Peterborough city council will be asked to endorse an allocation of $225,035 in city-funded community grants for 47 local organizations at its general committee meeting on Monday (March 2).
Along with the grants, a report from the city’s community services commissioner Sheldon Laidman is also recommending that council defer changes to the city’s community grants program until 2027 and extend a funding agreement with the Electric City Culture Council into 2027, to allow time for the city’s new Municipal Cultural Plan to be completed in the fall.
If councillors agree with the two recommendations, it will be the responsibility of a newly elected council to deal with both items given the municipal election in October.
The city’s community grants program currently includes community project grants and community investment grants.
The community project grant program, which has a maximum grant of $1,000 for eligible community groups, received 30 applications for funding. A committee comprised of city staff with expertise and experience in the approved funding streams — arts/culture/heritage, environment, health and social services, and recreation and sports — reviewed the applications and recommended a total of $20,965 in grants for 25 community groups.
The community investment grant program, which has a maximum grant of $15,000 for eligible charitable and not-for-profit organizations, received 23 applications for funding. A committee comprised of citizen appointees reviewed the applications and recommended a total of $204,070 be allocated to 22 organizations, with six arts organizations — ReFrame Film Festival, New Stages Peterborough, The Theatre on King, Peterborough Academy of Circus Arts, Peterborough Symphony Orchestra, and Public Energy Performing Arts — and one social services organization (Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peterborough) to receive the maximum grant.
The organizations and recommended allocations for community project grants and community investment grants are shown below.
Community project grants
- Abraham Festival – $1,000
- All Saints’ Anglican Church – $1,000
- Nogojiwanong Indigenous Fringe Festival – $1,000
- Operation Catnip – $1,000
- Peterborough Action For Tiny Homes (PATH) – $1,000
- Peterborough Chinese Community Organization – $1,000
- Peterborough Community Health Centre – $1,000
- Peterborough Gleans – $1,000
- Peterborough Humane Society – $1,000
- Peterborough Pop Ensemble – $1,000
- Peterborough Theatre Guild – $1,000
- Peterborough Veterinary Outreach – $1,000
- RC4G* Peterborough – $1,000
- Volunteer Peterborough – $1,000
- Bangladesh Association Of Peterborough Canada (BAPC) – $750
- Kawartha Artistic Swimming – $750
- Kawartha String Orchestra – $750
- Kawartha Wildlife Centre – $750
- Peterborough Canoe Kayak Club – $750
- Peterborough Friends In Music Community Band – $750
- Quaker Park Tennis Club – $580
- Indo-Canadian Association of The Kawarthas – $500
- Kawartha-Haliburton Children’s Foundation – $500
- Farms At Work – $450
- Peterborough Lawn Bowling Club – $435
Community investment grants
- ReFrame Peterborough International Film Festival – $15,000
- New Stages Peterborough – $15,000
- Peterborough Theatre Users Group/The Theatre on King – $15,000
- Peterborough Academy of Circus Arts – $15,000
- Peterborough Symphony Orchestra – $15,000
- Public Energy Performing Arts – $15,000
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peterborough – $15,000
- Artisans Centre Peterborough – $11,250
- Kawartha Komets Special Needs Hockey Program – $10,500
- Telecare Distress Centre of Peterborough Inc – $10,000
- Heads Up for Inclusion – $10,000
- Bedford House – $7,500
- Camp Kawartha – $7,000
- BIKE The Peterborough Community Bike Shop – $7,000
- The Art School of Peterborough – $6,188
- Peterborough County Children’s Chorus – $5,850
- Trent Radio – $5,000
- Kawartha World Issues Centre (KWIC) – $4,500
- Peterborough Swim Club – $4,282
- Peterborough New Horizons Bands – $3,500
- Down Syndrome Association of Peterborough – $3,500
- P. R. Community and Student Association (Sadleir House Facility) – $3,000
In addition to the recommended allocations for the community grants program, the staff report recommends that any changes to the program be deferred until 2027, to allow for guidance from the city’s new Municipal Cultural Plan (MCP), which is scheduled to be completed in November — after the municipal election in October.
The staff report also recommends that the city extend its existing funding agreement with the Electric City Culture Council (EC3) for 2027, to also allow for guidance from the new MCP on the role of an arts council in Peterborough.
“The timing for completion of the MCP support the rationale for deferring changes to the community grants program and a funding extension to EC3,” the report states.
In December, city council approved extending a community service agreement with EC3 for 2026 with total funding of $175,000, which includes $100,000 for EC3 operations, $50,000 for the grants for individual artists program, and $25,000 to cover planning costs for the bi-annual Artsweek event in 2027.
The staff report is recommending that the city approve the same amount of funding for EC3 in 2027, requiring a precommitment of $175,000 in the city’s 2027 budget. A newly elected mayor would be responsible for finalizing the 2027 budget in consultation with a new council.
Items endorsed by general committee will be considered by city council for final approval on Monday, March 9, when registered delegations will be allowed to speak.
