North Elba Launches New Grant Fund

The Town of North Elba has announced the newly established North Elba Local Enhancement and Advancement Fund (LEAF). The mission of LEAF is to provide funds for programs, activities, and facilities that will have direct benefits to North Elba communities and improve the quality of place for both residents and visitors.

The North Elba LEAF is a dedicated and ongoing fund available to nonprofits, local governments, and public sector organizations within the Town of North Elba. Monies for the fund are derived from a dedicated 2% Essex County occupancy tax that was implemented by the Essex County Board of Supervisors in June of 2020.

Projects eligible must positively impact the community and its visitors by meeting the following criteria:

• Addresses a significant need of the community
• Will be executed by an organization that demonstrates sound administration and financial management
• Entails an initiative that will not depend on ongoing funding from LEAF
• Will be completed within a defined timeline

Grant approvals will be a two step process. The North Elba LEAF committee, after due diligence in reviewing all eligible applications, will make recommendations to the North Elba Town Board (NETB) for final approval. The North Elba LEAF committee will not exceed 11 members and members will be approved by the NETB. Committee support, grant administration and grant compliance will be provided by the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST).

A committee of 11 members is responsible for accepting and reviewing applications and will make award recommendations to the North Elba Town Board.

A public information session will be hosted virtually on Tuesday, January 5th, 2021 at 5:30 pm to provide an overview of LEAF, outline the application process, and answer any questions.

Details on how to apply and the scoring criteria are now available online. Applications for the initial round of funding will be accepted between January 1st, 2021 and March 1st, 2021.

The second round of applications will be accepted no later than September 1st, 2021 and approved by the town board no later than November 1st, 2021.