CITY OF WELLAND

POLICY

The objective of the policy is to ensure that funding allocations are made according to established and common criteria. The City of Welland recognizes the contribution of voluntary and charitable organizations and individuals to the quality of life enjoyed by the City. City Council has adopted a policy with respect to providing financial assistance to these organizations and persons.

Policy Details:

Legislative Authority in the Municipal Act provides for the making/awarding of grants:

Section 107, Municipal Act, 2001
Despite any special provision of this or any other Act relating to the giving of grants or aid by a municipality, subject to Section 106 (Granting of bonuses for commercial and industrial businesses), a municipality may make grants on such terms as to security and otherwise as the Council considers appropriate, to any person, group or body, including a fund, within or outside the boundaries of the municipality for any purpose that Council considers to be in the interests of the municipality.

Definition:

For the purposes of this policy and the awarding of grants and assistance to not-for-profit organizations, the definition of not-for-profit corporations (as defined in the Not-for-Profit Incorporators Handbook of the Province of Ontario) is as follows:

"Not-for-profit corporations are incorporated for the purpose of carrying out, without pecuniary gain, objects of a patriotic, charitable, philanthropic, religious, professional, sporting or athletic character. In other words, not-forprofit corporations are engaged in activities that are of benefit to the community. They are incorporated under Part III of the Corporations Act as corporations without share capital."

This policy recognizes the six (6) types of not-for-profit corporations (also defined within the Handbook):

1. General type - this would include such corporations as ratepayers’ associations, business or trade associations, community organizations, etc.

2. Sporting and athletic organizations, arts and cultural.

3. Social clubs - these are corporations with objects in whole or in part of a social nature.

4. Service clubs such as Lions, Rotary, Kiwanis and Optimists.

5. Charities - these would include religious organizations, and organizations engaged in carrying out certain good works of benefit to society.

6. Special circumstances, crisis relief.

Note: A primary difference between a charity and another type of not-for-profit corporation is that upon dissolution a charity is required to distribute its remaining assets to other charities, not to its members. Other types of not-for-profit corporations may (unless prohibited from so doing in its charter of by-laws) on dissolution distribute remaining assets among members. Also, a charitable corporation, because it usually solicits funds from the public and enjoys certain legal and tax advantages (e.g. under the Income Tax Act - Federal) is subject to more stringent reporting requirements than a not-for-profit corporation of another type.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

a) City Significance & Need

This policy does not speak to grants or requests made by the City to other levels of government.

An organization seeking assistance should ensure City significance is stated clearly in its purpose for seeking assistance. City significance includes, but is not limited to, the following:

An organization serving the municipality of the City of Welland;

An organization that does not duplicate services provided by another agency, by the City itself or an area municipality;

An organization that can meet an identified and quantifiable need in the community, as determined by City Council, and can demonstrate the need for the service;

The acceptance of any City grant obligates the accepting organization to allow any citizen of the City to participate in that organization’s activities;

Organizations should not be in conflict with the other criteria and conditions in this policy.

b) Funding

The City of Welland will not fund organizations whose purpose, or principle source of funding, is the responsibility of other levels of government, e.g. social services agencies who receive, or could receive, greater than 30% of their funding from any or all of the Region of Niagara, Province of Ontario, Government of Canada, or their respective boards or agencies.

The City will not provide grants to organizations whose services, in the opinion of City Council, are better funded through purchase-of-service agreements.

The City will not provide grants to organizations that, in turn, give grants.

An organization should be able to demonstrate the need for City funding and also demonstrate that it has sought funding from other sources including appropriate and applicable fundraising. The awarding of grants is to provide assistance, and not establish dependency. City Council will determine the continuation of grants to any organization receiving a grant for 3 consecutive years.

The City will include in its operating budget on an annual basis an amount to cover approved grant requests plus 10% of that total for seasonal requests. Monies not spent will remain in the account and be carried forward to the next budget year and the 10% seasonal request will be adjusted accordingly.

