ECF Funding: Community Grant Program

The right funding opportunity is waiting for you with ECF’s Community Grant Program — all you have to do is apply.

AS A CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION, you have specific funding needs. We support charities in the Edmonton area across many sectors, including:

• Human Services
• Arts & Culture
• Education
• Environment & Animal Welfare
• Health
• Sports & Recreation

The Community Grants program can support a wide range of organizational needs. We look to organizations to determine their priority areas. If you would like to discuss your organizational needs, start with a phone call to the Edmonton Community Foundation (ECF) to discuss the online application process and eligibility requirements.

Eligibility

Community Grants aim to support our community. A non-profit is eligible to apply if it serves the greater Edmonton area, including Leduc County, Parkland County, Strathcona County, and Sturgeon County. The non-profit must also have a charitable registration number from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) or be considered a qualified donee.

If you are not a registered charity but wish to apply for funding, you can consider the following options:

• Make a formal application to CRA to become a registered charity.
• Establish a written partnership with a registered charity that would apply for funds for the proposed project. CRA recommends that the relationship between the registered charity and the non-charitable organization be formalized and documented. Click here to visit CRA’s website for more details. Note that the opportunity to apply with a charitable partner is not meant to allow groups to circumvent CRA rules, but rather to support genuine partnerships between charities and non-profits.

Applying for a Community Grant

If you don’t have a recent relationship with us (successfully received a Community Grant in the last five years), your organization can apply for a grant up to approximately (see note) $50,000. If you’ve worked with ECF recently (successful Community Grant approved, completed and reported on), you can apply for a grant up to approximately (see note) $80,000.

Note: We will consider amounts slightly above these limits when there is a strong rationale.

ECF’s Two-Stage Process

We use a two-stage process that includes a preliminary online application, followed by a full proposal, if requested. This process is meant to assist applicants. For projects that are unlikely to receive funding for any reason, it prevents the applicant organization from dedicating time and resources to a full proposal that will not be successful. It also allows our staff the chance to raise questions in the Request for Proposal letter, helping to strengthen the final proposal, which is reviewed by one of five sub-committees.

Please note: Attachments such as letters of support, financial statements, or testimonials are not required during the first stage. If we need more information, we will contact the applicant.

When to Submit

We encourage you to apply early! We have a continual intake of preliminary applications with quarterly deadlines depending on when funding is required. This allows us to review each on its own merit and respond promptly with questions and feedback. There are more opportunities to provide support for charities that apply early. This also gives you more time to write a strong proposal. We do not provide retroactive funding.

The annual deadlines to submit an online application are:

• March 1 for funding after June 1 (applications available December 2)
• June 1 for funding  after September 1 (application available March 2)
• September 1 for funding after December 1 (application available June 2)
• December 1 for funding  after March 1 (application available September 2)

For more information about Community Grants, contact our staff at grants@ecfoundation.org or by phone at 780-426-0015.

Apply for a Community Grant

Grant Application FAQ