New $30 million program for local projects and initiatives
Crime prevention groups, victim assistance units and other organizations in the justice system now have an opportunity to apply for funding through a new program announced by Alberta Gaming.
When the government made the difficult decision to discontinue the Community Lottery Board Program, many organizations feared the loss of available grants and funding.
Relief for these valued organizations has come in the form of the new Community Initiatives Program (CIP). Launched on June 24, this program will provide over $30 million per year for the next three years to Alberta’s not-for-profit organizations, making it the province’s largest lottery-funded grant program. All $1.2 billion in revenue from VLTs, ticket lotteries and slot machines goes back into the Alberta Lottery Fund to benefit Alberta’s communities.
The development of CIP is the result of Gaming Minister Ron Stevens’ two-month review of the granting guidelines and was made possible as a result of Alberta’s unexpected budget surplus.
By combining the $30 million allocated to CIP and the approximately $23 million in planned funding increases to the other lottery-funded programs and agencies, this new program will help ensure that by 2003-04, volunteers will have access to the same level of lottery funding for their projects as they did in 2001.
Similar to the successful and respected Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP) and the Wild Rose Foundation, the Community Initiatives Program is centrally managed and has a grant limit of $75,000 per project per year. Grants will be approved on a matching basis which may be met in the form of money, volunteer labour, services, or donated materials or equipment for the project.
For more information about the Community Initiatives Program (CIP) and to download an application, visit www.gaming.gov.ab.ca/cip or call toll free at 1-800-642-3855.
