Brant Community Foundation will review and distribute 2024 Community Grant Funding

"They look a lot more closely at the merits of the application and use of the money. They look at it in a lot more depth than we as staff in our technical review did. So, they would be working through the overall allocations based on that (review).” ~Heather Boyd, General Manager of Corporate Services

By Casandra Turnbull

It's almost time to award Community Grants and the county is taking a completely different approach this year.

The County of Brant has entered an agreement that will see the Brant Community Foundation (BCF) oversee and deliver the 2024 County of Brant Community Grants Program. It's a radical change from the current process where County staff accepted, reviewed, and graded applications who were then awarded funding based on their score in a variety of required fields. This newer process was just implemented within the last few years, replacing a program that once brought applicants to council chambers to present as delegations

The Brant Community Foundation acts as a catalyst for donors by allowing named funds to be created to benefit the community, so allocating and distributing funds to help communities and organizations grow is something the Foundation is well equipped to handle

This 2024 change in process was suggested after county staff took a comprehensive review of the Grants Program, and how other cities and municipalities handled funding requests.

During a February 13th Grant Committee Meeting, members discussed a motion, presented by Heather Boyd, General Manager of Corporate Services, which outlined details on eligibility criteria and included a draft application form.

These types of details must be ratified by council in February before the official grant application window can be announced. County Grants staff and the BCF hope to open the process on March 1st for the entire month Both County of Brant and BCF staff will be available to assist applicants in making their submissions.

Part of this application process, like in past years, includes reaching out to recipients from the previous grant year. That, says Councillor Jennifer Kyle and Councillor John Peirce, is a part of the application process they could do without. With proper communication and advertisement, coupled by the fact that there's always a high interest in the program, reaching out to previous recipients can be time consuming and not fair to new applicants who haven't received funds before and follow the process correctly

The criteria to even be considered is strict. Eligible organizations must complete all relevant sections of the application form and submit all documents requested, must be either a registered charity of a notfor-profit organization and must have a location and/or presence in the County of Brant. They cannot be in arrears with or involved in any litigation against the municipality and cannot have a primary purpose to provide funds to another or an ineligible organization. Funds are not to be used for any activity or purpose that engages in political activity, supportive of political parties/candidates or lobbying for law / government policy change.

" I like it. It's clear, it's concise," said Councillor Peirce.

County staff are recommending that this year's grant categories include Operational grants to a maximum of $5,000, Events Grants to a maximum of $5,000 and Capital Project Grants to a maximum of $10,000. This would remove Ongoing Grants (being reviewed in 2024), Travel Grants (often mis-used) and Emergency Grants (hard to ask organizations to 'plan' for an emergency).

The Brant Community Foundation will undertake the application review, evaluation and award process. Electronic Fund Transfers will be processed through the County’s Finance Department. A final report on the awards as well as commentary on the process and proposed improvements for 2025 will be provided to Council following the closure of the program.

Putting the Grant process in the hands of BCF prompted Mayor David Bailey to question if BCF denies an application is that a 'no' on behalf of Brant County Council. He cited the Arnold Anderson Foundation (Sport Fund) as an example. He met recently with members of the Foundation who expressed concerns that BCF was handling the County Grants because BCF recently denied another application they made for funding.

"So what happens to organizations like the Arnold Anderson Foundation?" asked Bailey, noting they have a long history of support from the County and that support goes a long way to funding their program which helps all youth play organized sports regardless of family income.

Boyd offered to talk to members of the BFC to find out if their application was denied because of an eligibility criteria or for other contributing factors, which could provide insight into how they apply for a County Grant.

Boyd also noted that BFC is very capable of digging deep into the review process to distribute funds appropriately.

"They look a lot more closely at the merits of the application and use of the money," said Boyd. "They look at it in a lot more depth than we as staff in our technical review did. So, they would be working through the overall allocations based on that - some groups may get none, some groups may be 10% of what they ask for and some groups may get 100% of what they ask for.“

At the end of the day the decision will be in the hands of BFC, not the county, not council. In 2023, the county had $360,000 in funds to distribute. The voted to set aside 50% of the money to go towards the County’s required funding contribution to the new Brantford General Hospital. The remaining $180,000 was awarded to more than 50 community groups, organizations, and non-profits. The amount of funding for the 2024 Community Grant program will be finalized and announced after the 2024 Budget is approved by council

All members of the Grants committee who were present for Tuesday’s meeting - Councillors Jennifer Kyle, John Peirce, David Miller, Christine Garneau, Lukas Oakley and Mayor David Bailey - voted to receive the motion.

It will go before council later this month.

*February 23, 6:30 pm - 9 pm

*Wincey Mills

*Click on ad for details