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TITLE:
Community Support Grants Polley
SECTION:
All Town Departments
POLICY NO: 72000-08
APPROVAL DATE: March 24. 2025
POLICY STATEMENT
a. The Community Support Grants Policy guides the allocation of financial and in-kind
contributions to non-profit or charitable organizations that are based in the Town of Amherst
and are providing services that in the opinion of Council, are of a benefit to the residents and
businesses of the Town. Applicants and Groups that actively support inclusion, diversity,
accessibility and equity will be given priority consideration as will those applications that
enhance community well-being and increase the social determinants of health, such as, but not
limited to food insecurity, affordable housing, early childhood development, education, social
inclusion and non-discrimination of the citizens of Amherst
b. This program does not govern the following, which are separately administered:
i.
Tax Exemption for Non-Profit Organizations (full and partial tax exemption by-laws);
ii.
Residential Property Tax Rebates (low-income homeowners)
POLICY OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this policy are:
a. to outline the requirements to apply and be considered for a Community Support Grant
b. to establish equitable guidelines for the distribution of limited amounts of funds to non-profit
and charitable organizations in a manner approved by Council.
c. to ensure that groups applying for Community Support Grants are evaluated on a
consistent, equitable basis, utilizing the same evaluation criteria; and
d. to provide for public disclosure of a list of grant recipients and the amounts of those grants.
1. SCOPE
The Program includes financial grants in the form of cash and in-kind services (for use of municipal
facilities, for example). The value of requests is not limited; however, applicants must be aware that:
a. The application process is competitive;
b. There are more grant applications received than available funding;
c. Past funding commitments should not be interpreted as a guarantee that future requests
will be approved. The Town is interested in ensuring that organizations are self-sufficient;
d. The Town would like to support programs and events that promote community well being
and health and safety of our citizens. With that in mind, events based on alcohol
consumption (beer gardens, wine tasting tours etc.) may only receive support if other
community benefits can be shown. Overall, the Town will show preference to events that
are family friendly and support the overall well being of the community.
2. EXCLUSIONS
The following are exclusions from the grant program:
a. While Council reserves the right to, it is not the intent of this policy to fund activities of
organizations that are clearly within the mandate of the Government of Nova Scotia
(hospitals, medical programs, treatment services or social services programs) or the
Government of Canada (e.g., health, social services)
b. The Town of Amherst will not consider requests received as part of general (mass) mailing
or telemarketing campaigns
TITLE:
Communlty Support Grants Policy
SECTION:
AU Town Departments
POLICY NO: 72000-08
c. Funding applications will not be considered from the following:
i.
Businesses;
ii.
Provincial Government organizations;
iii.
School Boards or quasi government organizations;
iv.
Non-profit organizations for the purpose of funding accumulated deficits;
v.
Any organization for the purpose of fundraising to distribute to other
organizations/individuals; and
vi.
Organizations with political affiliations.
d. Funding will not normally be provided to religious organizations where services include the
promotion or required adherence to a particular belief
e. Funding will also not normally be provided to fundraising campaigns of national charitable
organizations either directly or indirectly.
f.
Funding will not normally be provided to organizations who are planning to give proceeds
of the event to another organization.
3. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS
Council is not obligated to:
a. Provide funding in the form of Community Support Grants;
b. Spend all the funds allocated for grants in any given year;
c. Award the full amount requested in an application; or
d. Renew any grant
4. GUIDELINES
The following guidelines apply to all grant requests except those listed in 4 above:
a. Funding will generally be limited to no more than 40% of overall costs for an event or
program
b. Funding cannot be used to directly purchase products regulated by the Liquor Control Act
R.S., c. 260, s. 1. or the Cannabis Control Act 2018, c. 3, s. 1.
c. Preference is given to new initiatives; however, grants may be provided in multiple years
for the same initiative.
5. PROGRAMS
The following are a list of the grants available:
a. Sport, Arts, and Culture
Maximum funding considered will be $1000 for a team and $250 for an individual:
i.