Organizations or individuals seeking assistance are limited to 1 request per fiscal year (City) irrespective of the amount requested. Applicants should include all possible anticipated costs in their application. A denied request constitutes the request for the year (in other words, if a request is denied the organization may not re-apply for any reason for a grant or grant-in-lieu within the fiscal year).

c) Recognition of the City’s Contribution

Any organization receiving a grant from the City will recognize the City’s contribution in any promotional literature which may be prepared by the organization.

d) Use of Funds
Any grant funding approved by the City must be used for the purposes stated in the organization's application, unless prior approval to change the purpose of the grant is given by the City.

e) Commitment by the City

The approval of a grant in one year or over several years in no way obligates the City of Welland to future funding for an organization. Likewise, meeting all of the conditions for a grant does not obligate the City to provide a grant to any organization.

f) Organizational Status

For an organization to be considered for a grant from the City, it must:

Be managed by a voluntary board of directors who will take responsibility for the receipt and disbursement of funds,

Be a not-for-profit organization,

Have a majority of its clients or members as residents of the City or otherwise provide a significant benefit to the City; and

Be committed to the use of volunteers.

ANNUAL OPERATING GRANTS

Council approval is required for annual operating grant requests and applications will be considered during the City’s annual budget approval process. In general:

The City will not fund more than 15% of the operating costs for organizations with budgets in excess of $10,000.00. This is an upper limit for grants, and this limit should not be interpreted as a/the funding level for organizations seeking grants.

The City will not provide grants for the purpose(s) of funding or assisting an organization's operating deficit.

The City will not fund organizations whose purpose is the responsibility of other levels of government. (See General Principles)

The annual operating grant must be used for the delivery of programs to a defined target audience and not for existing overhead, administrative expenses, fundraising activities, funding of previous year's deficits, debt charges or capital costs.

Applications for operating grants must be submitted by the deadline set annually by the General Manager - Financial and Corporate Services in order to be considered for budget approval. All applications will be reviewed by the General Manager - Financial and Corporate Services who will report eligible grant requests to the Budget Review Committee in the first quarter of the forthcoming budget year. The Budget Review Committee will make recommendations to City Council with respect to the awarding of grants. Applications received after the deadline will be forwarded to the Budget Review Committee for consideration; however, the Budget Review Committee reserves the right to deny any application received after the deadline.

Applications for annual operating grants must include financial statements for the previous year including balance sheet and statement of revenue and expenses. Organizations not normally audited by professional accountants are required to submit an independent review of the statements attesting to the accuracy of the information.

CAPITAL GRANTS

A capital grant is defined as a one-time grant to an organization for the purpose(s) of acquiring a physical asset for use by the organization to carry out its programs within the City. Council approval is required for capital grants and Council may consider a capital grant if:

The purchase of the asset will benefit the recreational, social and cultural life or the delivery of service to the organization's clients or members,

The application is made prior to the organization acquiring or committing to the acquisition of the asset,

The organization has conducted a fundraising campaign and has approached all other sources of potential funding.

In general:

a) Applications for capital grants must be submitted by the deadline set annually by the Budget Review Committee in order to be considered for budget approval. All applications will be reviewed by the General Manager - Financial and Corporate Services who will report eligible grant requests to the Budget Review Committee in the first quarter of the year. The Budget Review Committee will make recommendations to City Council with respect to the awarding of grants. Applications received after the deadline will be forwarded to the Budget Review Committee for consideration; however, the Budget Review Committee reserves the right to deny any application received after the deadline.

b) The application for a capital grant must be accompanied by a complete capital budget showing the sources and uses of all funds and an estimation of ongoing operating costs for the project (if any).

c) The sources of funds should indicate any significant level of funding from other sources. Funding information should distinguish between funds-in-hand, funds pledged but not received, and projected additional funding, and any conditions which could in any way affect the availability of those funds.

d) The maximum contribution of the City will be 10% of the cost of the project.

e) Applications for capital grants must include financial statements for the previous year including balance sheet and statement of revenue and expenses. Organizations not normally audited by professional accountants are required to submit an independent review of the statements attesting to the accuracy of the information.

f) Any anticipated future funding requests to the City must accompany the capital grant request.

g) Capital grants will be awarded only once per project or related project.

