Enhanced programming incoming for six community groups/organizations thanks to grant funding

Six recent applicants to the Town of Whitecourt’s 2023 Enhancement Grant Program are getting some good news. The yearly grant offered by the Town is meant to help organizations and community groups that offer recreation, culture, and arts programming by providing financial support to enhance what they offer, whether it’s programs, services, special events, specialized facilities or pieces of equipment that are not funded through their annual budgeting process.

The funding aims to enhance the lives of residents in Whitecourt and area by enabling groups they are part of to improve their programming or services. For small-community-based groups and organizations, additional, non-budgeted financial support can prove life-changing for their volunteers and patrons. Rather than just dreaming of upgrading, funding can help a dream come true.

The financial support also encourages residents to volunteer in local groups because it allows them to access more. A group wanting to purchase equipment or a new club wanting to start from scratch can apply for funding, providing the program, event, or equipment is not eligible for funding from other municipal/provincial/federal sources.

During the April 24 Regular Meeting of Whitecourt Town Council, Dave Arcand, Vice Chair of the Community Services Advisory Board and Kelly Sadoway, Recreation Manager for the Town of Whitecourt, presented the board’s recommendations for approval. “This year, we had seven applicants. We were able to approve six of them. One of them did not fall under the guidelines, so that was taken out,” said Arcand.

“The good news is that there are a lot of new names that we have seen this year compared to previous years. That’s always encouraging when we see new organizations put their name forward instead of the same organizations coming to the same pot,” explained Arcand. He thanked Administration for their help in the process. “It’s always a big project, and the board does thank them for it.”

Councillor Schlosser asked about the Woodchuckers Whitecourt Cornhole League, one of the six applicants on the docket. He wondered what the interest was in it locally and asked Administration and the presenters if they knew how many members they had or were expecting. Sadoway said she wasn’t sure offhand but guessed it was around 20-25 members. “It’s actually a big trend right now.” Mayor Pickard called the corn hall league “something new,” and Councillor McAree called it “the new pickleball.”

The 2023 budget included $30,000 for the Enhancement Grant program. The Community Services Advisory Board reviewed and scored each application based on their criteria. Once completed, the board passed along their recommendations to Council for allotting the $30,000 between the approved applications.

The six successful applicants were the Whitecourt Potters’ Guild for wheel and slab roller upgrades ($6,826.71), the Woodchuckers Whitecourt Cornhole League for start-up costs ($3,796.65), the Whitecourt Indigenous Friends Society for National Truth & Reconciliation Day ($5,999.92), Whitecourt Minor Ball, for a pitching mound, announcer booth floor and ramp ($5,752.50), the Whitecourt Baptist Church, for The Joe Show ($3,539.95), and the Whitecourt Woodlands Hawks Foundation for Essentials to Self-Sufficiency ($4,084.27). Each group was recommended to receive at least 50 percent of their initial ask.

Councillor Tara Baker asked about the group that didn’t receive funding. The Whitecourt Golf & Country Club had applied to install a lift station primary pump but was not approved. “In the previous years, we have helped the golf course purchase machinery in the form of a gator, and I believe last year was driving range mats, and these are both enhancements. But this one is a lift system for their water which is an operational expense,” explained Arcand.

Councillor Baker asked if not receiving the amount they asked for would cause a group to be unable to proceed with their plans. “Would any of these not come to fruition if they didn’t receive the full amount requested? Has anyone said that they wouldn’t be able to do anything? Say, if a group asks for $10,000 and they receive, hypothetically, five thousand, can they still complete their programming?”

Arcand said the board hadn’t received any feedback on that specifically. “We have not received any type of feedback as to not fulfilling a program or a service.” Sadoway added that most groups have other means of bringing in funding support. “I think a lot of them have alternate sources of funding. They can fundraise on their own, or they have other ideas of ways that they can fundraise for the remainder in general. None of them said this was a do-or-die kind of thing.”

Arcand added that the grant is meant to be a support, not a primary source. “It’s always said in our conversations that we hope that this helps them but that they can’t rely a hundred percent of their funding on these types of grants because you never know year to year how many are going to apply and how much is going to be offered, those types of things.”

Council McAree motioned to approve the $30,000 as the Community Services Advisory Board indicated, providing funding to the six successful applicants. The vote following the motion was unanimous.