The Government has provided the Canadian Red Cross, United Way Canada and Community Foundations of Canada with a total of $400 million to create a Community Services Recovery Fund. The fund is available to both charities and non-profits that are not charities. This is different from previous iterations, except for the Canadian Red Cross, which funded a large number of qualified donees (non-profits that are not charities) over the last few years.
The target groups for the funding are “Community Service Organizations (CSOs)” which for this purpose are defined as “non-profit organizations, Indigenous Governing Bodies or Registered Charities located in Canada that provide services to communities within Canada.” So, in theory, this could apply to 86,000 registered charities, an indeterminate number of non-profits (perhaps 80-100,000) and about 600 Indigenous bands. However, you have to read the fine print. There are lots of groups that are ineligible and lots of requirements that need to be met. There are lots of ineligible activities, and some of them are quite broad in scope.
Here is a blurb on the fund:
The Community Services Recovery Fund is a $400 million investment from the Government of Canada to support charities and non-profits as they focus on how to adapt their organizations for pandemic recovery. Now more than ever, charities and non-profits are playing a key role in addressing persistent and complex social problems faced by all communities. The Community Services Recovery Fund responds to what charities and non-profits need right now and supports organizations as they adapt to the long-term impacts of the pandemic.
Applications are now open for the Community Services Recovery Fund. All applications must be submitted by February 21, 2023, at 5:00 PM PT.
There are two tiers of funding, with the highest amount of funding being $200,000.
The three “Project Focus Areas” are:
Investing in People
Funding will support one-time projects that focus on how organizations recruit, retain, engage and support their personnel, including staff, volunteers and boards of directors.
Investing in Systems and Processes
Funding will support one-time projects that invest in the systems and processes involved in creating the internal workings of an organization’s overall structure.
Investing in Program and Service Innovation and Redesign
Funding will support one-time projects primarily focused on program and service innovation and redesign using information gained during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There is no perfect grantmaking program. My concerns are that as with many government programs, the funding is restricted to certain streams. The federal government should really give more flexibility in grantmaking programs, especially if the organizations are qualified donees. But this is a trend that various levels of government are having a hard time changing. It also means groups must contort themselves in having programs or activities that meet these particular priorities even if they are not the highest need of the organization or the best use of funds.
The larger grants require more than one recipient to be working in “collaboration”. For some groups, this will add tremendous complexity, time, and often inefficiency.
There are many examples given of potential areas of funding but I will highlight a few:
Investment in contact management systems
Implementation of a new communications plan
Enhancement of a new accounting system
Development, implementation, or adaptation of a new fundraising strategy
A governance review through the lens of organizational resilience
Exploring a merger or amalgamation amongst one or more Community Service Organizations
Development or adaptation of a data/privacy strategy or plan
Other activities to help your systems and processes modernize or adapt
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