The Edmonton Immigrant and Refugee Communities (EIRC) Grant Program contributes to the City of Edmonton’s value: “I want to BELONG and contribute”. It supports grassroots immigrant and refugee communities who are in the process of settling and integrating. For newcomers, immigrants and refugees, the barriers to full inclusion in the community are often significant and tend to be complex, intersectional and almost always systemic. 

Funding Allocation

For 2025, there is $526,250 available in the Edmonton Immigration and Refugee Communities Grant. This includes additional one-time funding that will be available for the Special Project stream for projects that are advancing Community Safety and Well-being. 

One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) of the EIRC Budget will be utilized to fund Out of School Time (OST) programming through REACH Edmonton. 

Program Grant Guide

If you have any questions or need help, please contact grants@edmonton.ca.

See Program Grant Guide for Full Details

Application Intake

Applications are now open for the Edmonton Immigrant and Refugee Communities Grant program.

Applications will be accepted until all funds have been allocated.

Grant Information Sessions

The City of Edmonton is hosting virtual Grant Information Sessions throughout the year to give interested applicants a better understanding of program eligibility requirements, provide tips for completing the application and details on timelines for review and decisions. Pre-registration is required.

Time: 1-3pm
Dates: 

  • Thursday February 13
  • Thursday February 20
  • Monday March 3
diverse people of colour illustration

Information Sessions Registration

Register for Grant Information Sessions

Grant Priorities

The EIRC Grant will:

  • Support immigrant and refugee community groups and organizations in creating and delivering projects that address the needs and opportunities identified within their communities
  • Strengthen the feeling of belonging, foster connections and support communities
  • Increase ethnocultural communities' participation in political, social, economic and cultural life in Edmonton
  • Support the growth and development of community groups to best serve their communities

Grant Principles

The priorities will be addressed through:

Interculturalism
An exchange of knowledge and mutual learning for transformation.

Empowerment
Focus on developing growth and confidence.

Community Input
Inviting community members to be a part of the conversation.

Relationship-Building
Building trust among ethnocultural organizations and between these organizations and City of Edmonton, authentically engaging to build trust.

Grant Streams

To ensure that as many eligible organizations and projects receive funding through EIRC, an organization that applies to more than 1 of the Grant Streams and meets the eligibility criteria may receive funding for the Space Subsidy and 1 other grant stream. If funds are available after August 1 of each year, then an organization may receive funding for additional projects. This means that an organization should consider which project is most aligned to the grant priorities and principles.

The EIRC Grant Program has 4 funding streams:

Space Subsidy

Grant Amount

If renting a not-for-profit or public facility (such as a community league, school or cultural hall), groups are eligible for an 80% subsidy up to a maximum of $6,000.

When renting commercial space, groups are eligible for a 60% subsidy up to a maximum of $5,000 per year.

The space subsidy is open throughout the calendar year until the funding runs out.

Intended Use
The EIRC Space Subsidy Grant assists immigrant and refugee communities with the cost of renting space for their programs or organization based on a calendar year of January to December.

Final Reporting 
A final report must be submitted no later than February 1 of the year following funding. 
 

Seed

Grant Amount
Up to $4,000.

Intended Use
Support community groups or organizations to identify community needs and test innovative and experimental approaches to address these needs. The funds will support projects and programs that are short-term or one-off and focus on activating a community for a positive impact.

Community Impact Grant

Grant Amount 
Between $4,001 - $7,000.

Intended Use
To scale up successful projects and programs that address a broader community need. 

Community Special Project Grants

Grant Amount
Between $7,001 - $20,000.

There are 2 intake periods for this grant. The first intake deadline is the third Thursday of March. If there are remaining funds, the second intake will be the third Thursday of September.

Intended Use
To support projects and programs that attempt to address, respond to or challenge systemic level barriers to inclusion. These projects and programs are larger in scale and scope and aim to address more complex settlement and integration challenges.  

For the 2025 program year, an additional $200,000 will be available for projects and programs that are helping advance community safety and well-being. 

