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AGENDA - Mayor's Golf Classic Funds Committee -20191205 Mayor’s Golf Classic Funds Committee Meeting Agenda Thursday, December 5, 2019 10 a.m. Leksand Room Aurora Town Hall Public Release November 28, 2019 Town of Aurora Mayor’s Golf Classic Funds Committee Meeting Agenda Date: Thursday, December 5, 2019 Time and Location: 10 a.m., Leksand Room, Aurora Town Hall Appointment of Committee Chair and Vice Chair Recommended: That a Committee member be appointed as Chair of the Mayor’s Golf Classic Funds Committee; and That a Committee member be appointed as Vice Chair of the Mayor’s Golf Classic Funds Committee. 1. Approval of the Agenda Recommended: That the agenda as circulated by Legislative Services be approved. 2. Declarations of Pecuniary Interest and General Nature Thereof 3. Receipt of the Minutes Mayor’s Golf Classic Funds Committee Meeting Agenda Thursday, December 5, 2019 Page 2 of 2 4. Delegations (a) Michael de Rond, Town Clerk Re: Advisory Committee Orientation 5. Matters for Consideration 1. Round Table Discussion Re: 2019 Mayor’s Charity Golf Classic Funds – Funding Application and Disbursement Process Recommended: 1. That the Round Table Discussion regarding 2019 Mayor’s Charity Golf Classic Funds – Funding Application and Disbursement Process be received and the comments of the Committee be referred to staff for consideration and action as appropriate. 2. Applications Received to Date (a) All Kids Can Play (b) Youthspeak Recommended: 1. That Application (a) and Application (b) be received; and 2. That the Committee provide direction to either: a. Grant funding request; b. Deny funding request; or c. Defer consideration of funding request to a future meeting. 6. Informational Items 7. Adjournment x x x x x Sport Aurora's All Kids Can Play Program 100 John West Way, Aurora. On, L4G 6J1 ron@activateaurora.com 289-221-5763 Mayor's Golf Classic Funds Committee Meeting Agenda Thursday, December 5, 2019 Application (a) Page 1 of 8 1 Application to Receive Funds from the Aurora Mayor’s Charity Golf Classic 2019 All Kids Can Play Program The All Kids Can Play Program has been in existence since 2012 and has been active in providing financially disadvantaged families the opportunity to apply for and receive funding to support their children’s’ sport participation. Since it’s inception, the fund has attracted donations to a total of $62,652.00 from 30 separate donors; many of whom are multiple donors. Most donors are service Organizations, sport organizations, golf tournament organizers and corporations who believe as we do that children of families in financial need have a right to participate in healthy active, socially acceptable programs. We receive no funding from any other source besides our donors and sponsors and 100% of all donations/sponsorships go to supporting the children who apply for funding, so without donors or sponsors, the fund does not exist. We have subsidized 256 eligible children over the life of the Fund, who are now engaged in healthy physical activity within our Community and with multiple sport Organizations. Our fund now attracts more applications than ever and our estimates are that at current funding levels we have less than 12 months of reserve in the fund. Our policy is to maintain 12 months of funding reserve to ensure continuity and sustainability of the Program. As part of our continued diligence, Sport Aurora recently reviewed the best practices available in terms of donor and sponsor recruitment as well as recipient access and we have now re-launched the Program, confident that our processes are fair, transparent and objective. x We have revamped our registration processes at www.sportaurora.ca to take advantage of the on-line environment yet securing privileged information. x Recognizing that funds are needed to support the administration and outreach activities, we have added a sponsor opportunity for those with support interests to provide funding for the outreach to both donors and recipients. In the past, all funds donated were directed to the recipients but now we need funds to outreach and sustain the Program through sponsorship. x Our ‘Outreach Plan’ has been designed to use traditional and social media as well as personal appeal to build the fund through new and existing donors and find eligible recipients. This includes an outreach to individual donors through a unique on-line funding strategy that will be ready early 2020. x The Work Plan for the AKCP Program has been approved by the Sport Aurora Board and we are now implementing that plan. The Sport Aurora All Kids Can Play Committee Co-Chairs – Rob Cattle- Sport Aurora Director Ron Weese Honourary Member and Past President of Sport Aurora Executive Director – Laurie Mueller Committee Member – Reg Chappell (Director Sport Aurora) Mayor's Golf Classic Funds Committee Meeting Agenda Thursday, December 5, 2019 Application (a) Page 2 of 8 