Alberta announces grants for religious organizations

Religious organizations in Alberta are receiving financial help from the provincial government. The province announced they will be investing $1-million in the new Faith-based and Cultural Facility Grant; a program to help local faith groups struggling financially due to COVID-19.

“The Faith-based and Cultural Facility Grant will help ensure these organizations can continue to give back to their communities, host gatherings and celebrate important holidays,” said Leela Sharon Aheer, Minister of Multiculturalism and Status of Women and Culture.

Places of worship have seen less revenue and donations since the pandemic. The organizations say they’ve seen increased costs due to constant cleaning and adapting to the health guidelines.

Religious organizations were not able to receive existing pandemic response funding that was available earlier this year.

“The Government of Alberta is helping our communities stay positive and continue celebrating our important cultural festivals,” said Raksh Joshi, the President of the Calgary Hindu Society. He also says the grants will reduce social isolation while living with the “new norms.”

The grant will ease the expenses that started in April until March of next year. Eligibility for the grants is based on expenses including:

• cleaning supplies and hand sanitizer dispensers
• PPE
• facility changes to maintain social distancing
• technology upgrades for virtual services
• translation and printing services for health-related signs

There are 200 grants, each with a value of $5,000. Religious organizations may apply for one grant per location. Applications for the grant are now open. The first deadline is December 15 and the second deadline is on March 1.

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