Small Grants (for unanticipated situations requiring attention) – Edmonton Community Foundation

Small Grant Guidelines

Small Grants are designed for unanticipated situations requiring attention. They aim to benefit
organizations and the community by providing timely support for sudden unforeseen needs under
$20,000.

Who is Eligible
To be eligible for a Small Grant your organization must:

• Be a Registered Canadian Charity or other qualified donee.
• Serve the Greater Edmonton Area, including the four surrounding counties. Additionally,
Indigenous qualified donees located within Treaty 6 Territory.
• Each organization can have one current Small Grant for their own work AND one to support a
partnership or collaborative led by and/or focused on equity-deserving communities.
o When applying to support their own work, must have completed, and reported on any
previous Small Grant.
o When applying in partnership with a non-profit society or grassroots group, must have
completed and reported on any previous Small Grant for a partnership or collaborative.

Applying for a Small Grant

Grant sizes vary, with a maximum of $20,000. However, we encourage applicants to request smaller
amounts, based on their unforeseen need, rather than just the maximum grant size. The application will
be open from March 1 to September 30, or until the budget of $600,000 is allocated.

Applications are reviewed monthly. For example, applications submitted in March will be reviewed mid-
April and should be for funding after May 1, 2025 (ECF cannot support retroactive costs).

If your request exceeds the maximum amount of a Small Grant or doesn’t fit with the guidelines, look to
our Community Grant Program instead.

Small Grant review considerations:
• Does the request support a sudden unforeseen need that is reasonably unexpected or
unanticipated?
• Does the request demonstrate a time-sensitive, stand-alone need.
• Is there a clear need on how this grant will help the organization and/or community?
• Number of small grants received over the last number of years.

Small Grants are NOT available for the following:
• Initiatives extending more than 6 months
• Deficit funding
• Retroactive funding (any expenses incurred prior to the decision date)
• Endowments
• Medical equipment
• Research
• Post-secondary institutions
• Funding to replace government cuts
• Travel outside the Greater Edmonton Area
• Capital campaigns and purchase of land and/or buildings
• Conferences, annual events, or organization celebrations
• Private schools, charter schools, or post-secondary institutions, including their foundations
• Other funders and organizations whose primary purpose is to raise money for a third party
• Grants primarily benefitting individuals (i.e. scholarships, bursaries, gift cards, vouchers, etc.)
• Fundraising events (such as tickets, raffles, auctions, or tournaments) or annual fundraising appeals
• Faith-based organizations and activities that require religious participation by those receiving
services or that are providing religious education
• National or provincial initiatives without specific benefit to Edmonton; initiatives that have specific
benefit to Edmonton will be considered for a proportional request.

Are multiple grants available?
Organizations can receive one Small Grant per twelve-month period. Exceptions may be made when the
charity is working in partnership with a non-profit representing an equity deserving community. This is
in recognition that there are systemic barriers to funding for some communities.
ECF will not fund the same initiative across different grant streams. Organizations should consider how
their request aligns to the specific grant stream as we do not recommend applying to multiple grant
streams in the same calendar year.

Where can I submit an application?
Applications can be submitted through our online portal.

What grant reporting is required?
Small Grant reports are an online form found on our online portal.
The report form will be added to the same user account that submitted the grant application
approximately three months after the application has been approved. The form is comprised of a number of short answer, drop-down menu, and multiple select questions.
These questions address general information about your grant, staff resources allocated to your grant,
grant impact, financial information, and any follow-up activities which your organization may be
undertaking. You will also need to upload financials for the grant which clearly indicate where the grant
money was spent. Receipts for expenses are not required.