2 The Problem: x According to the Ontario Physical and Health Education Association (OPHEA) school-age children are getting less than the 60 minutes per day of physical activity research suggests is necessary for maintaining health. x According to ParticipAction, Canada’s leading advocate for healthy physical activity, only 35% of children aged 5-17 are getting the required amount of physical activity to maintain health. x Only 20 minutes of Daily Physical Activity is provided for in the curriculum of elementary school children. x According to the Harvard Medical School in by the year 2030, fifty percent (50%) of health care dollars will be spent on the diagnosis, treatment and compensation for those suffering from Diabetes. Type 2 Diabetes is now considered an epidemic, It is also being defined as a lifestyle disease, largely preventable with regular physical activity and appropriate nutrition. x Parents report in multiple surveys that the cost of sport participation is responsible for keeping 1/3 of Canadian youth off of fields and out of gyms and that parents on average spend $953 per year per child to participate in sports. When surveyed, 87% of parents report they know of a child who cannot afford to participate in sport and physical activity due to cost. x According to Canadian Tire Jumpstart statistics, in 2018 alone 310,824 kids were helped across Canada distributing over $26,000.000.00. Typically funding from the CTC Jumpstart Program is depleted and closed before all applicants are served in Aurora. x In 2018 there has been an average 30% increase in subsidies provided by Sport Aurora Member Organizations to children and families who need financial assistance to continue with their programs. Our Member Organizations offer financial assistance through their own means each year to many children. The All Kids Can Play adds funding to more participants. x The Sport Aurora All Kids Can Play Program has received donations of over $60,000.00 from local businesses Service Groups and individuals and all funds donated go directly to the kids funded and the administration of the Program is funded by Sport Aurora through their sponsors and supporters. x Due to cost, there has been no campaign of awareness in Aurora to inform people that help is available and therefore people just don’t know of the possibility of subsidy. Sport Organizations are wary of promoting that subsidies exist because they do not have the capacity to subsidize all requests. It is a delicate balance to promote the program and ensure sufficient funds are available. x While Aurora is considered and affluent Community with comparatively high average incomes for all of Canada ($106,708.00-2016 Census data), many parents cannot afford to put their Mayor's Golf Classic Funds Committee Meeting Agenda Thursday, December 5, 2019 Application (a) Page 3 of 8 3 children into sports without financial assistance. While assistance is made through agencies such as JumpStart, the availability of funds is less than the need and so additional assistance is needed to ensure All Kids Can Play in Aurora. x Sport Aurora has partnered with Welcoming Arms in order to streamline the application process for participant families and reach more eligible recipients. Supplemental Program Information: What is Subsidized? AKCP offers financial support registration costs for organized recreational, introductory or developmental Sport Programs. Eligible recreational, introductory or developmental Programs are those that are inclusive of all children regardless of ability and where there are no selection processes of inclusion or where children can be ‘cut’ from a team or a Program. Programs that focus on recreational play, introductory sport instruction and fundamental movement or sport skill development are eligible. AKCP is designed to reduce financial barriers to entry to sport programs. Who Is ‘Eligible’? All Kids Can Play Program supports children and youth between the ages of 4 and 18 years. One exception is for participants with documented special needs who are eligible regardless of age. AKCP focus is entirely on the investment in children who wish to explore sport opportunities and become engaged in healthy sport participation at the recreational level and is intended to remove financial barriers to entry to sport. No fee subsidy associated with Competitive Programs are provided, nor are equipment costs subsidized. What is a ‘Program Session’? Programs offered by a qualified sport or physical activity Organization that are: x A minimum of eight weeks in duration. x Provide at least 1 hour per week of activity. x Considered ‘Try Me’ Programs that encourage children to participate for the first time in any sport. What is a ‘Funding Period’? Two Funding Periods exist; Spring and Summer and Fall and Winter periods and continuous intake is provided all year during each Funding Period. How are Funds Distributed? x Financial support is made directly