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Policy No. 710-003
Grants to Organizations
POLICY
Grants to Organizations
Policy Number:
710-003
Supersedes Policy Number:
710-001
Effective Date:
2016-03-22
2021-12-21
2024-09-24
2025-02-17
Approval By Council Motion Number:
30-03-16
35-12-21
19-09-24
08-02-26
1.0
Purpose
The Town of Wolfville is committed to support community groups and organizations that add
capacity and benefit the community by offering programs, events and spaces that are accessible
and welcoming. The purpose of this policy is to provide a framework for reviewing and
evaluating requests from community organizations for grant funding to support programming,
capital investments, accessibility improvements, community events and other projects that align
with the Town's strategic and operational priorities, as broadly enabled by section 65A of the
Municipal Government Act.
2.0
Scope
This policy applies to all community organizations that wish to obtain grant funding from the
Town for a service, program, special project, initiative, or capital campaign for the benefit of
residents, businesses, and visitors to the Town of Wolfville.
3.0
References
3.1
Municipal Government Act
3.2
Signing Authority Policy, 120-011
4.0
Definitions
4.1
CAO means the Chief Administrative Officer of the Town of Wolfville.
4.2
Council means the Town Council of the Town of Wolfville.
4.3
Signature Festival or Event means an event or festival held within the Town of
Wolfville that occurs annually and has a significant, positive economic impact on
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Policy No. 710-003
Grants to Organizations
POLICY
the community.
4.4
Town means the Town of Wolfville, a body corporate.
4.5
Program means a project, initiative or recreational/social/educational opportunity
or offering made available to the public.
5.0
Policy
5.1
One-time Requests (Operating)
5.1.1
One-time requests to support extraordinary operational events and
initiatives may be considered by Council using the following criteria:
a. The request is greater than $2,000.
b. Only one application per organization may be approved every four years.
c. The four-year period shall commence from the date of initial
disbursement.
d. The request is aligned with Council's Strategic Plan.
e. All criteria outlined in the Guidelines associated with this grant program
are met.
f. The financial capacity/local economy of the day is considered.
g. The funding of the request would be in addition to the grants to
organization budget allowance; and
h. Funding will be provided either in one lump sum amount and expensed
in the year it is approved or through multi-year payments. Funding
provided over multiple years will be subject to annual budget approval
by Council and may be subject to change.
5.1.2
Applications may be submitted throughout the year. Council reserves the
right to defer any requests to the following year's budget deliberation
process should they deem so appropriate.
5.2
Capital Funding Requests
5.2.1
Funding requests to support capital campaigns and projects may be
considered by Council using the following criteria:
a. The request is greater than $10,000.
b. The request will not exceed $50,000.
c. Organizations can apply twice within an eight-year period.
d. The eight-year period shall commence from the date of initial
disbursement.
e. The approved amount shall not cumulatively exceed $50,000.
f. The request is aligned with Council's Strategic Plan.
g. All criteria outlined in Guidelines associated with this grant program are
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Policy No. 710-003
Grants to Organizations
POLICY
met.
h. The financial capacity/local economy of the day is considered.
i.
The funding of the request would be in addition to the grants to
organizations budget allowance; and
j.
Funding may be provided either in one lump sum amount and expensed
in the year it is approved or through multi-year payments. Funding
provided over multiple years will be subject to annual budget approval.
5.2.2
The deadline for applications will be November 1st of each year. All
applications will be reviewed as part of the budget deliberation process for
Council. Late submissions will not be considered in the same fiscal year.
5.3
Sponsorships and Advertising
5.3.1
The Town will consider providing limited financial assistance, including but
not limited to sponsorship and/or donation of prizes, to support
conferences and/or workshops that are hosted in our region, of which the
Town is an active member (i.e., NSFM, AMANS, FCM).
5.3.2
The Town will not provide financial assistance, sponsorship or prizes to
conferences, conventions or workshops held in our region by an
organization of which the Town is not an active member. This includes
registration fees related to participation in recreational activities associated
with the conference.
5.3.3
Financial assistance for sponsorship requests under 5.3.2 may be provided
through the Grants to Organizations budget allowance if the purpose aligns
with Town goals, and funds are available. Decision(s) will be at the
discretion of the CAO and will not exceed $1,000.
5.3.4
Financial assistance may be provided through advertising if the purpose
aligns with the Town and/or Departments goals. Decision(s) will be
determined by appropriate staff and must fall within Advertising and/or
Marketing and Communication Budgets.
