April 26, 2018
Province Launches Intake for Community Development Funding Applications
The Manitoba government is seeking grant applications for community development projects and initiatives, Municipal Relations Minister Jeff Wharton and Sustainable Development Minister Rochelle Squires, minister responsible for the status of women, announced today.
“Investments in these community organizations are critical in supporting the sustainability and economic development of neighbourhoods across our province,” said Wharton. “Budget 2018 announced an 11 per cent funding increase for the Community Places Program, demonstrating our continued commitment to community development in Manitoba.”
The government is investing more than $20 million in community development programs for the 2018-19 fiscal year. Applications are now being accepted for the Community Places Program, Hometown Manitoba, Neighbourhoods Alive! and Partner 4 Growth.
“As part of our government’s ongoing commitment to support survivors, I am pleased to collaborate with Minister Wharton to announce Neighbourhoods Alive! will place an emphasis on applications that support women in vulnerable situations and enable women’s empowerment,” said Squires. “We will continue to look for innovative ways to help reduce and prevent violence against women in Manitoba.”
The minister noted that in addition to projects that support women’s safety and reducing rates of violence against women, priority will be given to new applications focused on the following four additional areas:
- projects that enable economic development and align with regional development strategies;
- key repair of high-priority community assets;
- community initiatives concentrating on community, heritage, tourism and recreation facilities and projects; and
- social innovation like support for social enterprises, projects that include a social return on investment (SROI) evaluation and projects that target measurable social outcomes.
Successful applications will demonstrate how they will support planning, building and sustaining communities, and provide an overall positive benefit for their community. The Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) will now be involved in the evaluation process for community development programs announced today. AMM involvement will continue to align key priorities between provincial and municipal partners to ensure the community benefit is maximized at the local level.
“Community development projects are essential to promoting economic development and sustainability in our local communities, our regions, and our entire province,” said Chris Goertzen, president, AMM. “The AMM is pleased to have an expanded role on the selection committee and we look forward to evaluating what are sure to be very worthy applications to these programs.”
Application deadline is May 28. For more information, or to submit an application, visit www.gov.mb.ca/mr/bldgcomm/intake/index.html.
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