THUNDER BAY – Local non-profits will receive a nearly $3 million injection of municipal funding in 2021, as Thunder Bay’s city council approved a list of 18 organizations for grants under the Community, Youth & Cultural Funding Program.
The grants approved Monday covered most of the more than $3 million requested this year via funding applications from 19 local non-profits.
The one application denied entirely was from Wake the Giant, which requested $20,000 but was not recommended for funding. Many other applicants received slightly less than requested.
Coun. Andrew Foulds said the impact of the fund should not be underestimated, with city dollars helping to leverage larger contributions to local organizations from senior levels of government and other funders.
The support was particularly needed during the pandemic, he added, as social services faced increased demand and arts and culture groups confronted an almost total drop-off in revenue.
“We’re helping a lot of communities that are really struggling, in particular in the last ten months,” he said. “We’re making sure kids living on the edges have activities to do; we’re making sure the RFDA has some dollars to get food to the entire region; the Lakehead Social Planning Council does Herculean work.”
Among the largest recipients of CYC funds in 2021 are the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium ($741,000), Thunder Bay Museum ($456,000), Shelter House ($415,000), Thunder Bay Art Gallery ($271,000), Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra ($250,000), Boys and Girls Club ($122,000), Magnus Theatre ($143,000), and the RFDA ($100,000).
The total CYC fund allocation of $2,883,000 in 2021 approved unanimously by councillors Monday was unchanged from the previous year’s total. That includes over $56,000 in emergency COVID-19 funding that can be awarded throughout the remainder of the year.
The city also established a $235,000 emergency fund to help non-profits with COVID-19 needs in 2020.
