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Waiver of Fees & Grant Funding Policy
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THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF WINDSOR
POLICY
Primary Owner:
Financial Acctg & Corp Controls
Policy No.:
FI.A1.14
Secondary Owner: n/a
Approval Date:
December 7, 2020
Approved By:
CR600/2020
Subject:
WAIVER OF FEES & GRANT
Effective Date:
Immediate
FUNDING
Procedure Ref:
F1.B2.15
Review Date:
December 2025
Pages: 4
Replaces: CR214/2015
Prepared By:
Ari Varsa, Jocelyn De Luna - Finance
Date: Nov 2, 2015
1. POLICY STATEMENT
1.1. The City of Windsor will consider grant funding requests, or the waiving of City fees, for
community organizations that support social and/or community objectives.
2. PURPOSE
2.1. To provide a systematic and consistent approach in assessing requests for grant funding and/or
waiving City fees.
2.2. To provide support, where appropriate, to community organizations that provide facilities and/or
services that maintain and improve the quality of life for residents of the City of Windsor.
2.3. To ensure that approved grant funding and/or waivers of fees will not materially impact the City's
budgets and overall fiscal objectives.
3. SCOPE
3.1. This policy applies to all external requests for grant funding and/or a waiver of City fees.
3.2. Notwithstanding section 3.1, the following requests for grant funding and/or a waiver of City fees
are excluded from the scope of this policy:
3.2.1. Fees which cannot be waived by the City.
3.2.2. Those grant and/or waiver of fees requests that are subject to separate review and
consideration under the City's Arts, Culture & Heritage Fund Program and Farmers
Market Program or any other program designated by City Council under specific rules.
3.2.3. Agency grants pre-approved during budget deliberations.
4. RESPONSIBILITY
4.1. The Applicant is responsible to:
4.1.1. Submit to "The Corporation of the City of Windsor-City Clerk" a request for grant funding
and/or a waiver of fees along with required pertinent information to facilitate an evaluation
of the request based on the criteria as set out in this policy. This request should be
provided, at a minimum, 90 days prior to the required funding date.
4.1.2. Recognize the City's contribution and acknowledge the support it receives in all public
announcements, launches, media interviews and other promotions including but not
limited to social media and digital technologies.
Waiver of Fees & Grant Funding Policy
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4.2. The Appropriate Department Head, or designate, (as determined by the City Clerk) is
responsible to:
4.2.1. Determine whether the request meets the eligibility criteria contained within this policy.
4.2.2. Obtain input from the Legal Department concerning any legal implications associated
with the request.
4.2.3. Obtain input from the appropriate city/regional department(s) that can knowledgably
evaluate the community, social, or economic benefits that are associated with the request
for the grant or waiver of fees.
4.2.4. Obtain input from the Finance Department concerning the financial implications of the
request.
4.2.5. Prepare a report with a recommendation (where applicable) relative to the grant or waiver
of fees request.
4.3. The Chief Financial Officer(CFO)/City Treasurer, or designate, is responsible to:
4.3.1. Provide financial information as it relates to the grant or waiver of fees request.
4.3.2. Recommend, through the annual operating budget, the amount of funds to be allocated
to the waiver / grant request.
4.3.3. Report operating budget variances, relative to grants and/or waivers of fees funding
approvals under this policy, as part of the regular operating budget variance report.
4.3.4. Direct the review of this policy when necessary, but at a minimum every five (5) years,
and recommend updates as necessary.
4.4. The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), or designate, is responsible to:
4.4.1. Review and consider the Departmental report as per section 4.2.5.
4.4.2. Render a decision for waiver of fee requests consistent with criteria outlined within this
Policy and by delegation of authority as granted by Council.
4.5. City Council is responsible to:
4.5.1. Review and consider the Departmental report as per section 4.2.5.
4.5.2. Render a decision on the request using the overall criteria in this policy as a general
guideline.
4.5.3. Approve and make changes (additions and removals) as needed to the permanent
event/project list outlined in Section 5.6. The permanent list should be reviewed at a
minimum every five (5) years or upon the recommendation of the CAO, City Clerk or CFO
& City Treasurer.
5. GOVERNING RULES AND REGULATIONS
5.1. This policy is intended to consider the provision of grant and/or waiver of fees funding under
exceptional circumstances only. It is not intended to cover regular and/or on-going financial
support issues which should be dealt with as part of the annual operating budget.
5.2. The general intent of the eligibility guidelines is to consider only requests from non-profit or not-
for-profit organizations that provide broadly based and valuable services to Windsor residents,
the responsibility for which does not normally rest with other levels of government.
