Red Deer County non-profits have a few weeks left to apply for funding from the region's Family and Community Support Services or wait another three years before the opportunity arises again under a new model aimed to help groups better plan for the future.The Red Deer & District FCSS is asking that Letters of Intent be submitted by Feb. 11 for January 2012 to December 2014 funding of the delivery of preventive social services to residents of the Red Deer region.The Letters of Intent are the first phase in a two-part funding application process under the new FCSS funding model and are for projects over $10,000 per year. Following the Letters of Intent, eligible organizations will submit a funding proposal in spring 2011 to complete the application for FCSS funding for their organization.Red Deer's Youth and Volunteer Centre reaches more than 1,500 children in Red Deer County every year, and much of the funding for its programs comes from the Red Deer and District Family and Community Support Services (FCSS)ìAnytime an organization can get funding to last for more than a year it is great, it really is a positive,î said David Murphy, the executive director of the Youth and Volunteer Centre of Red Deer.ìI think that what they have done here is get a lot more clarity in what they will be able to fund and we are hoping that this will help us with the better delivery of our programs.îThe youth and volunteer centre, which has been around for almost 35 years, helps to facilitate programs such as the Boys and Girls Clubs in Penhold, Elnora, Springbrook, and Blackfalds, and they work closely with Big Brothers and Big Sisters in Innisfail.Camp Alexo in Nordegg is also run by the youth and volunteer centre and sends children from Central Alberta to camp there every year.It also runs the 49th Street Youth Shelter in Red Deer, the only youth emergency shelter in Central Alberta, as well as the Winter Inn in Red Deer.FCSS funding is used for all aspects of the delivery of the youth centre's programs including paying for staffing, utilities, and materials for the programs.Even though the youth and volunteer centre has been receiving steady funding from the FCSS for a number of years, the new model will still benefit their programs, said Murphy.ìIt saves you the time and energy of filling out all of the funding applications,î said Murphy.ìBut like anything with a new funding model we will see how it works out and there is still always competition for funding as well.îMany programs rely on funding from the FCSS; the youth and volunteer centre receives about $340,000 in FCSS funding annually.ìOur goal was to create a more positive and sound funding practice,î said Linda Boyd, the supervisor of resource and capacity development for the City of Red Deer.ìThe FCSS board has been trying to work on getting in front of things and working on prevention before they turn into bigger issues,î said Boyd, about the purpose of the new funding model.The Red Deer & District FCSS has not changed which types of organizations it will fund, just how that funding will be distributed to those organizations.
