INNISFAIL – The Innisfail Special Events Planning Society has become the first local organization to receive event funding under the Town of Innisfail's new Sponsorships and Requests for Funding policy.
The society made a recent request to the town for sponsorship of its 2025 Innisfail Harvest Festival.
In a report to town council on Jan. 27, Kristen MacKenzie, community and social services manager for the Town of Innisfail, said the society’s request was the first one under the new policy since it was approved last fall.
With that approval the town’s 2025 operating budget includes $5,000 for sponsorships.
MacKenzie outlined the history behind the town’s financial support of the harvest festival.
She told council that in 2022 and 2023 the Community Services Standing Committee (CSSC) supported the Innisfail Special Events Planning Society through the Community Benefit Fund for the Innisfail Harvest Festival in the amount of $1,100.
Council was told that on March 13, 2024 the CSSC advanced a motion recommending council consider the harvest festival for annual sponsorship.
Two weeks later council approved $1,100 in sponsorship for the 2024 Innisfail Harvest Festival. It was funded from the 2024 Operating Budget.
“Through the discussion and development of the various community services policies it was determined that the requests for larger-scale annual events were best supported by the sponsorship policy,” MacKenzie told council.
The new sponsorship policy, which became effective last Oct. 28, has the following criteria for eligibility:
• The event is held within the geographical boundaries of lnnisfail, or if held elsewhere, provides a direct and substantial benefit to lnnisfail;
• The initiative's primary purpose is to benefit the community of lnnisfail, either through direct services, programs, or community enhancement projects;
• The organization hosting the event is a recognized local service club, charitable organization, non-profit entity, or local business, and
• The event aligns with the town's priorities and support initiatives that provide tangible benefits to the lnnisfail community.
Coun. Janice Wing wanted to know if anyone had considered the value of the town’s in-kind support to local events in addition to financial assistance.
“When we're speaking to the harvest festival people we can have a bigger understanding about what the actual value is, relative to having the bathrooms open, closing the roads and having bylaw or RCMP (at the event),” said Wing.
She later told the Albertan the issue was important as the town does not charge those extras to event organizers.
“I was just curious if they had ever actually totalled up the entire cost to the town, as opposed to just simply what it costs to write the check,” said Wing. “That's not something they're capturing now but its something that I'm going to work with them on doing for the future because I think it's important we have a full understanding about what the town's contribution is when we have events.”
MacKenzie told council the in-kind issue has been talked about in her office when reviewing policies in other communities as part of the process for local initiatives.
“There are some communities that do have a dollar value associated with various in-kind donations,” said MacKenzie. “It's not an avenue we went down but I definitely think it's something we can explore in the future.”
Council unanimously approved a motion to provide sponsorship to the 2025 Innisfail Harvest Festival in the amount of $1,100 to be funded from the 2025 Operating Budget.
