For sporting groups throughout the region, money is always an issue and often the limiting factor when it comes to supporting certain projects or activities.
This year a new source of funding became available thanks to the Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation in partnership with the True Sport Foundation, the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation and the City of Waterloo. Together they created a pilot project called the Waterloo Region True Sport Grant, which recently distributed some $42,500 to 18 groups.
The concept was to help enhance local communities by promoting sport as a way of building capacity within that community.
“Community sport inspires friendship, learning, health and personal growth,” said Rosemary Smith, CEO of the KWCF. “These traits are strong influencers of a vital community, which is at the root of the foundation’s work.”
There were 39 grant applications, totaling more than $125,000, and a six-person adjudicating panel whittled the choices down to the final 18.
“They looked at a broad variety of factors, it wasn’t simple by any means,” said Smith. “They were looking for opportunities to make an impact, they were looking for what the grant was based on in terms of assets for the organization, [and] they looked at how broadly it would reach within the community they were trying to serve.”
The programs that were awarded money ranged from after-school drop-in sports programs and a girls’ sports leadership camp to an outdoor neighbourhood ice rink. Applications were accepted from May to early June and the projects awarded grants ranging from $4,800 to $636, and all the money must be re-invested back into the community projects by December.
Despite having members of the Woolwich community on-hand for the initial meetings, the KWCF was disappointed when no formal applications came in from either of the townships.
“That broke our hearts. That absolutely broke our hearts,” said Smith, adding that she could only speculate about the lack of applications.
The pilot project will have to be closely evaluated before a decision is made on whether or not the program can continue next year, she added, saying that everyone involved was learning along the way.
“I’m hopeful that the money is used in a way of making change in the community, but until we review those I can’t say if the grant program will move forward or not.”