This includes amounts for teams / groups and individuals traveling to Provincial,
National and International competitions and events when the Amherst based teams
or individual have been successful at a regional qualifying competition recognized
by its relevant provincial or national umbrella organization, or have been invited by
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such an organization;
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ii.
The team I group is in the Town of Amherst and is considered by the provincial or
national umbrella organization to be the home for the team;
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TITLE:
Community Support Grants Policy
SECTION:
All Town Departments
POLICY NO: 72000·08
iii.
The individual is competing / attending as an individual and has their principal
residence in the Town of Amherst;
iv.
The Town of Amherst resident has been selected/ qualified to represent the
Province of Nova Scotia or Canada at a national or international competition I
event.
b. Festivals, Arts and Cultural Events Grants
Under this component will generally not exceed $5,000
i.
Event must demonstrate broad community support;
ii.
Provides an experience not duplicated by other ongoing events, festivals or
activities.
iii.
Draw spectators locally, from the Maritimes, nationally or internationally and
increases the profile of our community;
iv.
Must be affiliated with a local community non-profit organization.
c. Organizational Equipment
Operational and capital equipment purchase requests will be considered on an individual
basis.
d. Funding for Social Equity Initiatives
For the purposes of this policy, Social Equity Funding" is defined as the annual funding
allotment within the Community Support Area Rate, including any reserves for this purpose,
to be used for initiatives that specifically target social equity issues. All applications which
Council feels meet this definition and for which Council is considering funding from the
annual Social Equity Funding allotment or associated reserves set aside for this purpose
may be referred to the respective committees for a recommendation.
Notwithstanding the above, Council reserves the right to fund such poverty initiatives from
other sources in addition to or in lieu of the annual Social Equity Funding allotment.
e. Large Scale Projects
Applications for large scale projects (generally greater than $5,000 or multi-year initiatives)
will be evaluated on an individual basis. In these cases, Council may require Municipal
representation on a board, the development of an MOU and/or other reporting
requirements etc.
6. APPLICATION PROCESS
The following outlines the application process:
A call out for applications will be issued by the Town in the months leading up to budget time.
Community organizations will be encouraged to apply during this initial call out however applications
can and will be received throughout the year and be considered based on budget availability.
Community groups may submit more than one application per year however Council will prioritize
funding over a diverse collection of applications to ensure fairness and equity for all.
TITLE:
Communlty Support Grants Policy
SECTION:
All Town Departments
POLICY NO: 72000-08
a) Applications - must submit the following information
i.
A complete Community Grant Application
ii.
a proposed budget for the project
b) The Town of Amherst may request additional information as deemed necessary.
7. APPROVAL PROCESS
a. For applications over $1,000 staff will review applications, ensure requirements have been met
and make recommendations to Council. Funding will be determined by council upon reviewing
the proposal and recommendations from staff.
8. AUTHORITY OF THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
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The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) may approve applications that are less than $1000 provided
such applications qualify in accordance with this policy. Council will be notified by email upon
approval of each application and a media release will be issued to communicate the support provided
by the Town under the application. A list of applications approved will be provided to Council
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quarterly. (March, June, September and December).
The CAO may waive the cost for Town owned facility rentals for organizations carrying out an event or
service that satisfies the intent of this policy to a maximum of four rental waivers per year per
organization.
9. PAYMENT PROCESS
For amounts over $1,000 payment will be made at time of award.
10. CONDITIONS
a. Grant recipients shall:
i.
Make no misrepresentation on their application
ii.
Use the grant as described in the application
iii.
Use the funds in the year granted
iv.
Council and/or the CAO may request an in--depth report for grants over $5,000 at their
discretion
v.