Waiver of Fees & Grant Funding Policy
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5.3. Organizations which are specifically excluded from eligibility include the following:
-
Government institutions (federal, provincial, regional and municipal)
-
Charitable organizations that have charity status from the Canada Revenue
Agency and are able to issue official donation receipts.
-
For profit entities
-
Faith based organizations
-
Political organizations
-
Educational institutions
-
Hospital and/or medical facilities
Notwithstanding the above, in circumstances where the grant/waiver of fees request is based
on a partnership of the City of Windsor and another government entity or organization,
consideration may be given for the grant/waiver of fees.
5.4. For eligible organizations approval will generally be guided by the following criteria:
5.4.1. Social/Community Benefits
- Significant social/community benefits accrue broadly to Windsor residents, and/or the
community as a whole, from the services provided by the applicant.
- The dollar value of the grant funding is considered to be outweighed by the social/
community benefits and/or the potential economic spin-off.
- The extent to which the services being provided by the applicant will reduce/ eliminate
the need for the City to deliver that service within the community.
- The services provided by the applicant assist in meeting the vision of the Community
Strategic Plan and Council Priorities.
5.4.2. Applicant History/Financial Well Being
- The applicant has a history of good management and success in delivering the
services provided to the community.
- The applicant is able to provide financial statements upon request with a strong
preference given to audited financial statements.
- The frequency of requests by the applicant for grant funding or the waiving of fees.
- The requestor is willing to sign a Letter of Understanding upon approval of the grant
funding, or waiver of fees, which states that "the City of Windsor reserves the right to
audit the financial statements or operating affairs of the applicant upon reasonable
request to do so. The applicant will make available all books and records to the City
and/or its agents."
- The extent to which the City's contribution can be used by the applicant to obtain
(leverage) additional funding from other sources.
5.4.3. Other Funding Options available to the applicant
- The availability of other funding options to the applicant (fundraisers, senior level of
government grants, etc.). The request for City funding should be viewed as a last
resort.
- The extent to which responsibility for the applicant's funding normally rests with the
federal government, province, or other agencies. It is not the City's intent to take over
funding responsibilities that generally rest with other levels of government.
Waiver of Fees & Grant Funding Policy
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Notwithstanding this requirement, a grant or waiver of fees may be considered in those
extraordinary cases where an applicant is undertaking a special project that falls
outside the normal ongoing funding envelope of the applicant but would otherwise
meet all of the guidelines of this policy.
- Where the requesting organization provides services which are also used by residents
from outside of the City, the extent of the contributions received from other
municipalities will also be considered in the recommendation/decision.
5.4.4. City Budgetary Considerations
- If the request is made during budget deliberations, consideration will be made taking
into account the impact on Council's fiscal objectives and other budget pressures for
the year in question.
- If the request is made after budget approval, considerations will include the City's
projected surplus/deficit for the fiscal year in question.
- The cumulative total of grants/waivers of fees already approved within the fiscal year.
5.5. In cases where the waiver and/or grant request is materially consistent with previous years'
requests, (event, value requested and applicant), and has been pre-approved by City Council
and/or has been added to the permanent listing (as per section 5.6) no Council report is required.
5.6. City Council will, from time to time, add events or projects to a permanent listing. Events and
projects on the permanent list will be entitled to a grant and/or waiver of fees for the items
identified on the list. Eligibility criteria for the permanent listing, which may be considered by
Council, includes but is not limited to the following:
(a) There is a history of past waiver of fee and/or grant approvals for the event and a further
waiver of fees and/or grant is being requested;
(b) The organization is a non-profit or not-for-profit organization;
(c) The organization has provided evidence that it does not pay wages;
(d) The organization proves, to the satisfaction of the City Clerk, that the event is for a historical
or traditional reason, including but not limited to the commemoration of a national holiday;
(e) The request is otherwise in accordance with this policy; or
(f) Such other matters deemed appropriate by City Council.
5.7. As Veteran events (e.g. Remembrance Day celebration) have been historically highly regarded
by the community, Department Heads or designates are authorized to provide certain requested
services, such as chairs and speaker equipment on city property, where such requests are
deemed reasonable and for which sufficient resources are available within the respective
departmental budgets and staffing complement to accommodate such requests. Where the
requests are such that they cannot be accommodated within the respective departmental
budgets and/or within existing staffing resources available, then Department Heads or
designates may consider such request under the general guidelines of this policy.
6. REFERENCES AND RELATED DOCUMENTS
6.1. Distribution of Grant Funding Policy CS.A2.03 (M20-2013)
6.2. Waiver of Fees and Grant Funding Procedure (F1.B2.15)
6.3. Waiver of Fees and Grant Funding Review and Assessment Form (for internal use only)
6.4. Letter of Understanding - Waiver of Fees
6.5. Letter of Understanding - One Time Grant Funding