Community Investment Operating Grant

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The City of Edmonton Community Investment Operating Grant (CIOG) program provides operating assistance to Edmonton's not-for-profit organizations working towards increasing social inclusion and equitable access to participation in social services and active recreation/amateur sport.

Application Intake Closed

The grant application period is now closed.

Grant Priorities

The organizations’ primary mandate must be 1 of the following:

Social Services

Social programs and activities that help Edmontonians to strengthen personal or community life

Active Recreation/Amateur Sport

Active Recreation: all physical activities that an individual chooses to do for fun, social interaction, fitness and relaxation
Amateur Sport: organized physical activities that result in a contest between 2 or more people participating individually or as a team, governed by rules, regulations and officiating

Organizations must demonstrate how they are currently, or how they are working towards, increasing social inclusion and/or equitable access to their programs and services. Supporting inclusion and equitable access means that programs offered are targeted to ensure that barriers to participation are removed for individuals or groups that may not otherwise be involved.

Grant Timelines

January 29, 2025
Application deadline

January 29 -March 10, 2025
Review of applications

By End of March 2025
Applicants will be notified of funding decisions

Note: These timelines are subject to change.

Application Criteria and Requirements

Please review all information before you apply.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Grant, the applicant must:

Be a not-for-profit organization registered for at least 1 year and in good standing with the incorporating body (Alberta Society, Non-profit Private Company, Non-Profit Public Company, Extra-Provincial Non-profit Company)
Demonstrate alignment to the CIOG priorities through their programs and services
Have eligible operating expenses under $500,000
Have a minimum of 75% of its participants living in Edmonton
Demonstrate sound board and financial governance practices
Demonstrate initiative and success in generating diverse sources of funding
Accomplish an adequate level of activity to merit a grant
Have an open membership except for valid program factors (for example - age)
Be in good standing with the City in terms of reporting requirements and outstanding payments
Be a member of the Sport Edmonton, formerly the Edmonton Sport Council, if your mandate is active recreation and amateur sport (membership information can be found at Sport Edmonton)

Please note:

Organizations may receive 1 operating grant per year funded by the City of Edmonton. These include operating grant programs for community leagues and seniors’ centres, as well as operating grant programs administered by the Edmonton Arts Council and Edmonton Heritage Council.
Organizations that have 2 years or more of unrestricted cash reserves or restricted but available for operating expenses, may not be considered for an operating grant.

Ineligible Expenses

Funding cannot be used for the following:

Capital projects (including: significant maintenance or repairs to buildings such as an addition or a new roof
Fundraising expenses (for example: bingos and casinos)
Expenses associated with income-generating operations not directly associated with programs and services of the organization (for example: public food sales/catering/banquet services, facility rental)
Depreciation/amortization (decreases the value of capital assets over time)
Debt Repayment or Debt/Credit Interest - expenses related to a line of credit, mortgage, credit card, overdraft or other debt, or the principal and interest on any credit or debt

Grant Guide

Application Process

Required Documents

Most recent year-end financial statements, see the Financial Statement example
Bank Statements and Bank Reconciliation: required if your financial statements are internally audited, see the Bank Statements and Bank Reconciliation example
Board minutes approving funds to be saved for specific purposes, if applicable
Financial Information Form

Note: Financial statements must be signed by 2 Board members. Additionally, financial statements that are not presented either as a notice to reader, a review or an audit must include a bank reconciliation and bank statement at the fiscal year-end.

Watch the Required Financials Presentation

Submit Your Application

Applications are now closed.

To apply for available grants in the future, please register for an account through the Community Investment Grant Portal.

See the instructional videos below to learn how to register for an account:

Please note: This grant program uses the new Community Investment Grant Portal for application intake and reporting. For questions or additional support, please contact grants@edmonton.ca.

Assessment Criteria

Applications are assessed based on the following criteria:

Organizational eligibility
Alignment to grant priorities
Eligible operating expenses
Most recent year-end financial statements

Grant awards are determined by a formula based on this criteria and the number of eligible applications.

Reporting Requirement

Successful applicants will be responsible for reporting on how operating dollars supported them in advancing their mandate and the:

Number and types of program activities
Number of participants across programs/services
Number of volunteers and volunteer hours
Participant outcome data
Progress made on social inclusion and equitable access to programs/services

Financial reporting is required in the form of financial statements. These will be included in the application for the grant.

Submit Final Report

Outcome Measurement Tools and Resources

A number of resources have been created to assist your organizations with collecting outcome data:

Outcome Measurement Instructions and Item Bank

Provides an overview of the CIOG outcome reporting requirements as well as an item bank with questions you can use to collect data on demographics, financial assistance and outcome data.

Outcome Measurement Tools

Provides example tools you can use to collect important information from your program participants.

Glossary of Terms

Provides key definitions for different measurement and evaluation terms as well as definitions for a variety of demographic terms.

These documents will continue to evolve as we receive feedback from the CIOG community. If there is anything you’d like to see added, if you require assistance or have any questions regarding the outcome data collection process, please feel free to contact us.

Past Grant Recipients

2024 Grant recipients

2023 Grant recipients

2022 Grant recipients

2021 Grant recipients

2020 Grant recipients

Contact Us

Title	Community Grants Office
Email	grants@edmonton.ca
Phone	780-496-4933