With the announcement today of the new Franklin Bursary, the Meaford Hall & Culture Foundation has demonstrated a shift in their focus.
The oft criticized organization has in their first few years, concentrated on a combination of raising funds to contribute to capital expenses at Meaford Hall, and bringing productions and events into the Hall in order to get as many people into the seats as possible.
According to the Foundation, after the decision of the council of the day to establish Meaford Hall as a 'hall for hire' with the goal of having the facility sustain itself, there was a need to get things happening at the Hall.
In 2007 some 36 of the 42 events staged at Meaford Hall were initiatives of the Foundation. As the Hall has established itself, and has been able to book more of it's own productions, the number that the Foundation has presented has declined to roughly 20 in 2008, and 10 in 2009.
More than 10,000 patrons have attended Foundation backed productions at Meaford Hall.
“The Foundation accepted the risk of getting performances into the Hall,” Barb Clumpus Chair of the Foundation told The Independent in an interview last month, “The most important issue was to get the Hall on it's feet again.”
Clumpus stressed that the foundation has no involvement with the management of the Hall, and like the Hospital Foundation, their role is to support the Hall. When the Foundation stages an event at the Hall Clumpus stresses that they pay the full commercial rate and they are effectively a customer of the Hall.
“The Hall is is owned by the municipality. The General Manager of the Hall reports to the CAO.”
Outside of an initial $30,000 in seed money from the municipality, the Foundation says it does not receive any public funds, and generates their revenues through contributions from donors.
Surrounded by controversy since the beginning, the Foundation chooses not to go 'tit for tat' with detractors, and rather approaches such controversy by inviting anyone who has questions about the Foundation and it's activities to speak to them directly.
The seed money provided by the municipality has been characterized by some as a loan, and an example of the Foundation having received public funds.
The Foundation insists that the money was strictly start-up funds, and in essence the municipality became the first donor to the Meaford Hall & Culture Foundation.
“There is no loan agreement between the Foundation and the municipality,” states Michael Anderson, a Director on the Foundation board. Anderson also said that if the funds contributed by the municipality were a loan, especially given the amount of money involved, there would certainly have been documentation.
A phone call to Meaford Treasurer David Kennedy confirmed that no such agreement exists.
“Last year during our audit I asked our auditors to investigate this,” Kennedy told The Independent, “And they traced the sequence of events, and it was definitely not a loan.”
Kennedy stated that the money was start up funding provided by the municipality, and there was never any expectation that this money would be returned to the municipality.
When the topic of the much debated projector at Meaford Hall is raised, both Anderson and Clumpus are firm in their assertion that nothing untoward took place.
“There was $35,000 within the capital budget approved by council to purchase a projector,” begins Anderson, “Then council put a freeze on capital expenditures.”
That freeze on capital expenditures came in the summer of 2007 at a time when one of the biggest events to be held at the Hall to date was about to take place. The Meaford International Film Festival (MIFF).
The event had been announced and promoted, guest speakers such as Ralph Nader had been booked, and the Hall did not have a projector- a critical piece of equipment for showing films.
As Anderson explains it, the Foundation decided to step in and work on a solution along with Hall management.
The Foundation was able to source a projector that was valued at $103,000, and due to their charitable status they were able to secure the projector for less than $75,000. The problem then was how to pay for the projector.
“We came up with a plan that allowed council to meet it's obligation that had already been approved (in the capital budget),” said Anderson.
That plan saw the Foundation secure a loan in order to purchase the projector. Meaford Hall then agreed to rent the projector for $1,000 per month for 35 months which would see the municipality spend what they had originally budgeted. The balance of the cost would be raised by the Foundation.
The council of the day approved the plan, and the funds for the agreement have been in every operating budget since. To date the municipality has paid $24,000 leaving another 11 months before the municipal obligation has been fulfilled.
Another criticism often levelled against the Meaford Hall & Culture Foundation is that is is an exclusive club. Anderson and Clumpus are quick to point out that they are a private foundation with a working board that currently includes eight directors that is always seeking to recruit people who can work with the full board and contribute.
The Foundation also points to the large numbers of volunteers that they engage on a regular basis. 20 community volunteers assist with the annual Christmas Celebration, and some 40 help out with MIFF.
As they look toward 2010, the Foundation is hoping to leave much of this controversy behind and focus on their mandate of raising funds, and supporting cultural initiatives in the municipality.
“It is very difficult to raise money in a negative atmosphere,” advises Clumpus who says that the Foundation will continue to seek sponsors of it's own productions, and Hall productions in general.
They also want to help bring educational opportunities into the facility.
“It has always been our ambition to have Meaford Hall as a bustling, fully operational entity,” says Clumpus.
When asked what motivates her to keep at it given the criticism over the years, Clumpus expresses that what she wants most is for the community to put the past behind and come together and move forward.
“I have never been a quitter,” says Clumpus, “I chose to move to Meaford because of the friendly and warm community feel. I want to be a part of it and help the community be the best it can be.”
