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Niagara Falls
Saturday, February 15, 2025
$102,000 up for grabs with the return of municipal discretionary grant
NOTL’s municipal discretionary grant is back. Applications are open until Oct. 20. (File)

After a long hiatus of the town’s discretionary grant program, Niagara-on-the-Lake businesses and organizations can now apply for a piece of a $102,000 pie to fund their endeavours.

The program hasn’t run since 2020 due to financial constraints and the COVID-19 pandemic, said Marah Minor, the town’s communications co-ordinator. 

The discretionary grant program’s budget of $102,000 is sourced from its parking meters revenue. 

The program is available for businesses and organizations within, or operating services, in NOTL who contribute to the town’s social, cultural, environmental and economic well-being. 

This includes functions that benefit residents as well as major capital investments, according to the town’s website. 

One business that benefited from the grant in 2020 was the Caribbean Workers Outreach Program, which used the grant towards cricket activities for farmworkers, like its annual farmworker cricket tournament.

The tournament is held in memorial park every year. Hundreds of seasonal farm workers from across Niagara gather to watch the match against the Niagara Clippers and the Vineland Lions. 

The money it received in 2020 went toward the cost of renting out the park for its 2021 competition. 

I’m hoping the town will consider the organization again for a grant to facilitate the annual cricket competition in 2024,” said Donna Brown, chair of the Caribbean Workers Outreach Program. 

Other organizations the grant has benefited in the past include Friends of Fort George, NOTL Palliative Care and the TD Niagara Jazz Festival. 

The opportunities provided through this Program positively impact our community and help realize the aspirations of organizations, groups, and events across the Town. We are excited to relaunch this valued Program,” Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa said in a town news release. 

Applications are open from now until Friday, Oct. 20, on the town’s website, Notl.com/form/application-for-financial-assist.

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