2015 ANNUAL RETURN AND GRANT APPLICATION - AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES
Deadline for application is February 1st, 2016
PART I: LEGAL NAME AND LOCATION DETAILS
Society Name:
Municipality:
OAAS District #:
Society Mailing Address:
Postal Code
Primary Contact Name*:
Email address:
Phone number:
Fax number:
*Contact person who will be available to receive OMAFRA annual return, grant application or other correspondence
Alternate Contact Name*:
Email address:
Phone number:
Fax Number:
Location:
Northern Ontario
Southern Ontario
PART II: SOCIETY INFORMATION
Number of members in society during 2015:
(total paid members at fiscal year-end, not junior or life members)
Does the Society own its own land?
Yes
Does the Society own its own buildings?
No
Yes
No
If no, does the Society have a lease agreement for use of land and buildings to hold its event?
Yes
No
Who is the lease with?
Expiration date of lease:
Date of the Annual Meeting: (MM/DD/YY)
completed)
(must be held after the auditor’s report has been
DATES OF ANNUAL FAIR OR EXHIBITION
For 2015: (MM/DD/YY)
Total Number of Days:
For 2016: (MM/DD/YY)
Total Number of Days:
Approximate attendance at 2015 Fair or Exhibition:
Total Gate Receipts Only$
(Do not include admission to special events, dances, etc. if this does not include admission to the
grounds during the fair or exhibition. Figures must match the information submitted on your
financial statement.)
Total Number of Annual Volunteer Hours:
Include board and committee meetings, fund raisers, fair related events, etc. required for all your
Agricultural Society activities.
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PART III: ACTIVITIES OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE AGRICULTURAL & HORTICULTURAL
ORGANIZATIONS ACT
Please check off the boxes below that show how your agricultural society encouraged interest and
improvement in agriculture.
Check only those categories that apply to your agricultural society.
Should your application be audited by the ministry, you will be required to provide justification and
evidence to show how your society performed the checked off statements.
a) Researching the needs of the agricultural community and developing programs to meet
those needs
b) Holding agricultural exhibitions featuring competitions for which prizes may be awarded
c) Promoting the conservation of natural resources
d) Encouraging the beautification of the agricultural community
e) Supporting and providing facilities to encourage activities intended to enrich rural life
f) Conducting or promoting horse races when authorized to do so by a by-law of the society
PART IV: AGRICULTURAL EXHIBITION GRANT
Expenses must be visible and identified on your financial statements. If not visible on the
financial statements, please provide a separate breakdown of these expenses.
a) CLASS EXPENDITURES
Competitive Class - Prize Money paid out for the following competitions:

Livestock Competitions (beef, dairy, sheep, swine, goats, horse, etc.)
$

Crop Competitions (horticulture and field crop competitions, etc.)
$

Farm Fresh Food Products (honey, maple, dairy livestock products, etc.)
$

Homecraft and Cultural Expression (baking, preserves, quilting, clothing, etc.) $

Youth Competitions (4-H, school classes, etc.)
$

Judge's costs for the above competitions
$
Total Competitive Class Expenses
$
Non-Competitive Class – Educational exhibitions or demonstrations:

