Alberta grants $38M to Calgary nonprofits for facilities and meal expansion

Alberta announced Tuesday that $38 million in provincial grants will flow to community organizations across the province, with Calgary nonprofits among the recipients getting funds to expand capacity and improve access.

Calgary Meals on Wheels received $650,000 to expand its facility with a 1,300-square-foot freezer and a 700-square-foot cooler. The expansion will allow the organization to prepare, store and distribute an additional 180,000 meals annually to seniors aging in place, families facing financial strain, people recovering from illness and students in school meal programs.

The Genesis Centre in northeast Calgary received $125,000 to replace its gymnasium elevator, which the organization said will improve accessibility for the 1.6 million people who visit the facility each year. "Imagine a young mom with two kids in tow, and a stroller, and trying to manage through the facility and navigate, where an elevator is not working," Genesis Centre president Sherry King said. "This really is about accessibility. This is multigenerational."

The funding comes through two Alberta programs: the Community Facility Enhancement Program, which helps organizations build, improve and maintain public spaces, and the Community Initiatives Program, which addresses community needs. According to the province, the two programs have supported more than 700 projects each year. Through the matching-funding requirement in CFEP, every provincial dollar allocated brings in an average of $3 in additional funding from other sources.

Alberta's Minister of Arts, Culture, and Status of Women Tanya Fir said the spending will help nonprofit organizations maintain and expand the services Albertans rely on while responding to changing needs in their communities. Organizations seeking funding must submit applications and meet program requirements, which Fir said her ministry reviews thoroughly to determine where the funding goes.