Cutting administration costs to a third-party granting program won't affect local non-profits, says Morden-Winkler MLA Cameron Friesen, but is instead aimed at creating efficiency and reducing redundancy.

The announcement the Province was cutting $280,000 in admin costs to the Manitoba Community Services Council last week had non-profits who rely on those grants initially concerned.

"There was some misinformation... a shockwave that had gone through Manitoba," Friesen explains, that suggested because of the admin cuts, all of the grants for which the Manitoba Community Services Council was responsible for were going away.

"That is completely false," Friesen says. "What we found is there was an awful lot of duplication and overlap between groups who do small grants in this way."

Genesis House Executive Director Ang Braun

Instead, Friesen says, the cuts are meant to improve efficiency and allow more funds to reach non-profits.

Last year the MCSC approved approximately $2.2 million in grants, including dollars spent in the Pembina Valley. Last quarter alone the MCSC granted $65,800 to the central region including $3,000 for the Northland Children's Centre, $4,000 for the Winkler Day Care Centre, $8,000 for the Pembina Valley Child Care Centres (Morden and Manitou) and $2,500 to the Roland Pumpkin Fair.

Ang Braun of the regional women's shelter, Genesis House, says the MCSC is a valuable resource; while many granting programs typically fixate on funding projects and equipment, MCSC also looks at dollars for vital programming and staffing.

"It's really the people that make the difference... I certainly need money for beds and furniture, but it's equally important I have staff here to answer the phone and answer the door," she says.

Friesen explains they hope to continue to simplify the process of applying for provincial grants and reduce admin costs, sending those savings back to organizations directly serving the community.

To do that, Friesen says the government will grant to groups directly, instead of giving money to third-party granting organizations and create a "single window" point of access.

Friesen says a "single window" point of access for grant funding will make it easier for organizations to access provincial grants

"We believe we can streamline the process," Friesen says. "The money won't be going to the middle-man, it will be going to the community groups."

However, MCSC Chairperson Jay Boaz says the structure of MCSC as a third-party removes politics from granting decisions.

"The intangibles brought by the extensive experience of the volunteer board cannot be replicated within a government bureaucracy, and certainly not at a reduced cost," Boaz says.

As of April 1, the Manitoba Community Services Council will lose $280,000 in administrative funding. Though Friesen adds there will be no reduction in grants this year, but will announce in the coming budget their commitment to local non-profits, "and it will be significant," he says.

Numerous daycare centres in the region receive funding from MCSC

Manitoba Community Services Council employs three staff members which review grant applications along with a 12 person volunteer board.

Yet, in speaking with non-profit directors Friesen says they've heard a demand for simplified grant proposals.

"Government needs to be concerned for cutting red tape, not just for business... but for non-profit entities," he says. "If we can make this process easier for them, it's going to help all of us."

Instead of writing grant proposals, Friesen says people want to be doing the real work of helping the vulnerable members of the community.