Council consolidates community grants policy in unanimous decision

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — City council unanimously passed a request to clarify the parameters and guidelines of Fort St. John’s community grant program and sponsorship requests. 

Council approved the policy without questions or discussion at their January 8th meeting.

In a report to council, Milo MacDonald, Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Fort St. John, says the policy is intended to streamline and clarify the grant process and repeal the three grant policies. 

“The Community Grants Policy will replace the three current policies and will have all community grant information within one document, making it a resource for administration and applicants,” said MacDonald. 

The city currently has three policies related to grant awarding: the Base Budget Grant Policy, the Discretionary Grant Policy, and the Conference Hosting Policy.

With the recent implementation of the North Peace Community Foundation (NPCF) and the addition of an Arts and Culture department within Fort St. John, the city felt “it was necessary to review these documents.”

The NPCF is a non-profit organization founded in 2021 by representatives of Fort St. John and other communities in the Peace River North Region with the goal of bringing together the financial resources of industry, business, families, and individuals to encourage philanthropy and provide long-term support for community opportunities, according to their website. 

The new policy categorizes the community grants into five sections that outline the various grant types with definitions, maximum allowances per grant, approval authorities, how to apply, eligibility and funding limitations.

The five sections are fee-for-service grants, North Peace Community Foundation Grants in Aid, conference/event sponsorship grants, micro-grants, and partnership grants. 

The policy was presented by staff at a committee of the whole meeting on December 11th, 2023. 

The community grants policy can be viewed below: