Chatham-Kent could be handing out over $400,000 in grant funding to a handful of local organizations over the next few months.
On Monday, council voted in favour of providing up to $425,000 from the Together CK Fund to go towards over 45 community events and projects this year.
According to Mayor Darrin Canniff, a key factor in the decision to hand out those grants is that the municipality receives about $1.6 million each year from the OLG for hosting the casino in Chatham. He said that money is geared toward going back into the community.
"The money we're getting from [from hosting the casino] pays for these types of things," said Canniff, adding that the financial support from the municipality is key in driving a significant number of the events and projects. "If we did not fund those events, I would argue that 18 of them would not happen."
Manager of Corporate Initiatives Amy Wilcox said each successful applicant will be able to request up to 50 per cent of the approved grant amount after signing a grant agreement from the municipality.
"Successful applicants will receive a letter that will tell them the amount they've received," said Wilcox. "[The applicant] will also receive a grant agreement from legal services they will be required to sign."
In order to receive the final amount, applicants will need to submit a final report that includes a budget, copies of all invoices for reimbursement, and photos of the event or community project.
Councillor Rhonda Jubenville noted that in the staff report some organizations had received the full amount that was requested and others did not.
Wilcox said each applicant is ranked from highest score to lowest score, the process which determines how much funding an organization will receive.
"If you [the organization] scored the highest you'll get 100 per cent of your ask," said Wilcox. "Then we work through the amount of funds we have. My job as the grant administrator is to present options to the review committee on how best to share those funds through the group."
She said some groups got 100 per cent, while others got 50 per cent of the funding amount they requested.
A total of 50 community organizations were approved for grant funding this year.
Crowfest 2023 got $25,000, Festival of Nations also got $25,000, RetroFest 2023 received $20,000, and WAMBO received $17,500.
You can find a full list of events and how much funding they could receive here.