The City of Nelson is offering grants to local non-profit organizations to help them through the pandemic.
Mayor John Dooley told the Nelson Star that non-profits have been on council’s radar throughout the pandemic because many have experienced lost participant fees and cancelled events, and in some cases this has threatened the existence of the organizations.
“We’ve been trying desperately, since COVID struck, to see where we can make a difference,” Dooley said. “And this is another way to do that.”
The purpose of the grants is to help organizations recover and adapt, to rebuild organizational strength, and to build new funding models, he said.
The city has allocated $300,000 for these grants, taken from the $2,613,000 it received in November from the federal-provincial Safe Restart Agreement designed to support facility re-openings and local emergency response in the pandemic.
Groups may apply for an amount up to 50 per cent of lost revenue, to a maximum of $15,000.
The list of eligibility requirements includes the ability to demonstrate lost revenue, status as a registered non-profit or sponsorship by one, and an active presence in the Nelson area for two years.
Eligible expenses are operations and the cost of shifting to future directions.
Ineligible expenses include wages, start-up costs, commercial activity, political or religious advocacy, and educational activity by institutions.
Applications will be accepted only online, sent to smartineau@nelson.ca by the deadline of June 11 at 3 p.m.
City council will adjudicate the applications at a special meeting on June 29, and applicants will be notified on July 6.
Related: Nelson receives $2.6 million grant for pandemic recovery
bill.metcalfe@nelsonstar.com
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