A total of 53 community groups will benefit from operational grant funding from the County of Grande Prairie. County council approved a total of roughly $2.8 million last week during their 2021 budget deliberations.
County Reeve Leanne Beaupre says much of the grant funding will go towards offsetting operational costs for non-profit and community organizations that serve County and area residents.
“Those are organizations that deliver services to our residents on behalf of the County of Grande Prairie and we’re very appreciative of the work that’s done for those residents. This is our way of making sure they continue to be viable and sustainable and continue to deliver those services on our behalf,” she explains.
Beaupre adds many of the listed grants were not decided upon strictly during the 2021 budget deliberations, as organizations had applied for funding throughout the year. Each of the listed grants will, however, directly impact the overall 2021 budget.
A number of the county’s grants, totalling $492,000, make up the municipality’s Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework Agreement capital contributions.
Beaupre says she commends the organizations that reached out for additional funding beyond the guaranteed operational allowance, for their diligence in accurately speaking to their needs for the upcoming year.
“A lot of them were not able to host their fundraisers or have their doors open for the programming they deliver,” she says. “We recognize that they need that money to continue, otherwise they will no longer remain operational so we were pleased to be able to support those operational requests.”
Approximately $1,667,395 will go towards organizations receiving community assistance grants, $599,833 for Major Capital community grants, and $85,500 will be contributed to Capital Assistance grants.
Grants issued from the county to recipient organizations ranged from $567, going to the Grande Prairie & District Rural Crime Watch to support the development of a new website, to $428,490 contributing to the Grande Prairie Regional Agricultural & Exhibition Society for their regular operations.