Each year the Municipality of Cumberland supports numerous organizations through County General Grants and 2024-25 is no different with the municipality providing $838,000 to close to 90 organizations in support of programs and events with the aim of promoting arts, culture, tourism and recreation.
Mayor Murray Scott was joined recently by Deputy Mayor Rod Gilroy and Councillors Dale Porter, Fred Gould, Mark Joseph and Angel McCormick in presenting cheques to representatives of various organizations at the Upper Nappan Service Centre, the River Hebert-Joggins Community Centre, the Pugwash Farmers Market, the Dr. Carson & Marion Murray Community Centre in Springhill and Ships Company Theatre in Parrsboro.
“I’m very happy the municipality can support all those organizations like we do each year. Most of these organizations are made up of volunteers who provide a very important service in their communities, whether it’s through museums, or recreational centre or non-profit organizations,” the mayor said. “These are valuable services that we could not replace.”
Recipients of County General Grants in Parrsboro (top photo) and Pugwash (bottom photo) are shown with Municipality of Cumberland Mayor Murray Scott. In total, the municipality has provided more than $800,000 in grants to groups and organizations across Cumberland County.
As in other years, the mayor said, the municipality received many more applications than it was able to support. The funding requests totaled approximately $1.2 million with the municipality able to provide more than $610,000 on top of $90,000 in funding through district grants as well as several long-term funding commitments to the Cumberland YMCA and NSCC and $7,000 in bursaries to graduating students at Cumberland County’s seven high schools ($1,000 per school).
The total commitment is approximately $838,000.
“We had a lot more requests than we were able to meet the demand but we try our best not to say no and to share as much as we can,” the mayor said. “I believe council did a great job trying to do the best job of sharing the money we have for grants in the budget this year.”
Recipients of County General Grants in RIver Hebert (top photo), Springhill (middle photo) and Upper Nappan (bottom photo) are shown with Municipality of Cumberland Mayor Murray Scott, Deputy Mayor Rod Gilroy, Councillors Dale Porter, Fred Gould, Mark Joseph and Angel McCormick. In total, the municipality has provided more than $800,000 in grants to groups and organizations across Cumberland County.
Some highlights include $75,000 to the Cliffs of Fundy Geopark as part of a multi-year funding commitment, $54,000 for the River Hebert and Joggins Development Association, $50,000 for the L.A. Animal Shelter’s capital campaign (second year of a three-year $150,000 commitment), $25,000 for the Parrsboro Lions Club for the arena as well as the King Seaman Church Society and for Cumberland County Transportation Services and $15,000 for Ship’s Company Theatre and the Wentworth Learning Centre.