The city of Port Coquitlam is establishing a foundation that will raise money and administer grants for community groups in need of funding.
And its first donation may come from PoCo taxpayers.
Called the Port Coquitlam Foundation, the non-profit organization will be headed by a board of directors and modelled after the Coquitlam and Port Moody foundations.
PoCo has a no-grants policy but in recent years council has given money to organizations such as the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce, Meals on Wheels and Communities Embracing Restorative Action.
Mindy Smith, the city's director of corporate services, said having an arms-length organization to administer grants will allow the municipality to focus on its own services. It also removes any appearance of favouritism with regards to who gets grants, she added.
"We have given to some organizations and not others," she said. "We want to broaden it so more organizations have more opportunities to access funds."
But launching the Port Coquitlam Foundation could require seed money from the city, Smith said.
During Thursday night's finance and intergovernmental meeting (scheduled to be held after The Tri-City News' deadline), council was to consider a staff recommendation allocating 2012 grant money intended for the Chamber of Commerce, Meals on Wheels and CERA in order to help set up the foundation.
If the recommendation gets final council approval, those organizations could still receive their grants, Smith said, but they would have to apply through the new foundation. Eventually, the city hopes the program would become self-sufficient, relying on local businesses and residents to support it through fundraising initiatives.
"Initially, we see city funds help get it started," Smith said. "After that, we hope the foundation will take off and go out to the community."
Mayor Greg Moore said the idea for the foundation has been in the works since the beginning of the year and he believes the initiative will make it easier for organizations seeking funding as well as for businesses and residents looking to give back to their community to do so.
Currently, sports organizations routinely ask local businesses for money to help with their programs. With the PoCo Foundation, Moore said, the process would fall under one roof.
"This gives business a proper process to provide that money to the community," he said. "They are not having to pick and choose who they support and who don't support."
Colleen Talbot, chair of the Coquitlam Foundation, said many people support such organizations because the money is spent close to home. Her foundation has several funds, including an environment fund, an education fund and a Coquitlam library legacy fund to name a few, giving donors a range of options for their money.
"If you have a particular interest you are able to support that interest," Talbot said. "It could be a scholarship for sports. It could be health issues, whatever your particular issue is."
