Clarington’s Community Funding Program in Canada

Deadline: 15-Jan-23

Clarington is seeking applications for its Community Funding Program to Clarington’s not-for-profit and volunteer-based organizations to grow and make a difference in their community.

Community Priorities

• Tailor your application to Clarington's community priorities for a better chance at success.
  • Connection: Building strong social connections or  an active community that encourages social and civic engagement.
  • Inclusion: Creating an accessible community where people feel welcome and they belong. Celebrating diversity.
  • Environment: Making contributions to an environmentally sustainable community.
  • Innovation: Support and showcase unique project ideas, previously untested or pilot projects and new research concepts.

Funding Streams

Their three-streamed approach provides options for start-up funding, growth and in-kind contributions.

• Start-Up:
  • Funding provides one-time start-up funding related to the development of a new group or initiative.
    • Apply for this stream if you are starting a new project or initiative that you haven’t tried before. Pilot projects or initiatives where the outcomes are unknown would qualify for this funding. The potential or expected results should achieve a significant impact in the community.
    • Examples:
      • Provide support or services for an emerging issue.
      • Develop or pilot a new idea.
      • Research a new concept or assess the feasibility.
• Growth: 
  • Funding is available on an annual basis to organizations and event organizers committed to sustainable expansion or growth.
    • This stream supports projects or initiatives that take an organization or event to the next level. It can be used to increase your reach in the community, increase attendance, or diversify your participants’ demographics. An effort to increase cultural diversity is also a focus of this stream.
    • Examples:
      • Provide support or services that branches out into a new sector.
      • Add a new idea to an existing program or event.
      • Sustainable increase in the attendance/membership or reach of the organization.
• In-Kind:
  • contributions include space or services that would typically have a fee associated with it at no cost to you or your organization.
  • Examples:
    • Consultation- How to Manage a Volunteer Board (Terms of Reference, board governance, volunteer management, volunteer  recruitment strategies, effective fundraising techniques, grant writing support), not-for-profit printing, cross-promotion of programs, services or events.

Funding Information

• Up to a maximum of $5,000 can be awarded per application.
• Once you've reached a total of $20,000 received, you must wait three years before your organization can apply again.

Eligibility Criteria

• Start-Up: They are accepting applications from anyone with a new idea. Organizations that have been operational for less than a year are also eligible to apply.
• Growth: For applicants who have been operational for one or more years.
• In-Kind: For eligible applicants interested in using Municipal services and support, this stream would offset that cost.
• Once you have applied, your application will be scored by a committee made up of municipal staff and community members. Scoring is based on the following criteria:
  • The applicant is a registered not-for-profit organization, business improvement area (BIA), or a volunteer not-for-profit organization or group operating under a board of directors’ authority.
  • The organization must have a written constitution and by-laws that establish the group’s framework.
  • The organization must have an elected board of directors of not less than three democratically elected members by the membership.
  • The organization must hold an annual general meeting.
  • The organization must have less than two years’ equivalent operating budget in unreserved cash demonstrated through a submitted annual financial statement.
  • Be in good financial standing with the Municipality of Clarington. All outstanding debts to the Municipality of Clarington must be paid in full at the time of the group’s application.

Ineligible

• The Community Funding Program will not fund the following:
  • General operating expenses that support the day-to-day operation of an organization (i.e. utilities, rent, insurance, etc.).
  • Individuals
  • For-profit organizations
  • Political organizations
  • Local boards and committees of Council, including hall boards (for the purposes of or whose mandate is to operate and/or maintain municipal property).
  • Religious organizations, except where the program or service benefits the broader community, does not involve religious teachings and is not generating revenue for the organization.
  • Organizations that receive funding through Clarington’s municipal budget process or are the designated beneficiaries of a fundraising event hosted by the Municipality of Clarington, in the same year of the funding request (i.e. Clarington Golf Classic, For the Love of Art Gala).
  • Organizations that make donations or charitable contributions.
  • Organizations that operate with a deficit for more than two years in a row.
  • Programs or organizations that other levels of government have legislated responsibility for providing funding. This includes a top-up of shortfalls for government-mandated programs or services. Examples include educational programs, public health programs, housing services, provincially mandated childcare services or social assistance programs and health care services.
  • Organizations whose activities may breach the Ontario Human Rights Code or Charter of Rights.

For more information, visit Clarington.