TRAVEL ASSISTANCE GRANTS

Grants for travelling expenses to provincial/national, or international competitions will be considered if there is significant City benefit from the attendance at such an event.

Criteria for Travel Assistance Grants:

A provincial, national, or international governing body must sanction the competitive event for which the assistance is being asked.

The event must be a recognized competition, and the competitor must have qualified for the event. Grants will not be considered for open invitational tournaments.

Residents applying for assistance must be residents of Welland, and 18 years of age or younger.

Assistance will only be available when travel to the site exceeds 300 kilometres one way.

The individual or group must show an indication that other fundraising efforts have been made.

Competitive events include, but are not necessarily limited to essay competitions, ‘spelling bees,’ and sporting events.

Limits for Travel Assistance Grants:

The following is a breakdown of the amounts that may be distributed by the General Manager - Financial and Corporate Services without Council approval based on requests that qualify:

a) Provincial Competitions:
Individuals - maximum $100
Team - maximum $30 per competitor to a maximum of $500

b) National Competitions:
Individuals - maximum $125
Team - maximum $30 per competitor to a maximum of $750

c) International Competitions:
Individuals - maximum $150
Team - maximum $50 per competitor to a maximum of $1000

SPECIAL EVENT and SPECIAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS

The City of Welland will award funding to eligible applicants for special events, or for special assistance. This funding is intended to assist individuals and organizations for one-time events and occurrences in Welland. Examples of special events include ‘pep’ rallies, awareness campaigns (MADD), welcoming celebrations. The General Manager - Financial and Corporate Services has authority to make decisions for grant amounts up to $2,000.00. Budget Review Committee and Council approval is required for grant amounts over $2,000.00.

Criteria for Special Event and Special Assistance Grants:

Grants for special events or special assistance require that the event or assistance provide significant City benefit, and will include promotion, awareness, public relations, volunteer recognition, community involvement, and employment opportunities.

The City will not consider grants for the purpose(s) of holding fundraising events.

The General Manager - Financial and Corporate Services reserves the right to seek Council approval for amounts less than $2,000.00 if in his opinion, the event is /may be potentially sensitive.

Organizations requesting these grants are not required to be registered non-profit organizations.

GRANTS-IN-KIND/GRANTS-IN-LIEU / WAIVING OF FEES

The City of Welland will provide a grant-in-kind/grant-in-lieu/waiving of fees to eligible applicants to help offset the cost of a charge that would be levied by the City. An example of a grant-in-lieu would be the City waiving development charges, a licencing permit, or those fees affecting normal revenue streams related to bylaws. Where an agency requests the City to provide services, or waive user charges or fees rather than provide a monetary grant, the monetary equivalent of the grant must be calculated and included in the grant application. Refer to the City of Welland Special Events Application Form and Requests for Services-In-Kind Form. The calculation of the monetary equivalent must include all costs associated with the provision of the service, regardless of whether the City would normally charge for the service.

Any group provided a special grant will not be awarded a waiving of fees.

Grants-in-lieu/kind affecting City owned facilities and structures are subject to availability.

An impact report to Council prepared by City Staff is required prior to award of the grant, and may accompany the in-kind/in-lieu request.

CRITERIA FOR GRANTS-IN-KIND/GRANTS-IN-LIEU/WAIVING OF FEES

The following is the decision criteria used to determine if an organization would be eligible for a Grants-In- Kind/Grants-In-Lieu/Waiving of Fees.