Livestock Exhibits and Demos (cow milking, chicken hatching etc.)
$

Crops Exhibits and Demos (flower arranging etc.)
$

Farm Fresh Food Product Exhibits (bee hives, honey making, etc.)
$

Homecraft and Cultural Expression (culinary demos, quilting, etc.)
$

Youth Exhibits and Demos (4-H, school classes, etc.)
$
Total Non-Competitive Class Expenses
$
TOTAL of A. COMPETITIVE AND NON-COMPETITIVE EXPENDITURES
$
b) AMATEUR TALENT (must be local - see guide)
c) FARMSTEAD IMPROVEMENT COMPETITIONS
d) TOTAL OF AMATEUR TALENT AND FARMSTEAD
$
IMPROVEMENTS (B PLUS C, WHICH CANNOT EXCEED $1,000)
2
$
$
e) ENTER ½ OF A
$
f) Enter the amount on line D or E whichever is less
$
G) TOTAL ELIGIBLE EXPENDITURES (A PLUS F)
$
CALCULATION OF AGRICULTURAL EXHIBITION GRANT
1/3 of Total Eligible Expenditures from line G (2/3 in Northern Ontario) to a maximum of $3,000.00
Grant Requested $
NOTE: Horse pulls, rodeos etc. are not eligible competitions under any category.
Copies of all paid receipts of expenditures must be kept on file and, if requested made available to the
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for audit purposes.
PART V: WET WEATHER GRANT
Apply if total revenues from gate receipts during the exhibition were greatly affected by wet weather
only. Refer to the “Guide” for more details.
Are you applying for a wet weather grant?
Yes
No
Total Gate Receipt Revenues (current year) $
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, using data supplied by the society on previous
returns, will calculate the wet weather grant based on 3 previous years of normal weather.
PART VI: IMPROVEMENTS AND REPAIRS GRANT
The improvement and repairs grant is based on last year’s expenses paid out by the Society for
improvements and repairs to leased or owned grounds and buildings used by the Society. Please refer
to page 4 of the GUIDE for a list and examples of eligible vs non-eligible expenses. Attach separate
page if necessary. The expenses must be visible and identified on your Financial Statements.
TYPE OF IMPROVEMENT AND COST
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
TOTAL$
CALCULATION OF IMPROVEMENT AND REPAIRS GRANT
25 % of total to a maximum of $2,000.00
Grant Requested $
Copies of all paid receipts of expenditures must be kept on file and, if requested, made available to
the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for audit purposes.
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PART VII: CENTENNIAL GRANT AND SESQUICENTENNIAL BRONZE PLAQUE
Indicate by checking the box if the Society will be requesting a Centennial grant or
Sesquicentennial (150th Anniversary) plaque for the 2016 year. A written request should be sent with
this annual return. Refer to the “Guide for Completing the Agricultural Society Return” for details.
PART VIII: CERTIFICATION BY AUTHORIZED SIGNING OFFICERS
We the undersigned signing officers (President, Treasurer, Secretary or Board member with signing
authority) hereby certify that all information given in this annual return and grant application is true and
correct.
Name of Signing Officer:
Position:
Phone :
Signature: ___________________________________________Date:
Name of Signing Officer:
Position:
Phone:
Signature: ___________________________________________Date:
PART IX: FINANCIAL REVIEWERS
List the financial reviewers appointed for the upcoming year 2016:
Acceptable financial reviewers are:
a) not Board members,
b) not related to the Treasurer,
AND
c) not related to each other
If the financial reviewer has a professional accounting certification (CA, CMA,( CPA,CGA) ) then only
one signature is required to sign the audit certificate as long as it is not a Compilation, also known as
Notice to Reader only.
1.
2.
PART X: ATTACHMENTS
The following information MUST be submitted with the annual return:
1. List of incoming Executive Officers and incoming Directors and their contact information
including: phone numbers, addresses, postal codes and email addresses
2. Audited Annual Financial Statements
3. Report from Auditors or Financial Reviewers (must be completed prior to the annual
meeting)
 Reviews that are completed by professional accounting persons (copies are acceptable)
OR
 Audit Certificate if the financial review is completed by non-professional accounting persons.
Audit Certificate forms are available on the OMAFRA website (link to Agricultural and
Horticultural information) www.ontario.ca/aghortgrants or by calling 1-877-424-1300.
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NOTE: Compilations, also known as Notice to Readers, will no longer be acceptable as formats for
reviews. If your financial statements are in this format, please also supply the Audit Certificate as
described above.
Deadline to submit completed annual return and grant application,
along with other required documentation is February 1st, 2016.
Any officer, director or auditor of an organization who makes a false statement in any report or
information required under the Agricultural and Horticultural Organizations Act is guilty of an offence
and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $2000. R.S.O. 1990, c. A.9, s. 16
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