As part of ongoing restructuring, the Burns Lake Community Forest (BLComfor) has released its new and revised donation policy.
Starting this year, grant money for requests larger than $2500 will be available annually, on March 31 and Sept. 30 of every year. Eligible grant applicants will make their applications during intake periods prior to those dates.
Funding requests for amounts less than $2500 will be considered on an ongoing basis.
“I am very pleased to see this policy come out in time for the spring donation intake,” said BLComfor President Wes Sam. “There are many groups in the community that could benefit from these funds and we look forward to receiving their applications.”
Under the new donation policy approved on Dec. 12, 2013, applications will be considered by a donation committee made up of the operations manager and two directors from the board. The directors will serve a six month term on the donation committee before being rotated out and replaced by two different directors.
As previous to the new policy, funding will be available for local service clubs, outdoor recreation groups and facilities, sport teams and related events, as well as for local high school students proceeding on to a recognized post-secondary institution in resource management or environmental science or to a trades program.
Small amounts of funding, up to $2500, will be considered by the donations committee on an ‘ad hoc first come, first served basis’ based on the donation criteria.
The funding available for donations less than $2500 will be determined annually by the board based on operating budgets.
Larger grant request will be financed through interest earned on BLComfor investments, at up to one per cent of the value of those funds annually. These grant requests larger than $2500 will be awarded twice annually on March 31, and Sept. 30.
Grant proposals for those requests will be received on an ongoing basis as well.
The decision last year to pay the Village of Burns Lake a dividend of close to $1 million was a one-time departure from previous BLComfor practise of distributing funds directly to community groups.
“At this point it was a one-time payment,” said BLComfor general manager Kerry Martin. “There is no dividend policy planned at this time.”
Requests for a grant under $2500 can begin immediately, Kerry said.
The Village of Burns Lake has not yet determined how it will use the BLComfor money it received just before Christmas last year. The upcoming Feb. 4, 2014 public town hall will give VBL councillors and staff an opportunity to consider direction from the community regarding the best way to use the money.
The date for next public meeting, which will also be the annual general meeting, is set for this spring but with no specific date.
“This policy comes as part of the overall restructuring process that Comfor is currently undergoing,” reads a BLComfor statement. “The Comfor board prioritized this particular policy to ensure the least interruption possible [in funding].”