Step One: If the organization meets the definition of a not-for-profit corporation as provided on page one of this policy and the organization meets the general principles as set out in this policy, then proceed to Step Two. If not, the request for Grants-In-Kind/Grants-In-Lieu/Waiving of Fees is denied.

Step Two: If the Grants-In-Kind/Grants-In-Lieu/Waiving of Fees request also includes a grant request, the request would go directly to the Budget Review Committee as a permissive grant request. If there is no permissive grant request, continue to Step Three.

Step Three: The City of Welland Grants-In-Kind/Grants-In-Lieu/Waiving of Fees applications are required by October 31st and May 31st of each year. If the application is not received by the deadline, the request would be denied. If the application is received by the deadline, proceed to Step Four.

Step Four: The Grants-In-Kind/Grants-In-Lieu/Waiving of Fees applications for less than $3,000 may be approved by the General Manager - Financial and Corporate Services. If the request is greater than $3,000, the request is included with the permissive grant requests for review and approval by the Budget Review Committee and City Council. If the request is less than $3,000, proceed to Step Five.

Step Five: Each year, the City allocates $60,000 for Grants-In-Kind/Grants-In-Lieu/Waiving of Fees applications of which $50,000 would be granted with October 31st applications with the remaining $10,000 to be reserved for the May 31st applications. The May 31st requests are for organizations new to the Grants-In- Kind/Grants-In-Lieu/Waiving of Fees process. Organizations who submitted a request in October and were denied would not be eligible to re-submit for the May 31st request deadline. The General Manager - Financial and Corporate Services will review requests and approve grant requests provided budget allocation dollars are available. Organizations who are denied a Grants-In-Kind/Grants-In-Lieu/Waiving of Fees request will not be permitted by the City Clerk to appear as a delegation to address the City of Welland Council.

The awarding of a grant-in-kind/grant-in-lieu/waiving of fee in excess of $3,000 is subject to Council approval. Any conditions imposed by Council such as proof of insurance, assurance of safety of City employees, and City staff participation in the activity, and indemnification of the City of Welland.

NEW FUNDING REQUESTS

Agencies or organizations requesting grant funding for the first time or requesting funding for new program initiatives must demonstrate the following (in addition to those listed in the General Principles):

a) That a genuine and demonstrable need in the City is being met;

b) That the service or program is not duplicated either in whole or in part by another organization within the City, regardless of whether or not the City funds the other organization;

c) That the City grant will be used for the delivery of programs to its defined target audience and not for existing overhead, administrative expenses, fundraising activities, funding of previous year's deficits, debt charges or capital costs;

d) That other sources of revenue have been examined and pursued including consideration of user fees (depending on the ability of the clients / participants to contribute financially to the program).

The City of Welland will not normally consider extending grants to replace financial support previously provided by other funding bodies.

City Council may or may not decide to receive new funding applications depending on the funds available in any budget year.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

All grant requests must be submitted to the General Manager - Financial and Corporate Services on the standardized forms.

PAYMENT OF CITY GRANTS

In general:

Capital grants will be paid to the organization once the asset has been purchased and payment is due. Where the asset forms part of a larger project which is not yet complete at the time of payment of the grant by the City, the agency will provide such security or indemnification as may be required by the City to cover the eventuality that the remainder of the project is not completed.

Travel assistance grants, special event grants and special assistance grants will be provided to the individual, or organization upon approval of the General Manager - Financial and Corporate Services or Council upon satisfactory completion/submission of application criteria. Payment is provided on the understanding that the individual or organization will provide a follow up report, or testimony concerning the event, competition, etc., as may be requested by Council from time to time.

Grants-In-Kind/Grants-In-Lieu/Waiving of Fees will be provided to the individual or organization upon approval of General Manager - Financial and Corporate Services or City Council, as applicable.

RELATED DOCUMENTS:

City of Welland Grant Application package
City of Welland - Special Event Application
City of Welland - Request for Services-In-Kind