Non-profit groups receive grants from City
Sixteen local non-profit groups are the beneficiaries of almost half a million dollars in matching municipal grants to support their capital enhancement projects for community-use facilities.
Lethbridge City Council approved the grants at Monday’s meeting. A total of $466,626 will be awarded from the annual Community Capital Project Grant. This year’s program will be funded by the CCPG’s annual budget of $450,000 plus $16,626 in surplus carried over from previous years.
The program is funded through federal GST rebates to the City of Lethbridge. The CCPG was established by the City in 2004 to help non-profits leverage funding for expansion and upgrades and to strengthen their capacity to provide services for the community.
Organizations can apply every two years for up to $200,000 per project to fund one-third of the total project cost.
Since 2004, the CCPG has assisted with 159 projects totalling more than $32.5 million.
“The high number of applicants every year to this program indicates how valuable it is to our community,” said Mayor Chris Spearman. “The Community Capital Project Grant program is an amazing way to leverage a small grant from the City to attract contributions from multiple sources to meet our community’s needs.”
This year’s recipients include local organizations involved in cultural, youth, arts, recreation and family support activities.
Amounts of individual grants range from about $3,500 to $100,000, which will go toward projects with a combined total value of $1.5 million.
The 2017 City of Lethbridge Community Capital Grant recipients include:
• Kiwanis Club/Park Meadows School Parent Council playground: $100,000;
• Little League District 1equipment and upgrade: $82,500;
• Opokaa’sin Early Intervention Society renovations: $63,939;
• Southern Alberta Ethnic Association - equipment: $38,707;
• Boys and Girls Club expansion: $33,401;
• Interfaith Food Bank renovations/retrofit and planning: $23,351;
• Lethbridge Association for Community Living renovations/retrofit: $21,300;
• tecconnect- renovations/retrofit: $19,790;
• Henderson Stadium Society equipment: $18,500;
• Italian Canadian Club renovations/retrofit: $15,000;
• Southern Alberta Taiko Society - equipment: $13,734;
• Lethbridge Dragon Boat Association - equipment: $10,000;
• Lethbridge BMX Association - equipment: $8,216;
• Lethbridge Skating Club equipment: $8,000;
• Society of the Centre Francophone of Lethbridge renovations/retrofit: $6,667; and
• Canadian Bhutanese Society - equipment: $3,522.