Milk River school gets lesson in applying for grants
The community of Milk River got a lesson in effectively applying for grants and the role of school councils in January during a travelling workshop.
The FAPP workshop took place on Jan. 12 at the Erle Rivers High School in Milk River. Brenda Kell led those in attendance through activities that stated the purpose of each entity as well as reviewed relevant legislation of both the Societies Act and the School Act as well as group identification activities and finally presenting case studies as part of the Fundraising Association Partnership Purpose.
The workshop travels to different rural areas within Alberta. It arrived at Erle Rivers High School in partnership with the school council to offer an informative and interactive workshop to parents, staff members and interested community members that explained the Fundraising Association Partnership Purpose (FAPP).
“Our school council has been the same group of parents for quite some time, so there were some changes that needed to happen, that’s why I approached for these workshops,” says Stephanie McNeely, president of the Milk River elementary school council and treasurer of the high school council.
“We have a school council and a fundraising arm, so this workshop really helped explain what each entity is actually there for.”
The FAPP workshop, which is presented by trained ASCA instructors, was brought not only to Milk River, but also to many other rural communities throughout Alberta to point out the similarities and differences between school councils and fundraising associations.
With an emphasis on teaching how best to understand who has the authority to make decisions on funding and grants in respective areas and how these organizations can better benefit school communities and students in rural areas, the workshop had those in attendance learn by acting out real-life scenarios involving fundraising and council branches at the school.
“The workshop was really there to bring home to those in attendance what each entity does. We went through scenarios of who does what and the purpose of both, but also all the legalities as to why we need change,” says McNeely.
McNeely adds throughout the workshop the roles of each entity stressed were that of the school council and their place in the institution to advise the principal in the best interests of the school, and their work in an advisory role to enhance school learning; and the role of fundraising committees that work solely to help raise money for projects which are not in partnership with the school council.
The workshop, which presented information based on content from the Alberta School Council Resource Manual, was brought to Milk River for the first time in January after visiting many other rural municipalities across Alberta, in part, McNeely says, because funding and grants within smaller areas can sometimes be tougher to acquire.
“We all have to apply for funding in same way,” says McNeely. “But in small areas the funding can be so limited, and even though the community is great, when we’re fundraising for a multitude of reasons it’s hard sometimes in rural areas because you can over-ask.”