New provincial fund aims to help refit cultural organizations
Posted Jul 29, 2010 By Charelle Evelyn
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Tweet ThisEMC News - The provincial government is hoping that a new funding opportunity will help diverse cultural communities have better access to public services.
The Community Capital Fund, which will be made available this September, is offering financial support for infrastructure projects undertaken by local not-for-profit and charitable organizations.
The one-time $50 million fund from the Ministry of Tourism and Culture will go towards revitalizing community-based infrastructure such as community centres, performance spaces and cultural activity centres.
"Not-for-profit organizations deliver important public services to cultural communities and contribute greatly to the social and economic development of the province," said Michael Chan, minister of tourism and culture, in a press release. "This new fund strengthens our diversity, supports local economic development and creates more jobs for Ontario families."
According to the ministry, diverse cultural communities rely on non-profit organizations and their facilities, but these groups are often hindered from delivering effective service by limited venues and cost barriers.
Although the Ontario Trillium Foundation will administer the grant, it does not preclude interested organizations from applying for both funding programs.
"We will be administering (the Community Capital Fund) on behalf of the ministry because we have years of experience with local organizations," said Alexis Mantell, senior communications officer for the Ontario Trillium Foundation. "This is a great pot of new money for cultural organizations at the community level to use if they want to take that step forward."
While the Trillium Foundation makes grants of up to $375,000 over five years through their Community Program, only up to $150,000 of that can be used for capital initiatives such as building renovations or purchasing equipment.
However, the new money will fund a project, such as the construction of a new building or renovations of a current one, up to 50% of the total cost to a maximum of $500,000.
All projects that are approved for funding must be completed by the end of 2012.
"It's much larger in scope," Ms. Mantell said. "It's clearly a much larger program."
Because the program is so new, many local organizations have not had the chance to fully research the Community Capital Fund, but they said they are interested in what it could mean for their community.
"We are in the process of communicating the information to our partner programs and agencies," said Kate Headley, communications officer for the United Way Ottawa. "We're making sure they know about it and encouraging them to apply. It is something that could help the community."
For more information on the Community Capital Fund, please visit the Ontario Trillium Foundations' website at www.trilliumfoundation.org.
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