SRD Considering A Grant in Aid Policy; Mawhinney, Whalley & Vonesch opposed

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - The Strathcona Regional District Board SRD is considering amending the Grant in Aid process. A proposed ‘Financial Assistance to Organizations’ policy from 2021 is being considered. Regional Directors Gerald Whalley from Area A, Robyn Mawhinney from Area C and Mark Vonesch from Area B (Cortes Island) voted in opposition, but were defeated.  

The associated staff report refers to a recent grant in aid to the Cortes Island School, questions the relationship between the school and Parent Advisory Council and asks whether the funds being requested should actually have come from School District 72.  

The policy brought forward in 2021 proposed that in the future: 

Applications must be submitted directly to the SRD’s Financial Officer.
Only registered non-profits can apply.
The funds are not to be used for core funding, operating costs, wages, insurance or multi-year funding etc.
Applicants must include a written statement indicating how the grant-in-aid will benefit the community.
The board will give preference to applications that do not exceed $5,000.

Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney, of Area C, spoke in opposition:

“I'm satisfied with the current model.  I think that the proposed policy that is included as a draft from 2021, does not benefit Area C constituents as it would deny applications for support with insurance fees, which can be a significant item for small organizations,  and the policy also denies support for groups which are not registered not-for-profits.  

"Apart from the repercussions this could create in area C. It made me wonder about more loosely organized events looking for support, such as the Campbell River Canada Group, which we supported with fireworks funding earlier this year, so I'm supportive of option B, leaving the grant and aid working as it currently is." 

Regional Director Gerald Whalley moved, “That the matter of policy for considering grants and aid not be pursued at this time.”

Campbell River Director Susan Sinnott explained, “The city of Campbell has got a substantial confusion in terms of how much money we're spending for various things like permissive tax exemptions, grants and aids and where we sit relative to other communities, including the funding source right now, where it's tied to the percentage of revenue of the city's tax base, which continue means it's growing, which I don't know if that's an acceptable use of tax dollars.” 

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