MANSFIELD – A local church will not be able to tap the town’s nonprofit gift fund to repair its stained glass window.
The Select Board voted 0-3 on Jan. 5 rejecting the Nonprofit Gift Fund’s recommendation to allocate $11,500 for the project at the Mansfield Congregational Church. Select Board member Steve Schoonveld abstained.
The board’s decision came after Town Manager Kevin Dumas reported that based on state guidelines town funds not be used for “founding, maintaining or aiding any church, religious denomination or religious society.”
“I would recommend it not be supported,” Dumas said.
The issue was first discussed on Dec. 15, when the board reviewed funding recommendations from the Nonprofit Gift Fund Committee. Each year, the town distributes money from its nonprofit gift fund to local organizations. The fund received its cash from sources such as the golf tournaments held at the Tournament Players Club in Norton and impact fees from the Plainridge Casino in Plainville.
Last year, the Select Board voted to limit annual distribution to $40,000.
Dumas explained at the December meeting that the board’s guidelines for the nonprofit gift fund state “the grants will not be awarded to religious organizations except for nonreligious purposes benefiting the general public or the citizens of Mansfield.”
In the past the board has approved gift funds for the church to support the Our Daily Bread Food Pantry located there. The food pantry has received six grants, totaling $9,616.
Gift funds were also allocated to the former Faith Fellowship Methodist Church for a computer for its clothing exchange program and for the Food and Friends Soup Kitchen at the First Baptist Church.
“It is a nonprofit like any nonprofit,” Schoonveld said at the December meeting. “It’s not like we are funding a particular mission of the church or a pastor’s salary. This is an extremely historic building in town.
“They do a lot in the community.”
The other board members also commented on the Congregational Church’s contributions to the community such as running the Our Daily Bread Food Pantry and hosting local Boy Scouts, the annual Veterans Lunch and the Rose Garden Coffeehouse.
“No doubt the Congregational Church does a lot for the town,” Select Board member Michael Trowbridge said. “If it’s a storage shed for the food pantry, that’s totally different.
“As much as I’d love to give it. I think it goes against the guidelines that are in effect.”
“I would have concerns if we were endorsing a particular church, but we are not endorsing it,” Schoonveld said. “We are giving access to a nonprofit to a nonprofit gift fund.”
Dumas said the town has shared information with the church about a possible state historical grant program to aid with the stained glass project.
The board will notify the Nonprofit Gift Fund Committee of the vote so it can determine whether to award the funds to another organization or hold onto that money until next year.
The board unanimously approved $28,493 for other projects at its Dec. 15 meeting:
$795 for portable craft tables for the Parks and Recreation Department summer camp.
$2,140 to the Mansfield Historical Commission’s Veterans Memorial Project to move and restore the graves of two veterans.
$3,798 to Mansfield Boy Scouts for a covered trailer to transport camping equipment
$4,260 to the Mansfield High School Boosters to replace six lockers in the girls’ locker room at Mansfield High School
A recommendation to partially fund a HVAC system at the Mass Music & Arts Society’s new location on South Main Street was approved 4-1, with Schoonveld voting against it. The HVAC system is part of a series of renovations ongoing at the new arts center location.
Select Board member Jess Aptowitz questioned how many grants MMAS was been awarded over the years.
“It’s hard; the pot is only so big,” he said.
“Can MMAS fund this on their own?” Schoonveld asked. “It’s a big part of the budget.”
“There are many unfunded parts of their project,” Dumas said. “This is one of them.
“MMAS has been on here a number of times,” Trowbridge said. “It is a nonprofit and is dependent on donations and grants for the whole operation.”
Trowbridge suggested when it is time for the next nonprofit gift fund distribution the board look at how much has gone to different groups.
Following the Dec. 15 meeting, a spreadsheet was provided to board members listing grants and recipients for the last 10 years.
MMAS has received six grants totaling about $29,500, plus the 2021 grant for $11,500.
Some of the other organizations which have received multiple grants include the Daughters of the American Revolution received $21,000 in to grants for a new roof and windows. Keep Mansfield Beautiful has received seven grants totaling $17,041. The Natural Resources Trust received five grants totaling $14,000. The Parks and Recreation Department has received nine grants, totaling $26,561. The School Department has received approximately $44,573.
The money funds projects such as the Robinson School garden, a memorial at Alumni Field, gift cards for senior citizens, a mural at Qualters Middle School, weight room equipment, trash barrels, batting cages, restoration of the Bell of Freedom, now on the South Common, and many more.
Applications for funds are accepted beginning in May. For more information go to www.mansfieldma.com.
Staff writer Donna Whitehead can be reached by email at dwhitehead@wickedlocal.com. You can also friend her on Facebook. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to the Journal News Independent today.