to the Sport Organization, not the family nor the athlete and only after the application has been approved and registration has been confirmed by the Sport Organization in question. Mayor's Golf Classic Funds Committee Meeting Agenda Thursday, December 5, 2019 Application (a) Page 4 of 8 4 x The Sport Organization is responsible for providing 25% of the fee charged as a discount to the applicant. x AKCP will provide 50% of the fees charged up to a maximum of $300.00 per Funding Period. x The applicant is required to pay 25% of the fee directly to the Sport Organization but may be waived by that Organization. x The maximum AKCP subsidy of any and all fees to any given child or youth per Funding Period is $300.00. x Children can be funded to a total maximal annual subsidy of $600.00. x There is no limit to the number of children subsidized in any family. x Families can re-apply to subsequent Funding Periods provided all other funding criteria have been met. x Families must provide evidence of financial need through AKCP application procedures and be approved before funds are advanced to the sport organization. x Applications are available at local Elementary Schools, Welcoming Arms or the Aurora Public Library. On-line Applications can be printed at www.sportaurora.ca/akcp and submitted confidentially to Sport Aurora at the address identified. x The decision to fund any applicant is subject to final approval by the Executive Director and Board of Sport Aurora. Eligibility To be eligible for funding for one or more children, families must first meet specific financial criteria as per Revenue Canada’s Low-Income Cut-Offs (LICO) chart. Direct referral from local Pastors and school Principals is available for those deemed qualified by them. Welcoming Arms and Sport Aurora have reciprocal agreements to accept the qualification of participants. Application Processes AKCP applications are accessible to all who qualify for the program and are available as follows: 1. The Sport Aurora Web site. 1. Through personal appeal to Sport Aurora 2. Applications must be submitted and approved prior to the program's start date. 3. Applications must include proof of financial need. Anyone of the following will suffice as proof need to provide one of the following: an income assessment, T4 statement from the previous year, or three consecutive pay stubs. 4. Funding is up to $300 per funding period, subject to the All Kids Can Play Program’s discretion and/or local demands. 5. Children can be funded for successive seasons in an activity, up to a maximum of $300 per funding period. 6. The annual maximum amount a child is eligible to receive is up to $600, subject to the All Kids Can Play Program’s discretion and/or local demands. 7. Cheques are made payable to the service organization, identified as the “payee” in the application. A payee can be any local sport organization that coordinates the sports or physical activity on behalf of the qualifying youth/child. 8. All approvals will be subject to funding availability through the All Kids Can Play Fund. Mayor's Golf Classic Funds Committee Meeting Agenda Thursday, December 5, 2019 Application (a) Page 5 of 8 5 Applications must be submitted between January 15 and November 30. Funds will be distributed evenly over all spring/summer and fall/winter activities. Application Procedure All Kids Can Play (AKCP) Applications are to be completed by the responsible parent or guardian of the child in question. The following is required when the application is sent into Sport Aurora: 1. That the applicant’s Sport Organization agrees to the application. The applicant must contact the Club/Organization in order to complete the information asked on the application. 2. The applicant’s contact name, number, mailing address and signature from the Organization verifying information is correct and complete. 3. Applicant registration must be confirmed by the Sport Organization to the All Kids Can Play Program. 4. The application must be sent into Sport Aurora, 100 John West Way, Aurora, ON, L4G 6J1 5. A copy of the applicants Income assessment must accompany the application. 6. The application can be delivered by email or direct mail. 7. All applications and information are confidential and protected from disclosure. 8. Once application is assessed, the applicant is contacted via email. 9. Applications are assessed once a month. 10. Once the Applicants registration is confirmed by email, a confirmation of approval is sent to both the applicant and the sport Organization. 11. A cheque for the approved amount will then be sent directly to the Sport Organization for all approved applications. 