Grant Eligibility

To be eligible for the EIRC Grant, the applicant is 1 of the following:

  1. A not-for-profit organization registered for at least 1 year and in good standing with the incorporating body (Alberta Society, Non-profit Private Company, Non-Profit Public Company, Extra-Provincial Non-profit Company).
  2. Local grassroots group or interested individual that has a fiscal agent that meets one of the eligible categories. If the applicant is awarded funding through this grant program, the fiscal agent must agree to act on the applicant’s behalf to sign a funding agreement with the City and to receive, administer and report on the grant.

Please note:

  • Organizations must have a total Operating Budget that is $200,000 or less
  • Organizations or fiscal agents must be based in Edmonton and serve Edmontonians
  • Applicants that have received other Neighbourhood Services grants or funding must be in good standing with the City in terms of reporting requirements

A project or program already receiving City funding is not eligible for this grant. 

Eligible Expenses

Examples of eligible expenses may include, but are not limited to:

  • Salaries for staff 
  • Honorariums for programs and projects 
  • Program or project materials and supplies
  • Food expenses (maximum of 25% of budget)
  • Printing and communications
  • Training expenses
  • Travel expenses, within Edmonton
  • Evaluation expenses
  • Insurance
  • Other administrative costs associated with the project or program (maximum 15% of budget)
  • Short-term rental of space for projects or programs (If space rental needs are ongoing, please apply for the Space Subsidy Grant)

Ineligible expenses

Program funding cannot be used for expenses related to:

  • Time and labour provided towards preparation of funding applications, fundraising including costs for fundraising campaigns and websites for fundraising purposes
  • Endowments, charitable donations, bursaries, developing business cases or proposals for funding, donor recognition, gifts (except for gifts for Indigenous protocols)
  • Project expenses that are incurred before the application has been received
  • Capital and facility upgrades, renovations and construction 
  • Debt reduction, financing charges and/or interest payments on loans
  • Direct government lobbying or partisan political activities (such as activities related to advocacy must demonstrate non-partisan approaches)

Required Documents for Application

  • Completed Program Budget Form
  • Most recent audited year-end financial statements, signed by 2 board members 

or

  • Most recent internally-generated financial statements (those that are not presented either as a notice to reader, a review or an audit) signed by 2 board members and must include a bank reconciliation and bank statement as at the fiscal year-end
  • Organizational operational budget for your last completed fiscal year
  • Copy of meeting minutes where the financial statements were approved or annual general meeting minutes

Submit Your Application

To apply, please register for an account through the Grant Portal.

See the instructional video to learn how to register for an account:

Grant Portal Account Registration

For questions or additional support, please contact grants@edmonton

Grant Application Assessment

All applications are assessed based on the following: 

  • Project description: does the project description describe the project, align with priorities and principles and impact the targeted community?
  • Demonstrate community need: does the group describe the community need? Tell us why it is important and how they determined the need.
  • Project timeline: are there clear timeframes for the project? 
  • Budget: is the budget detailed, clear and realistic?

An application will take approximately 6-8 weeks for review and processing. Please ensure that you consider this in your project plans. If you have not heard from the Grants Office in 8 weeks, please contact them at grants@edmonton.ca.
 

Final Reporting

A final project or program report is required approximately 3 months after the project is complete and can be provided in any number of formats including:

The final report must include:

  • Description of the project or program
  • Number of program participants
  • Number of partners, if applicable
  • Number of volunteers, if applicable
  • Description of who participated (this could include: age, gender, socioeconomic status, cultural heritage) 
  • Outcome reporting (outcomes measured, how, and responses)
  • Project and program lessons learned
  • Final financial reporting, with receipts

 

Related Links

Shared Space - Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations (ECVO)

Related Documents

Emerging Immigrant and Refugee Community (EIRC) Grant 2023 Update Report and Summary

Contact Us

Community Grants Office

Email  grants@edmonton.ca

Phone  780-496-4933