Millennium Grants Program Allocations

The Economic Development and Parks Committee recommends adoption of the recommendations of the Millennium Task Force contained in the following report (June 3, 1999) from the City Clerk:

Recommendation:

The Millennium Task Force on June 2, 1999, recommended to the Economic Development and Parks Committee, and Council, adoption of the report (May 20, 1999) from Councillor Chris Korwin-Kuczynski, Chairman, Millennium Task Force, wherein it is recommended that:

(1)the Millennium Grants allocations totalling $438,500.00 to 105 organizations/groups, listed in Appendix "A" and described in Appendix "B", be approved;

(2)those organizations/groups wishing to appeal their allocations be given the opportunity to appear before the Millennium Task Force on June 30, 1999, to put forth reasons as to why their allocation should be changed;

(3)any funds not allocated and/or released to the Millennium Grants Program applicants be the subject of a future report to Council; and

(4)the appropriate City officials be authorized to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.

Background:

The Millennium Task Force had before it a report (May 20, 1999) from Councillor Chris Korwin-Kuczynski, Chairman, Millennium Task Force, entitled "Millennium Grants Program Allocations".

(Report dated May 20, 1999, addressed to the

Millennium Task Force Committee from Councillor Korwin-Kuczynski

Chairman, Millennium Task Force Committee)

Purpose:

This report presents the recommended allocations for the 177 organizations/groups which have applied for municipal support within the Millennium Grants Program.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

The approved budget for the Millennium Grants Program is $500,000.00 which is sufficient for the recommended allocations presented in this report.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)the Millennium Grants allocations totalling $438,500.00 to 105 organizations/groups, listed in Appendix "A" and described in Appendix "B", be approved;

(2)those organizations/groups wishing to appeal their allocations be given the opportunity to appear before the Millennium Task Force on June 30, 1999, to put forth reasons as to why their allocation should be changed;

(3)any funds not allocated and/or released to the Millennium Grants Program applicants be the subject of a future report to Council; and

(4)the appropriate City officials be authorized to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.

Council Reference/Background/History:

Through Clause No. 27 of Report No.18 of The Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee, adopted by City Council at its meeting held on October 1 and 2, 1998, the City established a plan for its role in the year long activities to take place in the year 2000 as part of the global Millennium celebrations. The City wanted to support community initiatives and potential legacy projects as part of the Millennium celebrations and so a grants program was created to support such initiatives. The budget, mandate, eligibility criteria, application form, assessment process, and the Terms and Conditions of the Millennium Grants Program were also adopted.

The City of Toronto's Millennium Grants Program was established to provide financial assistance for initiatives that help residents and visitors celebrate the Millennium. The Program's mandate is to support the efforts of Toronto-based organizations to mark the Millennium through a variety of one-time only initiatives that explore our culture, celebrate our achievements and build our future. Opportunities for new funding would be offered to existing communities across the City in a variety of areas such as culture, sport and recreation, environment, social services and others.

In January 1999, the Millennium Grants Program was announced through press releases, public service announcements, and mailings to over 1,500 community groups. Each Member of Council was given the announcement and 25 Millennium Grant applications for distribution to groups within his or her ward. Staff held four information sessions within the City to discuss the program and to answer questions. These sessions were well attended.

Comment and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

Millennium Grants Budget:

The total budget approved for the Millennium Grants Program is $500,000.00. The maximum grant is $10,000.00 and the minimum is $500.00 per group as described in the guidelines. Recommendations for allocations, as outlined in Appendix "A", total $438,500.00. This does not include the allocations awarded to two organizations, Cahoots Theatre and Cooking Fire Coalition, that have subsequently withdrawn their applications. This has increased the amount of the appeals fund by $13,500.00, making a total of $61,500.00 available.

Applications and Review Process:

Over 350 applications were mailed out after initial staff screening to determine eligibility. This number does not include the applications given out by Councillors or those at the information sessions. One hundred and seventy-seven applications were received and of these 174 were received prior to the deadline of 4:00 p.m. on March 1, 1999, and three were received well after this date. The application form was designed to allow applicants to write their own proposal using common headings with specific leading questions. Sufficient substantiating data was required to ensure accountability for City funding.

The requests total $1,663,320.00. The applications represent all Wards within the City except Ward 27. The ward was determined from the applicant's address which is not necessarily the address of the group. The ward number in which the Millennium event will take place would have a significant impact on the ward distribution list. It is noted some downtown wards appear to have a disproportionate number of projects; however, there are more venues, facilities and organizations in these wards.

Over sixty different types of projects were submitted to the Millennium Grants Program for funding. Some of these are festivals, concerts, performances, portraits, exhibitions, awards, parades, commissioned works, books, storytelling, conferences, gardens, races, recreation trails, web sites, CDS, time capsules, contests, scholarships, sculptures, tapestries, quilts, directories Millennium coin, heritage projects, celebrations, playgrounds and a rally.

