VERNON – North Okanagan non-profits were forced to make service cuts after they were denied provincial gaming grants.
Some believe it’s a sign the province is changing funding priorities.
However, the minister responsible denies that is the case and says the criteria for judging applicants remains the same.
It hasn’t been business as usual at the Nexus B.C. offices in Vernon for just over a month.
At the end of March, two part time staff members, who coordinated volunteers, were laid off because the organization didn’t get its usual provincial gaming grant.
The opportunity wall at Nexus B.C.’s officer are still covered in dozens of volunteer postings but no one is updating the listings.
Because it didn’t get its grant, Nexus B.C. is no longer able to help other local groups connect with volunteers.
Belsher says they were told one of the reasons their grant application was denied was the volunteer coordination wasn’t providing a direct community benefit.
But Belsher disagrees with that assessment. She argues helping other groups find volunteers is directly benefiting the community.
“To me that is what it is all about is the community,” says Belsher.
The lay-offs have made things difficult for the volunteer coordinator for the local Special Olympics chapter.
Without the Nexus help, Alison Dennis with the Special Olympics is having trouble filling positions on the organization’s board.
“It is stressful for me. It makes my job much more difficult and I feel more anxiety that I’m not necessarily going to provide for our athletes what I would like to provide for our athletes,” says Dennis.
Meanwhile, the Upper Room Mission’s application for a gaming grant to fund an employment and life skills program was also turned down.
That program would have also have kept staff in the building to provide a day shelter between meals.
Instead they’ve had to cut hours.
“The mission provides more than just food. It is a place that is safe. People come here for affirmation, for company, for support, for spiritual support and for food and we have taken away some of that and it is hurtful to them,” says Upper Room Mission Executive Director Rick Lavin.
Lavin didn’t want to go into details about why the charity’s grant application was denied but suggested it might be part of a larger provincial change.
“There has been a change in government policy to move the funding away from social services,” he says.
However, the provincial minister responsible denies there has been such a shift.
Peter Fassbender, B.C. Mnister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, says the province approves the vast majority of the thousands of gaming grant applications it receives and that the judging criteria hasn’t changed.
“The guidelines are clear. As long as organizations meet those, that is the basis on which the decisions have been made. We have not changed focus or policy this year,” he says.
Fassbender also points out groups can ask for grant funding decisions to be reviewed.
“What the professional civil servants do is they look at the guidelines and look at the application,” says Fassbender.
“There a degree of judgment that comes into that because we have so many diverse organizations. That is why the opportunity for reconsideration is provided because the determination is made but there may be extenuating circumstances.”
Nexus B.C. says it has already asked the province to review their grant application and the Upper Room Mission is expected to do the same in the coming days.
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