Whitchurch-Stouffville council approves grants in pilot first round
Budget allocates $50,000 for grants and donations, $30,000 for in-kind donations

YorkRegion.com
May 3, 2017
Ali Raza

There’s $50,000 in the town budget for grants and donations — roughly one dollar per resident — and council just handed some of it out at its latest meeting.

As part of a pilot project — the WS Community Grants Program — Whitchurch-Stouffville town council approved requests for grants and donations for much of the meeting on Tuesday, May 2.

While in previous years, requests would be addressed whenever a community group approached council throughout the year, this year town staff and the special events advisory committee (SEAC) introduced a new process.

Notably, fresh Guinness World Record holders Epidemic Music Group (EMG) requested $5,000. The record-breaking concert brought a lot of people, revenue and recognition to the town, Coun. Rob Hargrave and Mayor Justin Altmann argued. However, councillors Ken Ferdinands and Hugo Kroon had their own concerns: hesitance to fund a commercial venture and a lack of financial information provided to council, respectively.

Council ultimately followed SEAC’s recommendation and granted $5,000 to EMG.

While the Terry Fox Run received a donation of $4,924.25, Coun. Rick Upton agreed to cover the grant for the Terry Fox Run set for Sept. 17 ($1,133.87) with “no sponsorship expectations whatsoever.”

The grant will be used to cover costs for police and the sound company during the event.

Another group, YoungLife, requested a grant of $5,000 for its Christian-based community work with youth. Coun. Ferdinands initially brought up concerns of approving a grant for a “non-secular organization.”

After Ferdinands highlighted that much of YoungLife’s budget included salaries, the grant was deferred pending a second presentation after council decided that grant money be spent on programming and not salaries.

Donations were approved for 100 Kids Who Care ($200), Stouffville Terry Fox Run ($4,924.25) and Evergreen Hospice ($2,680).

The Ballantrae Golf and Country Club Social Committee received its grant of $1,500. Lemonville United Church received $1,000, and the Whitchurch-Stouffville Softball Association received $1,800.

A second grants and donations round will occur in September for events running from October 2017 to April 2018.

A detailed list of grants and donations can be found at the town website (townofws.ca).