-serve basis. The municipality reserves at minimum $2000 from the annual grant budget for community grants of $250 or less. In the event of multiple requests in the same fiscal year from the same applicant, the applicant will not receive more than one donation under the Community Grant or Donation Valued at <$250 stream before June 30 of that calendar year in order to permit equitable access to the funds allocated for this purpose amongst the number of community groups seeking funding. The following is the standard information that is collected through the application process for this stream: - Applicant name(s) and contact information; - Amount of funding requested; - Purpose of request; - Benefit to the municipality; - How the municipality will be recognized for their contribution; - When the funding is needed by. The specific questions and format of the grant application are subject to amendments as needed by municipal administration insofar as the required information continues to be collected. 4. GRANTS OF $250 OR MORE In order to increase likelihood of available funding, community grants of $250 or more should be requested by September 30 for the following fiscal year (January 1 to December 31). In the event that September 30 falls on a Friday, applications will be accepted until the following working day (Monday). Grants valued at over $250 for one year are subject to approval from Council during budget deliberations. Municipal Administration is responsible for compiling all requests and recommending an appropriate amount of funding to include in the grant budget for the following fiscal year. Successful proponents are notified in December by the Clerk/Treasurer upon approval of the municipal budget. In the event of available funds in the grant budget throughout the year, groups may be successful in submitting requests outside of the application period. In this case, any grant exceeding $250 requires approval from Council. In accordance to Town Council's Regular Meeting schedule, applicants are encouraged to submit requests no later than 30 business days before funds are required. Sufficient time is required to Administration to evaluate the request, make a recommendation, and include it on the agenda for a subsequent Regular Council Meeting. All community grants valued at $250.00 or more must be submitted online using the Town's online grant application. While all applicants are encouraged to relate their request to the strategic pillars and priorities of the municipality, grant requests exceeding $1000 must address a core value or strategic priority of the municipality in order to receive funding. The following is the standard information that is collected through the application process for this stream: - Applicant name(s) and contact information; - Amount of funding requested; - Purpose of request; - Benefit to the municipality; - How the municipality will be recognized for their contribution; - When the funding is needed by; - Budget for project and/or request; - How the request meets strategic priorities or projects for the municipality (not required (but encouraged) for applications less than $1000.00); - If the grant is being requested for a specific quote or asset, a quote from the desired vendor. The specific questions and format of the grant application are subject to amendments as needed by municipal administration insofar as the required information continues to be collected. Recipients of grants of $250 or more must provide a written summary of how the funds were used upon completion of project. Failure to fulfill this requirement can lead to the group(s) no longer being eligible for future grant requests. 5. MULTI-YEAR GRANTS Organizations that request grants annually from the Town of Salisbury in excess of $1000 annually are encouraged to apply for multi-year grants. The following organizations are eligible for multi-year grants: - Not-for-profit organizations; - Businesses or associations furthering or partnering with the Town of Salisbury; - Community groups looking for in-kind support from the Town of Salisbury. The deadline for multi-year grant applications is August 30 of each year. In the event that August 30 falls on a Friday, applications will be accepted until the following working day (Monday). Applicants are limited to one multi-year grant application per fiscal year. Organizations may receive additional grants in the course of a year, but only one multi-year request can be submitted per year. Multi-year grants are evaluated on the return on investment for the municipality and how the organization's request aligns with the strategic priorities and pillars of the municipality. Applicants are urged to ensure they are familiar with the Town's Strategic Plan for the purposes of the application. Applicants are notified annually of multi-year grants in December, following budget deliberations. Upon receiving confirmation of a successful application, successful proponents will be required to: 1. Sign an agreement with the Town for the delivery of services contained in the application; 2. Provide the Town with By-laws of the organization and the most recent financial statements, where applicable; 3. Present annually on the activities of the organization for the duration of the agreement during a Regular Council Meeting. Failure to fulfill these requirements can lead to the group(s) no longer being eligible for future grant requests.The agreement signed with the organization(s) will also stipulate the requirement(s) of the organization and should these not be met, funding is subject to be revoked for future fiscal years. The following is the standard information that is collected through the application process for this stream: - Applicant name(s) and contact information; - Amount of funding requested; - Organizational overview; - Detailed description and overview of the purpose of request; - Benefit to the municipality; - How the municipality will be recognized for their contribution; - When the funding is needed by; - How the request meets strategic priorities or projects for the municipality; - 1-2 letters of community support; - Additional information as deemed necessary for the purposes of evaluation, which may include: balance sheets, business plan, income projections, annual report(s), proof of insurance, etc. Applicants are encouraged to provide these documents in the "Other supporting documents" section of the application, although if required, they will be requested by Administration for the purposes of evaluation; - Agreement/consent to enter into a formal agreement with the municipality, should they be provided with funding. The specific questions and format of the grant application are subject to amendments as needed by municipal administration insofar as the required information continues to be collected. 6. EXCESS GRANT FUNDS In the event of remaining funds in the budget for community grants that are not used, it is a policy of Council to reserve this funding for community grant purposes in the operating reserve fund unless otherwise determined by Council. 7. EVALUATION All grant applications exceeding $250.00 that are submitted will be evaluated and presented to Town Council for consideration using a matrix weighing the following criteria: 1. How the application positively contributes to priorities, strategic pillars, or partnerships with the municipality; 2. How the organization has leveraged, or will leverage, other sources of funding; 3. Evidence of community support (which could include: letters submitted with the application, number of volunteers, impact and history in the community, etc.); 4. Organizational and governance efficiencies (which considers, for example, the organizations track record related to governance, finance, membership, etc. and whether or not they are deemed capable to undertake the proposed project(s)); 5. Whether or not the project(s) compliments, and does not duplicate, work being undertaken by other community organizations included but not limited to the municipality; 6. Impact on Town of Salisbury residents and residents of surrounding communities; 7. Unique differentiators that may highlight specific features of the application that deem it worthy of receiving funding from the municipality.