Government of Canada launches call for proposals for national funders to support charities and not-for-profits

Charities and not-for-profits are at the forefront of addressing communities’ needs, especially during the COVID‑19 pandemic. However, many of them are struggling to recover and adapt their services to the changing needs of Canadians.

Today, the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Karina Gould, launched a call for proposals to select national funders who will distribute funding to help diverse charitable and not-for-profit organizations adapt and modernize, so they can support economic recovery in communities across Canada.

The Community Services Recovery Fund is a one-time investment of $400 million that will help charities and not-for-profits to acquire the tools they need to modernize and adapt to the challenges the sector faces from the pandemic. The Government will select national funders based on their ability to achieve a wide distribution of funding across the charitable and not-for-profit sector, and to work collaboratively and efficiently to administer the Fund.

Specifically, national funders will:

• set up open application portals
• reach out to diverse communities across Canada
• assess community-level needs
• distribute the funding

The Government is inviting three organizations who meet the criteria to submit a proposal: Community Foundations of Canada, the United Way Centraide Canada and the Canadian Red Cross. Other organizations can also enquire about the process for selecting national funders or for submitting a proposal.

Once selected, national funders will design their own application processes to select eligible recipients of the Community Services Recovery Fund’s modernization and adaptation projects. The call for proposals to become a national funder is open until February 21, 2022. For details, please visit the funding page.

Quotes

“Charities and not-for-profits play a critical role in supporting communities across Canada, and this has especially rung true during the pandemic. Through the Community Services Recovery Fund, our government will be there to support this important sector as it strengthens and adapts to the changing needs of Canadians. The selected national funders will play an essential role in efficiently distributing this fund to organizations across the country.”

– The Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Karina Gould

Quick facts

• The Community Services Recovery Fund builds on the successful delivery of the $350 million Emergency Community Support Fund, where the Government funded over 11,570 projects serving vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• As national funders for the Emergency Community Support Fund, Community Foundations of Canada, the United Way Centraide Canada and the Canadian Red Cross have demonstrated their capacity to distribute funding to the charitable and not-for-profit sector in a fair, effective and efficient manner. 
• More than 4 in 10 charities are still facing declines in revenue and 56% of charities are struggling, putting their recovery at risk, according to the Sector Monitor survey published in August 2021 by Imagine Canada.
• The Community Services Recovery Fund was first announced in Budget 2021 and committed $400 million to help charities and not-for-profits adapt and modernize so they can better support the economic recovery in Canadian communities.