Whereas not-for-profit organizations make invaluable contributions to communities throughout British Columbia in the form of community and social services and community recreational infrastructure, and such organizations are not eligible to apply for gaming grants to support capital projects; And whereas British Columbia communities which do not host casinos and community gaming centres are unable to benefit from the sharing of revenues from such facilities: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM strongly urge the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch through the Minister of Finance to reinstate Community Gaming Grant funding for major capital projects initiated by not-for-profit organizations.
Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development In 2011, responsibility for the Community Gaming Grants program was assigned to the Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development but the day-to-day operations of the program remained with the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch at the Ministry of Finance. In April 2016, operational responsibility for the program was consolidated into the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development. The Community Gaming Grants program continues to provide access to funding for community based not-for-profit organizations in multiple sectors including: arts and culture, sport, environment, public safety, human and social services and parent advisory councils and district parent advisory councils. Ministry staff are continuously engaging with key stakeholders and partner organizations, including the BC Association of Charitable Gaming and the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres, to ascertain the most important policy issues relating to the program. In our consultations to date, the issue of the restoration of funding for major capital projects has been identified as an ongoing concern for community based not-for-profit organizations. Government recognizes the tremendous work that not-for-profit groups accomplish in their communities. On February 12, 2017 the Province announced that an additional 5 million in annual funding will be available for capital projects costing over 20,000 through the Community Gaming Grants program. This raises the Community Gaming Grants programs total annual budget to 140 million. The Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development will provide further information on the Capital Projects sector, including the project categories, eligibility criteria and timing of the initial intake period, by March 31, 2017.