Staff from the Culture Office reviewed applications for completeness and accuracy and requested additional information and/or clarification as necessary. To be eligible for funding:

(1)the applicant had to be a not-for-profit organization (if not incorporated then the group had to be sponsored by a incorporated group or have a charitable number);

(2)the applicant has a head office in the City of Toronto;

(3)the project could start no earlier than September 1, 1999 and be completed no later than December 31, 2000;

(4)the project is new or goes beyond the routine activity of the organization;

(5)the project is intended to have lasting benefits to the community;

(6)the project supports the mandate of the City of Toronto's Millennium Grants Program;

(7)the project is consistent with the organization's objectives;

(8)the project is accessible to members of the public; and

(9)other funding partners are involved in the project.

Staff of the Culture Division prepared summaries of eligibility using these criteria for the Millennium Task Force.

Allocation Issues:

The allocation criteria for assessment of the projects included:

(i)supports the Millennium Mandate (this was heavily weighted);

(ii)is consistent with the group's objectives;

(iii)has specific goals which can be measured;

(iv)demonstrates community involvement and support, including how many people will participate in and benefit from the project (this was heavily weighted);

(v)is accessible* to the community (this was heavily weighted) and has lasting benefits; and

(vi)has other financial supports and community partnerships.

*Accessibility was interpreted to be the most inclusive which was defined as "able to be reached". This definition would include physical location of event, public or private site, on transit system, has available parking, cost to attend the event, capacity and the degree of community involvement. Community was defined by the geographic area or interest.

Projects that demonstrated financial viability which had realistic budgets, variety of funding sources in both the private and public sector, and some confirmed funding received higher rankings than those whose budgets were totally dependent on government grants or corporate sponsorships.

The Millennium Grants are provided for one-time only project support and cannot be used for core or sustaining funding for ongoing services or programs. The projects supported must be new and address the mandate of the program. Some applications requested support for ongoing programs. Others requested support for new programs which could be considered part of the organization's everyday business, or for new initiatives that did not relate to the Millennium celebrations or to the Millennium mandate. These programs and projects are worthy, but they did not meet the allocation criteria and, therefore, were ineligible for funding.

Allocation Recommendations:

Allocation recommendations have been made by the Millennium Task Force in accordance with the allocation criteria. Appendix "A" provides a list of the applicants and the recommendations for Millennium funding. Appendix "B" includes a summary of each project request, and comments on the grant and conditions, if applicable.

A total of 177 applications were received and 105 are recommended for grants totalling $438,500.00.

Project-End Report:

Within three months of the completion of a project, a final report must be submitted to the City. The report must include information about whether the project's goals were met, how its success was measured, the level of community response, and so on. Additional details on what is to be included will be provided in the Terms and Conditions as set out in the Letter of Understanding.

Terms and Conditions:

Approved grants for the Millennium Grants Program are governed by the Terms and Conditions which are set out in a Letter of Understanding between the organization and the City of Toronto. The Terms and Conditions cover issues such as the expectations about the purpose of the grants, how funding is to be acknowledged, payment and report schedules, accounting and use of funds, grant periods and disclosure of information. Culture staff will have the responsibility for executing the Letters of Agreement in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

Appeals:

An amount of $61,500.00 is available for appeals. Groups will be notified in writing of the opportunity to appeal the grant recommendations to the Millennium Task Force at its meeting scheduled to be held on June 30, 1999, in Committee Room No. 2, 2nd Floor, Toronto City Hall, at 9:30 a.m. Those wishing to appeal will be required to contact Ms. Betty Henderson, Secretary of the Task Force at 392-8088 or Ms. Colleen O'Neill at 392-5227 to be assigned a specific time. These recommendations will be appended to the main report which will go to the Economic Development and Parks Committee for its meeting on July 12, 1999.

Remaining Budget:

There is $61,500.00 unallocated and many of the grants are conditional on confirmed funding, venues and dates, community partners, and additional information. It is possible that some of the funds in the Millennium Grants Program Budget may not be disbursed. Should there be any unallocated funds and/or undisbursed grants by March 1, 2000, a report will be submitted to Council as to the possible redirection of this budget as it relates to the Millennium.

Conclusions:

It is anticipated that there will be at least 2000 Millennium Celebrations in Toronto. The majority of these are being planned and implemented locally by community organizations. The Millennium Grants Program enables a wide variety of organizations to participate in making the celebrations in Toronto memorable for all involved including residents, tourists and visitors. The City can be proud of the Millennium initiatives that will be undertaken by the community through the Millennium Grants Program.

Contact Name:

Ms. Cathi Forbes, Cultural Affairs Officer, 395-6192.

(A copy of Appendix "B" referred to in the foregoing report was forwarded to each Member of Council with the Agenda of the Millennium Task Force meeting of June 2, 1999, and a copy thereof is also on file in the office of the City Clerk.)

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Millennium Grant Recommendations Appendix A

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Millennium Grant Recommendations Appendix A

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Millennium Grant Recommendations Appendix A

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Millennium Grant Recommendations Appendix A

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Millennium Grant Recommendations Appendix A

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Millennium Grant Recommendations Appendix A

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Millennium Grant Recommendations Appendix A