Kincardine council approved awarding nearly $68,000 in community investment grants to various local organizations.
The figure includes $9,000 for festivals, split evenly between the Kincardine Scottish Festival, Kincardine Summer Music Festival, and the Lighthouse Blues Festival; $25,000 for youth sports programming, including an additional $1,000 for Kincardine Minor Soccer to be distributed in the fall; and $34,000 to the remaining applicants, including $1,750 for the the Kincardine Food Bank for bag tags for low income residents.
The annual funding allocation is determine by the Community Investment Grants Evaluation Team.
A nice $69,000 was included in this year’s budget for the local grants, so the remaining $1,027 can be granted if requests for support of new projects are submitted.
“We’re always looking to try and create a fair opportunity for everybody to use the grants,” says Mayor Ken Craig. “They’re called community investment grants, they’re not just a grant, they’re an investment in our community so we’re always trying to make sure they’re used to the best advantage.”
Organizations getting grants that didn’t receive any funding last year include the recently formed Second Kincardine Scouts, who are getting $1,500 to purchase outdoor equipment and the Kincardine Refugee Committee who are getting $750 for recreation activities.
The biggest single grant recipient is Kincardine Minor Hockey, which is getting $20,000. Staff said sports group funding is based on a 80-20 funding formula: 80 per cent based on facility cost and 20 per cent based on number of participants.
