The Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF) supports projects that clearly address a pressing social inclusion or well-being need caused by COVID-19 and serve one or more vulnerable groups. This is a $350M investment from the federal government towards supporting charities and non-profit organizations as they address COVID-19 impacts.
Your charity or not-for-profit can receive up to 100% of eligible expenses to a maximum of $75K for community-based projects and $200K for the National/Provincial stream.
This program has a short deadline of October 30, 2020, with future intake periods being unknown at the time of writing. You can be notified about future updates related to the Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF) by subscribing to our weekly funding newsletter or by visiting our COVID-19 business support page.
Eligible Charities, Non-Profits, and Organizations
Qualified applicants are registered on the CRA’s list of qualified donees and include:
- Registered charities
- Registered Canadian amateur athletic associations
- Low-cost housing corporations for the aged
- Registered Municipalities or their housing, cultural, and recreational agencies
- First Nations and other registered municipal or public bodies performing a function of government in Canada
Projects Eligible for Funding
Projects must:
- Clearly address a pressing social inclusion or well-being need caused by COVID-19. Examples include:
- Creation of a digital health platform to continue mental health and addictions recovery programming; development and delivery of a virtual mental health program for caregivers
- Purchase of a freezer by a food bank to accommodate rise in food orders
- Technology purchase and service enabling seniors in-residence to connect with their families virtually
- Remote arts programming for vulnerable youth; procurement and delivery of educational materials to Aboriginal Friendship Centre families
- Serve one or more vulnerable groups, including:
- Children and youth (ages 0-29), youth ageing out of care, Seniors and Elders (in care and not in care)
- Caregivers and workers who are vulnerable (essential, temporary foreign, those in the informal labour market)
- People experiencing homelessness/addiction/mental illness, with low-income or living in poverty, and persons with disabilities
- Members of LGBTQ2s+ communities, Official Language Minority Communities, newcomers and racialized people as well as Indigenous Peoples
Eligible Project Start and Completion Dates
The start date for your project must be after December 15, 2020 and its completion must be before March 31, 2021. You can speak to a member of Mentor Works at 1-888-599-3111 if you are unsure if your project’s timeline is able to fit within these dates.
How to Apply for the Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF)
If your organization is interested in the Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF) and your project meets the above eligibility criteria, please reach out to a member of the Mentor Works team to start the application process.
Due to the ECSF program having a short deadline of October 30, 2020, we strongly encourage you to reach out to Mentor Works to start the application process. You can also visit our COVID-19 business support page for other coronavirus funding programs.