Not-for-profits across the province received a $10-million cash injection this week.
Two St. Albert not-for-profits, the St. Albert Curling Club and Wildrose Parents’ Society, will benefit from the grant money, as well as the Sturgeon Valley Golf and Country Club.
The new Minister of Culture and Tourism Ricardo Miranda touted the funding announcement as supporting jobs province-wide, but was unable to provide a ballpark for how many positions the money might support.
“The number of jobs I cannot quantify off the top of my head, but I can tell you that it does obviously generate work in construction and once these facilities are open and ongoing it will create more because there are many programs that can be hosted here,” Miranda said.
While some larger capital project allocations, such as the community centre in Belgravia where the press conference took place, and operational grants will directly support the creation and continuation of employment within Alberta communities, the enhancement projects approved for St. Albert and Sturgeon County are unlikely to make a significant contribution to the labour market.
The Sturgeon Valley Golf and Country Club was among seven golf clubs to receive Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP) money from the province. CFEP provides matching grants to non-profits organizations for renovations and enhancement projects by reinvesting provincial lottery revenue.
The $45,000 will be used to update the club’s aging irrigation and sprinkler system with newer more eco-friendly infrastructure. The work will be completed this summer and fall, during off-peak hours.
The $15,000 received by the St. Albert Curling Club was spent this summer on improvements to the arena and banquet area in preparation for the 2017 Jiffy Lube Alberta Scotties Tournament of Hearts next January.
The club purchased a new ice scraper and paint sprayer, installed new carpeting that no longer leaves fibres on the ice, and painted the banquet hall – all part of its plan to create a world-class facility in advance of the tournament.
“Already this year, we’ve hosted the (Alberta) Winter Games playdowns, the women’s northern playdowns for the Northern Alberta Curling Association, and we’ve had nothing but raves about our ice conditions,” said manager Nicole Bellamy.
The Wild Rose Parents’ Society will use the $70,000 received from the government for the purchase of playground equipment to be installed at the elementary school.
There were no local projects listed under the Community Initiative Program, which offers capital, operational and programming funding to not-for-profits and international emergency relief efforts.
