All Grant and Aid requests approved

In 2020, the City of Merritt received applications for $72,492 in grant and aid funding. That led to Council denying a number of requests to bring to total under the $50,000 cap.

This year, denials were not necessary. Only $35,580 has been requested by local organizations for the 2021 program.

“2021 saw a substantial decrease in applications, again likely due to COVID event cancellations. All 2020 applicants who did not put forward a 2021 application were contacted to ensure that no applications were missed from these organizations,” said Deputy Finance Director Sean Strang.”

Last week, Merritt City Council approved the entire list of grant and aid applicants. To avoid conflicts of interest, the approval was done in stages with various councillors recusing themselves from certain applications.

Some of the approved applicants included the Arts Council, Fall Fair Association, Curling Club, Dance Society, and Country Christmas.