FAQs

• Who is eligible for funding?

  Federally registered charities and other qualified donees can apply for projects that:

  • Address a well-being need caused by COVID-19;
  • Serve a vulnerable population such as newcomers, refugees, women & girls, official language minority communities, LGBTQ2S people, Indigenous people and racialized people such as Black Canadian, Chinese, South Asian and others;
  • Will be completed before March 31, 2021;
  • Be located within the Capital Region and/or Duncan.

  Note that organizations who applied for the first round of ECSF are welcome to re-apply, regardless of if they were successful or not.  See tab: I applied for ECSF Round 1.  Am I eligible to apply for Round 2? 

  Community Foundations of Canada is working with United Way Centraide Canada and the Canadian Red Cross to distribute the ECSF.

  • Local Qualified donees will be funded through United Way of Greater Victoria and Victoria Foundation.
  • Non-profit organizations will be funded through the Canadian Red Cross.
  • If you are a national or provincial charity you may need to submit to the national/provincial stream.

  If you have any questions regarding your eligibility, we encourage you to please contact Victoria Foundation at grants@victoriafoundation.bc.ca or 250-381-5532.

• What is eligible for funding?

  The goal of this program is to support eligible organizations with flexible, general operating funds in response to the social and economic impacts of COVID-19. Grants will be made through the lens of recovery efforts and building resilience for our local charities for the short-term.

  Organizations may apply for funding to support activities including, but not limited to the following:

  • General operating costs
  • Staffing
  • Program adaptation
  • Technology adaptation
  • Capital costs
  • Projects or programs, including relief efforts
• What is NOT eligible for funding?

  Ineligible expenses include:

  • General fundraising campaign contributions
  • Sponsorships
  • Capital campaigns (e.g. for new buildings, monuments)
  • Religious activities or services
  • Political activities that are prohibited by the Canada Revenue Agency
  • Current curricula for schools or post-secondary institutions
• How do I apply?

  To apply, please review the eligibility criteria and application process in the Application Guide.  The application is designed to be straightforward and efficient. It should take your organization about 20 minutes to complete.

• I applied for ECSF Round 1. Am I eligible to apply for Round 2?

  Applicants who received funding as well as those who were declined may reapply in Round 2 by starting a new application. The Applicant Guide provide guidance on this.

  Successful Round 1 applicants can submit an application in Round 2 for project costs which were not funded in Round 1. Applicants cannot receive funding twice for the same project costs. Applicants must submit a budget to identify new eligible costs.

  Unsuccessful Round 1 applicants can submit an application for the same or different project costs, as long as funding for the project costs was not provided by any of the ECSF funding intermediaries in Round 1.

  Applicants moved to “Oversubscribed” in Round 1 will have their applications moved back to draft and will receive an email notification advising of this change. Applicants who were ‘oversubscribed’ are not required to redo their entire application.

• How are applications assessed?

  Submissions will be assessed on the following areas:

  • Decision makers and program staff are reflective of the population served;
  • Clearly addresses a pressing social inclusion or well-being need caused by COVID-19;
  • Serves one or more vulnerable groups;
  • Can be carried out in a short timeframe with a reasonable budget.

  Victoria Foundation will continuously consult with community groups and networks to receive input and feedback on evolving community needs. Victoria Foundation will seek input from community advisors comprising of Victoria Foundation Board members and community partners prior to bringing grant recommendations to the Board of Directors.

  Grants are provided on the basis of:

  • The availability of funds
  • How well the proposed project aligns with ECSF Grant Guidelines
• What is the timeline for applying?

  The deadline to apply is October 30 at 11:59PM PST. The application portal will be open for 4 weeks between October 5-30.  All submissions will be reviewed as a cohort during the first two weeks of November.  Decisions will be announced at the end of November/ early December with grant payments made by December 15, 2020.

• What is the recommended funding amount?

  Victoria Foundation and United Way Greater Victoria have a total of $685,000 to grant locally. We anticipate a high volume of funding requests that will exceed the amount available.

  The maximum funding request is $75,000; however, we encourage requests between $5,000 and $25,000. Larger requests will be subject to a highly competitive process in the context of the high need of many organizations across the broad range of areas in the sector.

• Are there priority target populations for the ECSF in Round 2?

  The COVID-19 pandemic has been an unpredictable and challenging time for many, with some communities experiencing higher levels of vulnerability than others. Marginalized groups including youth, children and the elderly, essential workers, and newcomers are just some of the communities that have faced increased challenges.

  Organizations serving all marginalized groups are welcome to apply for funding.  This round of ECSF will specifically target populations that are experiencing heightened vulnerability including

  • Newcomers, Immigrants and refugees;
  • Women & girls;
  • Official language minority communities;
  • LGBTQ2 people;
  • Indigenous people; and
  • Racialized people such as Black Canadian, Chinese and South Asian and others.
• What are the reporting requirements?

  Eligible projects must operate and incur expenses between April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2021.

  Reporting requirements for projects approved for funding will be as light as possible – we know community-based organizations have important work to deliver right now. This process includes a short description of the outcomes and, once you have finished the project, a brief report due by April 1, 2021.

• How can non-qualified donees apply to ECSF partnered with a qualified donee?

  Non-qualified donees (NQDs) are encouraged to apply to the Canadian Red Cross. However, CFC also recognizes grassroots community groups play an important role in communities across Canada and will also consider applications from NQDs in partnership with a fiscal sponsor. CFC will provide a template agreement to applicants to document this partnership and will ask it is completed with the application.

  As the fiscal sponsor, the qualified donee will:

  • Be included in the fiscal sponsor section of the application;
  • Sign the grant agreement;
  • Accept grant payment; and,
  • Ensure grant obligations, such as reporting, are fulfilled.
• For other questions or to talk through your application

  There are additional applicant resources which may be helpful to point to in your communications about ECSF. Here are the links to that information:

  • Applicant Guide
  • Joint Webinar
  • How to Apply to ECSF Webinar
  • ECSF Initiative Page
  • Infographics

  We welcome the opportunity to talk to you about your application.  Please reach out to the grants team at grants@victoriafoundation.bc.ca or 250-381-5532.