Stop Abuse in Families (SAIF) Society will be able to keep its programming for children and youth at full capacity thanks to a top-up in grant funding approved by St. Albert city council.
On Dec. 7, council voted on a motion to top up SAIF’s outside agency operating grant by $21,400 to reach the non-profit’s full ask of $42,800.
Initially, the city’s Community Services Advisory Committee recommended granting half of SAIF’s ask amount for the operating grant, and $12,500 in Family Community Support Services funding.
Areni Kelleppan, SAIF’s executive director, said her organization was “so relieved” to hear council’s decision.
“We understand municipalities are under a great deal of stress,” Kelleppan said. "They have received a number of cuts to funding, and so their ability to fund agencies like ours would be significantly impacted as well."
Kelleppan noted SAIF presented a plan to reduce its ask to council by 10 per cent each year for the next three years, beginning this year. Kelleppan noted SAIF fell just short of that goal, reducing the ask by eight per cent in 2022, but anticipates next year will be a 11-to-12-per-cent reduction.
“We went to council and said, 'We know you’re hard up, but this would be a real blow to the plan we proposed,'” Kelleppan said.
Kelleppan noted the outside agency grant doesn’t directly fund SAIF programs, but instead goes toward overhead costs, which she said are difficult to find funding for.
“It’s pretty critical for us to get that funding,” Kelleppan said. “If [council] cut by the amount they were saying, that would necessitate us cutting funding from elsewhere.”
SAIF’s child and youth programming is 100-per-cent donor funded, Kelleppan said. This means that funding can be reallocated.
“We don’t usually like to do that,” Kelleppan said, noting a significant reduction in operating funding can lead to tough decisions.
When presenting to council on Nov. 22 to ask for a reconsideration, Kelleppan said SAIF’s children and youth programming serves 40-50 kids each year, in addition to supporting their parents.
Coun. Sheena Hughes, who forwarded the motion to top up SAIF’s funding during budget deliberation, argued it is crucial to support organizations such as SAIF as the pandemic is ongoing.
“Investing in our youth that are struggling … and giving them skills so that it doesn’t become a repeating pattern is an investment that I think is worth having,” Hughes said when she brought forward the motion.
One-offs not sustainable: Joly
Coun. Natalie Joly described SAIF as “very dear” to her heart, but said she wouldn’t support the motion.
“We have a long-term problem with the amount of funding in our pot,” Joly said. “If we want to change the way we fund organizations in St. Albert, that should be done systematically, not through these one-off motions … it’s just not sustainable.”
Mayor Cathy Heron agreed with Joly, but said it was “impossible” to vote against the motion.
“It seems like we’re picking a favourite, but it’s too hard — especially during COVID-19, when the funds are going to kids’ mental health,” Heron said.
Hughes noted SAIF came before council to present a case for additional funding, in addition to presenting their plan for sustainability earlier in the year. Ultimately, she argued, the funding was too important to pass on.
“There are children that need it,” Hughes said.
The motion passed 6-1, with Joly opposed.
