Community Sustaining Grant

Stage 1 – Application Submission

1. Review these guidelines to ensure your organization is eligible for grant funding.
2. All grant applications will be submitted through the CIP Grant Portal. CIP will notify you via email when the application is available in the CIP Grant Portal. Log in to your CIP Grant Portal account and complete the application.
3. Submit the application, including required attachments, related budgets for January-December of the grant year, and Financial Statements of the most recent fiscal year end (Year-end date must fall between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023). The CIP Grant Portal will accept applications until 4:30 p.m. on November 1, 2023. Late applications will not be eligible.
4. CIP will conduct a preliminary review of the application and supporting documents to ensure eligibility and completeness.
5. If clarification on the submitted application is required, you will receive an email notifying you that revisions have been requested. Please log in to the CIP Grant Portal to provide clarifications. The CIP Grant Portal will accept requested revisions until 4:30 p.m. on November 24, 2023.
6. All complete and eligible applications will be moved forward to Stage 2 – Application Scoring and Ranking.

Organizations who received Multi-Year Funding are required to submit a 2024 grant application.

Stage 2 - Application Scoring and Ranking

1. A review panel consisting of subject matter experts from Municipal departments will complete application scoring based on established assessment criteria.
2. Eligible applications will be prioritized based on the highest ranking and greatest positive impact on the community.
3. CIP will finalize the grant recommendations to be presented to the Approval Committee for Stage 3 – Approval Committee Review and Final Decision.

Assessment Criteria (See Appendix A for Scoring Sheet template)

Stage 3 – Approval Committee Review and Decisions

1. At the final stage of the application process, the Approval Committee will assess and approve the successful grant applications in accordance with the budget set by Council and Council’s Strategic Plan.
2. All applicants may be required to present their annual budgets to the Approval Committee. A presentation template and further details will be provided prior to the meeting. The final decision will be made by the Approval Committee.
3. Applicants will be notified of the Approval Committee’s decision and their assessment score by January 15, 2024.
4. There is no appeal of the Approval Committee’s decision.

Grant funding will be disbursed only to recipients in accordance with the terms and conditions of the agreement.

The following requirements must be satisfied and will be verified by the Municipality prior to awarding of grant funding:

• Property taxes must be current and paid.
• Utility bills must be current and paid.
• There must not be a related unresolved order to comply with the Land Use Bylaw, Building Code, Fire Code, Community Standards Bylaw or other regulation.
• Applicant must not be a party to a legal dispute with the Municipality.
• All necessary municipal permits and permissions must have been received for the project and are closed and without deficiencies.

Exceptions to the above will be at the discretion of the Municipality on a case-by-case basis.

A successful applicant will be required to complete and/or upload the following in the CIP Grant Portal:

• Certificate of Insurance within 30 calendar days of execution of grant agreement.
• Six-Month Report highlighting ongoing successes and challenges as well as progress of outcome measurement plan.
• Final Report demonstrating the positive impact of the funded programs and services through account of organization’s collected outcome measures and, if applicable, the status of any additional funds included in the grant application.
• Attachments including examples of how the organization publicly recognized the funding considerations provided by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.
• Refer to Logo Request Form and the Logo Standards Guide for usage.
• Financial Statements determined by the total grant thresholds that the recipient receives from CIP for the grant year:  
  • < $100,000 – Summary of Revenue and Expenditures.
  • $100,000 - $499,999 – Review Engagement Financial Statements.
  • >$500,000 – Audited Financial Statements.

1. CIP may require additional reporting on a case-by-case basis.
2. Any reporting requirements not met by the recipient may result in termination of the grant or ineligibility to receive grants in the future.
3. All funds not used for the approved purpose must be returned to the Municipality, as per the guidelines below unless the Municipality approves, in writing, their use for another purpose:

• Amounts below $2,500 may be forgiven.
• Amounts greater than $2,500 and below $25,000 may be requested to be repaid in full or be subject to reduction in future requests.
• Any amounts over $25,000 will be requested to be repaid in full.

Multi-Year Funding is defined as grant funding provided to an organization with specific conditions where funding is approved for more than one fiscal year, providing longer term financial stability to the recipient.

Organizations recommended for multi-year funding are expected to practice multi-year budgeting and long-term planning, however financial statements and projected budget are required only for the fiscal year pertaining to the current grant cycle. Past multi-year grant recipients will be recommended based on scoring, program deliverables and reporting.