Tantramar council has approved two small grants recommended by Renaissance Sackville, an organization founded in 1994 which aims to offer seed funding and support to new community initiatives. Each year, the town budgets $25,000 for Renaissance Sackville, and over the course of the year the group submits a series of small grant recommendations to council for approval.

On Tuesday council approved giving Art Across the Marsh $950 to hire a designer redo their website in advance of the tour this October. The group celebrates artists from across the Tantramar Region. And a new group called MarshMends will receive $3011 to get established as a non-profit offering training, workshops and repair services aimed at reducing fabric waste.

Councillor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell sounded supportive of both projects, but expressed concern that the grant to MarshMends would help cover incorporation fees. “It should be incorporated and legally exist before grants are provided,” said Wiggins-Colwell. “Approving this would set a precedent for grants to be provided for other not-for-profits that aren’t incorporated.”

A short discussion ensued around Renaissance Sackville and the types of activities the organization funds. Director of Corporate Services Kieran Miller pointed out that at least one grant had been awarded in 2021 that included the incorporation of a non-profit group. Treasurer Michael Beal told council that Renaissance Sackville’s purpose has been “to assist groups and organizations to get off the ground… so if council would were to consider this getting the group organization off the ground, then that could be the prerogative of it.”

In the end, council approved both grants, with one nay vote from Councillor Bruce Phinney, who said he felt one of the projects benefitted “too few people.”