Funding available for community projects

By Janet Kanters, Editor

The Alberta government is reopening the Community Initiatives Program Project-Based grant stream to support economic recovery and build social connections.

Alberta’s non-profit and community organizations can now apply to the Sept. 15 intake of the Community Initiatives Program (CIP) Project-Based grant stream, which aims to foster healthy and vibrant communities across Alberta. Funding will focus on events, festivals, programs and projects delivered in innovative and creative ways that align with public health measures.

“At the height of the pandemic, we focused grant funding on front-line organizations providing critical services to Albertans, but now we can focus again on projects that improve and enrich our communities,” said Leela Sharon Aheer, Minister of Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women, and Chestermere-Strathmore MLA. 

The CIP Project-Based grant was paused in May to reallocate funds to help struggling front-line charities and non-profits maintain their core operations and provide services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alberta has more than 26,000 non-profit organizations, and community grants programs provide essential funding to about 800 of these organizations. Each year, 1.6 million Albertans provide more than 262 million volunteer hours to support the non-profit and voluntary sector. Non-profit institutions contribute $5.6 billion to the economy every year.