5.4
Strategic Partnership Program
5.4.1
The Town may provide ongoing financial assistance to support community
groups that can be qualified as one or more of the following:
a.
Facility operators who provide affordable and accessible multipurpose
recreational space to the community on a regular basis.
b.
Signature festivals or events that:
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Grants to Organizations
POLICY
i. Are a long-standing festival or event (operating for a minimum
of four years).
ii. The Town has a partnership beyond a funding contributor with.
iii. Are primarily located in the Town of Wolfville; and
iv. Have demonstrated rationale to indicate a positive economic
effect resulting from attraction of attendees from outside of
Wolfville.
c.
Community organizations that build capacity and contribute to the
culture in Wolfville by introducing programs or projects that provide
benefits to the community.
5.4.2
To be eligible for Strategic Partnership Program funding the organization must
agree to:
a. Enter into a four-year Funding Agreement with the Town.
b. Provide Financial Statements to the Town annually; and
c. Be aligned with Council's Strategic Plan, priorities and other Town
principles or initiatives. These can be found at www.wolfville.ca .
5.4.3
Strategic Partners will be selected to align with each four-year term of
Council, at the beginning of the second year of Council's term. This will allow
Council to develop its Strategic Plan for the four-year term during its first year
in office, and to select Strategic Partners that align with that Plan.
5.4.4
A call for Expressions of Interest in becoming, or remaining, a Strategic
Partner will be made as soon as practical following approval of the Town's
Strategic Plan. Staff will evaluate the eligibility of each potential partner
based on this Policy and will present a slate of eligible partners to Council
during the annual budgeting process. Council will determine its Strategic
Partners for the next four years and the annual funding amounts for each
Partner from this slate.
The Town may request more information from any potential partner before
Council makes its selections and determining funding amounts for the four-
year Funding Agreements.
5.4.5
If an organization no longer meets the above criteria or fails to meet any
provisions within the Partnership Agreement, the issue will be identified to
the organization and an opportunity to rectify provided. If the issue is not
rectified within a reasonable period of time, financial assistance will
immediately cease.
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Policy No. 710-003
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POLICY
5.4.6
The maximum amount awarded to any group for any Strategic Partnership
Program grant will not exceed $6,500 per year of the Agreement.
5.4.7
Funding Agreements will be in place for four years, after which the next
slate of Strategic Partners will be decided by the Council of the day.
5.4.8
The financial assistance level should consider all contributions provided by
the Town (Property Tax Exemptions and in-kind support) when determined.
5.5
Community Capacity Grant (CCG)
5.5.1
The Town will consider providing limited financial assistance to
organizations that work to increase the capacity of the Town by:
a. Organizing or operating programs for the benefit of the residents of
the Town of Wolfville; or
b. Coordinating and implementing local events in the Town of Wolfville.
5.5.2
The total level of funding for the Community Capacity Grant program will
be set by Council as part of the Town's budget process. Town Council may
allocate different funding levels for each of the two (2) CCG grant
categories:
a. Programs
b. Local Events
5.5.3
Community Capacity Grant Guidelines will be made available on the Town's
website and elsewhere as appropriate.
5.5.4
This program does not provide financial assistance to social service,
health, education or similar services, departments, or agencies.
5.5.5
The maximum amount awarded to any group for any Community Capacity
Grant will not exceed $2,000.
5.5.6
If an amount greater than $5,000 is remaining in the Community Capacity
Grant after the allocation of funding for February 1st requests, a second
round of applications will be called for in July. Organizations who applied in
February may apply a second time.
5.5.7
All applications will be evaluated by Town staff applying the principles and
criteria outlined in the Community Capacity Grant Program Guidelines.
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Grants to Organizations
POLICY
5.5.8
Any decision of staff regarding funding requests may be appealed to
Council upon notice of appeal within seven (7) days of being notified of the
decision of staff. Council's decision regarding the appeal shall be final.
5.5.9
Applicants who have received a Community Capacity Grant in a previous
year are not guaranteed approval for a Community Capacity Grant in
subsequent years.
5.6
Grant Disclosure
Pursuant to section 65C of the Municipal Government Act, the Town shall disclose to
the public a list of recipients of grants made by the Town and the amounts of those
grants annually in the Operations Plan. Grant recipients and amounts may be
published by other means at the discretion of the CAO.
5.7
Policy Review
This policy will be reviewed, at a minimum, every four years.
2026-02-17
Town Clerk
Date