Twenty dollars a year doesn't pay for a rink board or a tree replacement. The math only works because the board pairs member dues with grants. Two programs do the heaviest lifting:

Inspiring Neighbourhoods Grant (City of Calgary)

Applications open year-round. Maximum funding by stream:

Stream	Max funding
Beautification & Placemaking	$15,000
Communication & Engagement	$10,000
Inclusive Communities	$10,000
Social, Recreation & Community Education	$5,000
Community Safety	$5,000
Technology	$5,000

Catch: projects must be shovel-ready, fully funded except the grant ask, geographically defined within a neighbourhood, and complete within a year of approval.

More info: City of Calgary, Inspiring Neighbourhoods Grant

Good Places Project (Federation of Calgary Communities)

Between $500 and $15,000. No matching requirement. 80% of approved funds paid upfront, the remaining 20% on reporting. Two intakes per year:

• Spring: Open April 1, applications due May 30
• Fall: Open September 1, applications due October 30

Eligible projects: public-space improvements (new or expanded) that engage community, are free to participate in, publicly accessible, and operable by the applying group.

More info: Federation of Calgary Communities, Good Places Project

What's on the board's radar

Without committing to anything yet, the board is considering applications around:

• Rink slab improvements, perimeter benches, lighting upgrades, better summer-use surfacing
• Gazebo & green-space placemaking, making the gazebo area more usable as a daytime community spot
• Community garden expansion, additional plots, accessible-bed retrofits, water access
• Pollinator garden continuation, building on the Battalion Park Grade 1 seed-bomb project (2026 spring write-up)

If one of those (or a different idea) matters to you, the May 30 Good Places deadline is real and we'd love member input before then. Email [email protected] by May 25 so the board has time to weigh proposals before applying, and watch for the Annual General Meeting in late summer, where members vote on strategy and elect the board.

Why this matters

The grants exist because the City wants community associations applying. They don't reward "we have an idea", they reward "we have a plan, we have community buy-in, and the dollars are partly already there." Member input + member dues are the partly-already-there. Without them, there's nothing to leverage.

What you can do

1. Renew your membership if you haven't this cycle, $20 here 2. Share a project idea by May 25 if you've got one, [email protected] 3. Watch for the AGM, that's the member-vote moment each year; the newsletter goes out a few weeks ahead

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Sources: NPC Board Report (May 2026) · Inspiring Neighbourhoods Grant · Good Places Project