Community Investment Operating Grant

Eligibility

Your organization’s primary mandate must fall under one of the following:

• Social Services - social programs and activities that help Edmontonians to strengthen personal or community life.
• Recreation/Amateur Sport 
  • Sport - Organized physical activities that result in a contest between two or more people participating individually or as a team, governed by rules, regulations, and officiating.
  • Active Recreation - All physical activities that an individual chooses to do for fun, social interaction, fitness and relaxation.

Your organization must also:

• Be a not-for-profit organization registered for at least a year.
• Have a minimum of 75% of its participants living in Edmonton.
• Provide direct ongoing programs and services that improve quality of life primarily for Edmontonians.
• Accomplish an adequate level of activity to merit a grant.
• Address the CIOG priorities and guidelines through their programs and services.
• Have open membership except for valid program factors (for example - age).
• Use the grant to further the applicant’s mandate.
• Demonstrate sound board and financial governance practices. Examples of unsound governance practices could include having a board member also in a paid staff role within the organization, lack of financial controls/review.
• Demonstrate initiative and success in generating diverse sources of funding.
• Submit application and required documents by the deadline.
• Have year-end financial statements that follow generally accepted accounting principles for not-for-profit organizations.

The applicant for a Community Investment Operating Grant must not:

• Receive operating funds allocated by any other City of Edmonton source including City Council, Committees of City Council or grants administered by the Edmonton Arts Council or Edmonton Heritage Council.
• Use the grant for capital purposes, including but not restricted to, the purchase of land, equipment, fixtures or physical facilities.
• Use the grant, directly or indirectly, to further a profit venture.
• Be in arrears of payments to their accounts with the City of Edmonton.
• Have outstanding reports for any previous grants received from the City of Edmonton.
• Pay Board members for their role on the board or as paid employees (some exceptions may be considered).

Priorities

1. Organizations that demonstrate how they are currently, or how they are working towards, increasing social inclusion and/or equitable access to their programs and services
2. Organizations demonstrate sound management practices and good governance (financial, board, and organizational) in carrying out their objectives.

Guidelines

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Organizations with operating expenses over $500,000 will not be considered.

Appeals

An applicant may submit an appeal to the Community Services Advisory Board in the case where it can be demonstrated that the information in the application was misunderstood in the assessment process. An appeal must be submitted in writing by the date provided in the letter of recommendation.

The following are not considered grounds for appeal:

• Dissatisfaction with the grant amount
• A grant application and/or required documents were not submitted by the deadline
• Changes in the organization’s circumstances since the submission of the grant application
• Changes in the Application since the grant deadline date
• Actions of other City departments that affect the Applicant since submitting the grant application (for example, complaints about taxes, utilities, rentals)
• Applicant does not meet eligibility criteria

The deadline for submitting your application is Wednesday, March 29, 2023.

Required Documents

Please ensure the following required documents are attached to your online application:

1. Most recent year-end financial statements (see Financial Statement Example)
2. Bank Statements and Bank Reconciliation (required if your financial statements are internally audited)
3. Board minutes approving funds to be saved for specific purposes (if applicable)
4. Most recent Proof of Filing or Annual Return stamped by Corporate Registries
5. Financial Information Form

Note:

• Financial Statements must be signed by 2 Board members
• 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 as at the fiscal year-end

Tips for Preparing a Strong Application

Be sure your financial statements meet the requirements (see Financial Statement Example).

Know the Purpose of the Grant Program
Be sure you understand the grant eligibility criteria, priorities and guidelines. They serve as the foundation for the review and assessment of your application.

State Accurate and Factual Information
Be truthful and accurate in all statements made in your application. Applications may be subject to random audits so information and statistics should be provable with appropriate documentation if requested.

Provide Clear and Concise Answers
Clear, well-written and complete answers will provide the reviewer with all required information.

Past Community Investment Operating Grant Recipients

2022 Community Investment Operating Grant Recipients

2021 Community Investment Operating Grant Recipients

2020 Community Investment Operating Grant recipients

2019 Community Investment Operating Grant recipients

2018 Community Investment Operating Grant recipients

2017 Community Investment Operating Grant recipients

2016 Community Investment Operating Grant recipients

2015 Community Investment Operating Grant recipients

2014 Community Investment Operating Grant recipients

2013 Community Investment Operating Grant recipients

Frequently Asked Questions

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

1.  Outcome Measurement Instructions & Item Bank : 
This document provides an overview of the CIOG outcome reporting requirements as well as an item bank with questions you can use to collect data on the following topics:

• Demographics
• Financial Assistance
• Outcome Data

2.  Outcome Measurement Tools
This document provides example tools you can use to collect important information from your program participants 
3.  Glossary of Terms
The 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, please reach out to us and let us know. 

Workshop Recording (YouTube)
If you were unable to attend the outcome measurement workshops that were offered in June 2022, please watch the above video. In it, we discuss the reasons for collecting CIOG outcome data, some of the common mistakes we saw in the grant applications, and the tools that are at your disposal to collect data. 

If you require assistance or have any questions regarding the outcome data collection process, please feel free to contact us at the email address listed at the bottom of this page.