Recipients from previous years who received over $2,000 will be asked to complete a
report detailing expenses and impact on the community or individual. This report will be
sent prior to the call for applications each year. This report must be completed prior to
the new application being considered.
b. Grant recipients shall keep proper books of accounts and receipts of all expenditures related to
the project and shall make them available for inspection by the Town of Amherst upon request.
c. Non-compliance, in any aspect could result in no funding being awarded in the future year(s)
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TITLE:
Community Support Grants Policy
SECTION:
AU Town Departments
POLICY NO: 72000-08
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d. Grant recipients are required to acknowledge the financial support of the Town of Amherst in
all advertising, publicity, programs and signage for which funds are granted
e. If the event/project does not occur for any reason, all grant monies must be returned
f.
Grant recipients who fail to comply with these conditions may be required to return all or partial
funds to the Town of Amherst and may be deemed ineligible for Community Support Grant
funding in future years.
11. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
a. The Town of Amherst will provide financial information with respect to the budgeted amounts
disbursed and actual amounts disbursed on an annual basis
b. A summary of grant awards will be posted on the Town of Amherst's website in accordance
with s.65C(1) of the Municipal Government Act
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TITLE:
Community Support Grants Policy
SECTION:
All Town Departments
POLICY NO: 72000-08
Date: _________ _
Application for Funding
REQUEST FOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT
REQUEST FOR IN-KIND FACILITY RENTAL
1.
ORGANIZATION INFORMATION:
Name of Organization: _______________________ _
Full Mailing Address: _______________________ _
Contact Person:
Email Address:
Telephone:
2.
AMOUNT OF FUNDING ASSISTANCE BEING REQUESTED
$ ____
_
Total cost of program event or activity
$ _____ _
3.
What is the purpose for the funding requested? (Sport and Physical Activity, Arts/Culture Events, Festivals,
Organizational Equipment, Community Well-Being etc.)
4.
Please attach a budget for the tournament, event or activity; include sources of revenue and ALL costs.
Please attach all documents that support the funding request.
5.
What are the expected benefits to the community? (Event participation numbers; local, regional, provincial
or national attraction; time span; community assets being used; support from business community)
6.
Please list all funding sources and/or other community partners for this event:
I NAME
I FUNDING IF ANV
7.
How many volunteers contribute to this event or festival: ___________ _
98 East Victoria Street, PO Box 516, Amherst, NS, canada B4H 4A1
Phone: 902-667-3352 Fax 902-667-5409
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TITLE:
SECTION:
Communlty Support Grants Polley
All Town Departments
POLICY NO: 72000-08
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Ma or and Council
1-----
CAO
For Administrative Use Only:
VERSION LOG
Amendments to policy to collapse
A fresh grants, streamline
application process, increase
CAO approval limit, inclusion of
MAP requirements, rewording to
ensure policy is more inclusive
and promotes community well-
bein
Amendment to policy to remove
Deed Transfer reference from
Poverty Funding. Rename
Pove
Fundin to Social E ui
Eliminate section 4 as it is
exclusionary of other
organizations; amend Section 9
Payment Process to eliminate the
two phased payment approach as
this is administratively time
consuming and places undue
pressure on community
organizations; and amend Section
l O Conditions to include the
reporting requirement for
organizations who intend to
' reapply for future grants. This
will allow for transparency on
how funds are used and the
impact on the community.
To ensure adherence to the policy. Advise staff of Policy changes and create
awareness in the communi of
licy changes.
l
Review and aeerove applications as required. _________ _
Ensure applications under $1,000 are reviewed and decision made in accordance
with
lie .
Director Community
Living, Bristol
Director, Community
Living, Bristol
Council
Council
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April 24, 2023
October 30, 2023
TITLE:
SECTION:
Community Support Grants Policy
All Town Departments
POLICY NO: 72000-08
Change the requirement to send
Director, Community
applications to the social equity
committees from will to may
Minutes reference date:
23 September 2013
28 October 2019
30 October 2023
Living, Bristol
27 October 2014
27 January 2020
24 March 2025
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- -·-
Council
March 24, 2025
21 May 2015
25 June 2018
24 September 2018
25 October 2021 27 February 2023 24 April 2023
(s