The dates to apply for a community grant in Yorkton are changing slightly.
“The Community Development, Parks and Recreation Department administers the Saskatchewan Lotteries Community Grant Program on behalf of the Saskatchewan Lotteries Trust Fund for Sport, Culture and Recreation,” Lisa Washington Community Development Manager told the regular meeting of Yorkton Council Monday. “3The funding covers eligible expenses for sport, culture and recreation activities from April 1 to March 31 of the following year. The purpose of the Community Grant Program is to provide access to these activities for local residents regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, economic status, physical or mental ability. To achieve this purpose, the grant program provides funding to local community non-profit volunteer organization in support of sport, culture and recreation programs. Many of the local community non-profit volunteer organizations also follow a fiscal year of April 1 to March 31.”
Washington said the current timing of grants has been found to be out of line with programming for many groups.
“There are currently two calls for applications each year; April 1 and October 1. The timeframe from the deadline application to when an applicant will hear if they have been approved is typically between two and three weeks. One of the criteria of the Program is that retro-active funding will not be approved or provided. Any program that starts in the spring may be required to start their spending before they have been notified as a successful applicant. Consequently, some groups risk incurring expenses that will not be reimbursed under the current criteria. Moving the application deadline ahead by one month to March 1 eliminates this gap and would accommodate early planning for spring and summer programs,” she explained.
Council was unanimous in shifting the deadline for the spring period to March 1.
