County Axes Annual Community Grants

Cumberland Council elected, tonight, to level the playing field when it comes to grant requests. On the recommendation of staff, council eliminated its Annual Funding Program.

The program offered a fast track to annual grants for nineteen organizations. The group has been receiving annual grants without an application.

They have long been deemed worthy, but council faces an increase in requests while grant funds have been decreasing.

The select group accounts for $204,552 of this year’s total grant budget of $499,559, about 45 percent.

The decision does not mean the annual grants won’t be available. It simply means the group must now get in line with all other applicants. The change will affect the YMCA of Cumberland, Ground Search and Rescue, some sports groups, a few historical societies, and others.

Council felt the privilege meant that new applicants had to compete for the shrinking cash in the grant budget. They felt it would be more fair to require all groups and organizations to follow the county’s new grant application.

Grants to organizations fell into three categories: annual, regional, and by local district. The new directive eliminates the annual category whose recipients must now apply within the regional disbursements.

The county cut its budget for grants last year and recent council discussions suggest there is concern about the current level of spending. Council will hold a series of special meetings, beginning next week, and program reviews and sustainability are high on the agenda.