Cold Lake City Council voted to provide a total of $19,000 in funding to assist Age Friendly Cold Lake Society.
“This is a new community group that is doing its best to provide assistance to our community’s seniors,” Mayor Craig Copeland said. “It can be challenging to find your footing as a not-for-profit, and council wanted to find a way to help the group as they get their start.”
The grant funds will be earmarked for assistance with the group’s utilities, office space, office supplies, advertising and website.
Age Friendly Cold Lake had asked Council to consider funding operational costs totaling just over $89,000 inclusive of staffing, and for an $11,000 grant to assist with subsidizing meals until corporate sponsorship could be found. Age Friendly Cold Lake also had requested that the Meals on Wheels Program be transferred to the group from Cold Lake and District FCSS.
Council decided against transferring the Meals on Wheels Program because similar transfers to other groups had not worked in the past, with the program returning to Cold Lake and District FCSS. This decision will be further discussed during the City’s 2022 budget deliberations.
“It’s a tough ask when it comes to funding another group’s operations – that’s a precedent we steer clear from – but Council wanted to assist Age Friendly Cold Lake in some way, and decided to provide a grant that would help with some of their costs,” Mayor Craig Copeland said. “These times have been hard for many groups who rely on grant funding. We will consider additional funding requests during our 2022 budget deliberations.”
From a City of Cold Lake Press Release