GENERAL COMMITTEE
	TO:	Mayor and Members of Council
	FROM:	Andy Taylor, Commissioner of Corporate Services Barb Cribbett, Treasurer
	PREPARED BY:	Mark Visser, Manager of Strategy, Innovation & Investments
	DATE OF MEETING:	2005-May-30
	SUBJECT:	Grants & Sponsorships Guidelines

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report dated May 30, 2005 entitled “Grants & Sponsorships Guidelines” be received;

AND THAT the attached Grants & Sponsorships Guidelines be approved;

AND THAT all funding requests that do not fall into the Celebrate Markham and Table Sponsorships categories be grouped into a generic “Council Promotion” category with an upset limit of $1,000 per request, unless otherwise approved by Council.

PURPOSE:

The Council of the Town of Markham recognizes the contribution of community groups/organizations in their attempt to enhance and promote the Town, and is committed to building the community by celebrating the artistic and cultural uniqueness of Markham.

While the Town would like to assist in every worthwhile cause brought forward, there are financial restrictions caused by competing interests vying for a limited pool of funds. Each year, numerous requests are brought forth to Council and individual members of Council from organizations and groups seeking Town funding (both reoccurring and one-time events).

As the Town strives to continually be a financially and socially responsible organization, the following guidelines have been developed to help assist Council to determine which endeavours provide a value and benefit to the Town, and the appropriate funding limits associated with different types of requests.

BACKGROUND:

There are currently six categories of funding available:

Category	2005 Budget	Individual Limits	Approval Method
Celebrate Markham	$207,500	n/a	Budget Process
Table Sponsorship	$22,000	$3,000	Ad Hoc
Travelling Teams	$3,000	$1,000	Ad Hoc
Council Promotion – Minor	$4,000	$250	Ad Hoc
Council Promotion – Major	$5,000	$1,000	Ad Hoc
Major Temporary Support	$0	$1,000	Ad Hoc
Total	$241,500

Currently, Celebrate Markham events are approved through the budget process, while all other funding decisions are made throughout the year. The total funding available and individual limits are reasonable and no changes are recommended. However, the current method in which requests are handled and the guidelines associated with the approval process make it difficult to stay within budget. Furthermore, the large number of grant/sponsorship categories makes approval and payments difficult to track on a consistent basis.

It is recommended that all grant and sponsorship requests that do not fall into the Celebrate Markham or Table Sponsorship categories be grouped into a generic “Council Promotion” category with an upset limit of $1,000 per request, unless otherwise approved by Council.

It is recommended that the budget amounts for each individual category be approved during the budget process, with the detailed allocations to be decided upon by the following areas:

• Celebrate Markham – Grants Sub-Committee
• Table Sponsorships – Mayor’s Office
• Council Promotion – Clerk’s (or Council if over $1,000)

The proposed methodology is as follows:

Category	2005 Budget	Individual Limits	Allocation Method
Celebrate Markham	$207,500	n/a	Grants Sub-Committee
Table Sponsorship	$22,000	$3,000	Mayor’s Office (or Council if not on list)
Council Promotion	$12,000	$1,000 (Advertising @ $250)	Clerk’s (or Council if over $1,000)
Total	$241,500

ATTACHMENTS:

Appendix “A” - Town of Markham Grants and Sponsorship Guidelines

Barb Cribbett, Treasurer

Andy Taylor, Commissioner, Corporate Services

Q:\Finance and Administration\Finance\SHARED\2005 General Committee Finance\0522 Grant Policy Report.doc