12. Applications from Welcoming Arms are pre-approved as are those from Principals of schools and church pastors. Marketing and Communications Plan The goal of the All Kids Can Play Marketing Plan is two-fold: A) An Outreach Program is proposed to inform the public and potential families of the All Kids Can Play Program. It important that this Outreach Program is targeted to various known agencies that work directly with families in need. Public Awareness is important as well so that the Community is fully aware of the Program and that the Program receives high visibility and referrals. B) A Donor and Sponsor Recruitment Plan is proposed to: 1. Encourage donation of funds for distribution to families in need. 2. Identify Sponsors of the AKCP Program to financially support the Outreach and administration costs associated with the recruitment of applicants. 3. Celebrate and recognize donors and sponsors publicly. Mayor's Golf Classic Funds Committee Meeting Agenda Thursday, December 5, 2019 Application (a) Page 6 of 8 6 Strategies A) Social Media Campaign The social media campaign for All Kids Can Play includes all social media platforms and email newsletters. The Sport Aurora Facebook page, Instagram page, and Twitter page regularly posts features about the Program to reach as wide of an audience as possible and gain visibility online. The features will include videos, testimonials and thank-you’s to donors and sponsors. Through email newsletters, the All Kids Can Play Committee reaches out to schools to create a partnership. This partnership allows the schools to send the details of All Kids Can Play out to the parents of all the students. The targeted schools will be those that are earmarked for financial difficulty. Emails are also sent to as many people as possible in the Sport Aurora Database to spread awareness of the program. B) Advertising Campaign The advertising campaign includes a proposed quarterly ad in The Auroran newspaper. The campaign also includes promotional material such as posters and brochures that are available through partners, donors and sponsors. All Kids Can Play posters are posted in municipal sports facilities and all high-traffic locations where approved. Likewise, as part of the school partnership, posters are placed in approved schools. Churches will be engaged through Welcoming Arms. C) Public Relations Campaign The goal of the public relations campaign includes outreach to the general public to increase awareness of this Program. This will be done through media releases of gratitude after donations. The idea that every time there is a donation – there’s a picture, there’s a story, it will show people where their money goes. This is a proven strategy to connect with people. A call for a video intern has been made and this will contribute to the creation of a video about the All Kids Can Play program with a feasible budget provided by Sport Aurora. Terms Who is a Donor? A donor is a person or organization that donates money to the All Kids Can Play program and is to be used exclusively for family support of registration fees. The donations go towards the sports program registration fees required for the kids to participate. A donor can be an Organization an Agency or an individual. Who is a Sponsor? A sponsor is an Organization, and Agency or an individual who provides financial support to the All Kids Can Play Program to help fund the Outreach Program as well as the administration of the Program required to qualify applicants. Mayor's Golf Classic Funds Committee Meeting Agenda Thursday, December 5, 2019 Application (a) Page 7 of 8 7 Request for Funding The Aurora Mayor’s Charity Golf Classic has previously donated $5000.00 per event in 2015 and 2017. We request a total of $5000.00 in 2019 of which 20% will be considered a sponsorship and will be used to outreach to the general public and the remainder to be used for direct support of children in need. We thank you in advance for your consideration of our request. Mayor's Golf Classic Funds Committee Meeting Agenda Thursday, December 5, 2019 Application (a) Page 8 of 8 x x x x x YouthSpeak Performance Charity 909 Alness Street, North York ON M3J 2J1 una@youthspeak.ca 905-967-0604 Mayor's Golf Classic Funds Committee Meeting Agenda Thursday, December 5, 2019 Application (b) Page 1 of 2 ʹͷǡʹͲͳͻ ǡ ǡ Ȁ Ǥ ǦͳʹǤ ͷ͹ͲͲ ͳǦͺǯ“I think what was most impactful, was that these honest accounts hit close to the heart, our students don't often talk so candidly about issues related to mental illness and hearing other young people do so helped to breakdown the fear and stigma that some of them may feel about these topics. There is an authenticity that YouthSpeak provides that reaches people on a unique level. Our students walked away from the experience with a message of hope; knowing that no matter what challenges or hurtles life brings, we can grow, rise above and end up in a better place for having worked through these challenges.” Marisa Benakis, Teacher, St. Jerome, Aurora ǡ ǡ Ǥ ǡǤ ̈́ͶǡͶͲͲǤͲͲ Ǥǡ ǡǡǤ ̈́ͻͷͲ̈́ͷͲͲǤ ǡ ǡǤ Ǥ ǡ ǤǤ Ǥ ǡ ǡ Ȁ ͻͲͷͻ͸͹Ͳ͸ͲͶȀ̷Ǥ 909 Alness Street, Unit 909C North York ON M3J 2J1 www.youthspeak.ca Mayor's Golf Classic Funds Committee Meeting Agenda Thursday, December 5, 2019 Application (b) Page 2 of 2