North Battleford Councillors Len Taylor, left, and Kent Lindgren at a recent planning committee meeting. The city is planning changes to the lotteries grant program application process. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff) : Angela Brown

By Angela Brown

Support for sport, recreation

City plans changes to lotteries grant program application process

Feb 27, 2019 | 2:01 PM

Local non-profits that promote sport and recreation applying for funding from the Saskatchewan Lotteries Grant Program will need to note some changes for the upcoming funding period.

The grants are administered through the City of North Battleford. At its recent meeting Monday, council approved a few proposed revisions to make the application process a little more efficient for the city to work with.

One of the changes planned is to revise the council-appointed committee’s name that oversees the application process. As a result the Leisure Services Advisory Committee will be dissolved on March 31, and replaced with the City of North Battleford Saskatchewan Lotteries Community Grant Program Adjudication Committee. The committee’s job continues to be reviewing, approving or denying applications received for the grant program.

The mission of the committee is to adjudicate and administer the Saskatchewan Lotteries Community Grant Program for Recreation, Culture and Sports on behalf of the City of North Battleford and the RM of North Battleford.

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“It’s this committee’s job to allocate the funds from Saskatchewan Lotteries to the projects and events they see fit,” said North Battleford Mayor Ryan Bater following the city’s recent planning committee meeting, where the issue was first discussed.

“The city puts a lot of effort into engaging the public,” he added. “We engage youth organizations, families and senior organizations in making sure the leisure services that we are providing are benefiting the community, and being reflective of the desires of the community. We are going to continue doing that. This allows administration to do that, but really formalizes the committee to be specific to those grant allocations.”

Another revision to the grant program application process, the committee will now accept applications only four times a year during the upcoming funding period, which will run from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020. Previously, there was a continuous intake process.

In her written report to council Feb. 25, Leisure Services Director Cheryl DeNeire said the prior continuous intake of applications created challenges for the disbursements of the funds. Having intakes four times a year instead will make the process more efficient.

The upcoming application submission due dates for 2019-20 for the four intakes are: April 1, July 1, and Oct. 1 in 2019, and Jan. 1, 2020. Final reports are due by those accepted for grants 60 days after the end of the funded event or project.

Full details about the application periods and process are available through the city.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow