The Parks Foundation Calgary has a long track record of working with grant applicants to create community amenities used by thousands of Calgarians every day.

The reality is for projects being proposed by community groups, costs are on the rise and grant funding levels seen in previous years don’t stretch as far as they used to.

As a result, the foundation has increased the level of funding being made available through the Amateur Sport Grant Program (ASGP) and the Building Communities Grant Program (BCGP) by 60 per cent.

“We’re excited to be able to increase the maximum grant amounts. We’ve seen increasing demand and increasing costs in both parks, playgrounds, and on the sport facility side. So, it’s great to be able to address some of that demand,” said Sheila Taylor, CEO of the Parks Foundation.

Grant funding for the ASGP has been increased from a maximum of $75,000 to $125,000, and for the GCGP, from $30,000 to $50,000.

An example of recent funding received through the program included the Sandstone MacEwan Community Association, which is rebuilding their outdoor rink space.

Taylor said that on the sport granting side, the increase in funding was in part a restoration of funding decreased during the pandemic due to decreased donations.

“We had reduced that program because the funds went down during the pandemic… and then we’ve been able to slowly increase it as that whole recovery has come through. So, that’s exciting on that side, and then we do want to really support sport facilities as well,” Taylor said.

“What we found is, if you’re say redoing a rink, that can cost hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Overall, she said, the funding for both grant programs has been made possible by increased funding from donors.

“We are hoping that that increase will make a big difference, because it also allows them to better leverage the funds. So when you’re a group who now has $125,000, and let’s say you’ll be going out and fundraising, granters and funders will often match funds. If you have $50,000, maybe you can match that with [another] $50,000,” Taylor said.

“It causes a much larger impact, because it accelerates their ability to fundraise.”

Applications are open for the next intake of projects, with the deadline set for Oct. 1, 2024.

Taylor said that Parks Foundation doesn’t have any targets set for how many applications they would like to receive, but said that they want to support as many good community projects as they can.

“We can’t necessarily support everyone that comes to us, but we’re on an ongoing basis working with groups, giving them advice and other support services. And we encourage them to apply at the right time, at a time that’s going to help their project succeed, and help them access other grants and donations, too,” she said.

“We’re hoping that a lot of good projects come forward in the fall and beyond.”

For more details on how to apply, and on conditions for the grant programs, see www.parksfdn.com.