Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF)

The Government of Canada, through Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), worked with United Way Centraide Canada (UWCC), Community Foundations of Canada and the Canadian Red Cross to establish the foundational program design for the Emergency Community Support Fund.

Si vous avez des questions ou souhaitez présenter une demande de financement au Fonds d’urgence pour l’appui communautaire en français, veuillez communiquer avec nous à FUAC-demande@centraide.ca

Applications are now closed

Decisions on the latest round of funding will be announced no later than November 17th if not earlier.

Deadline for applications was October 30th 2020 at 3 pm

COVID-19 is top of mind for everyone and is affecting the way we all support those who are vulnerable in our communities.  This pandemic has created an increase in demand for local services, shortages in supplies, and disruption in service.

United Ways and Centraides in Canada are pleased to provide support to local community service organizations that provide rapid, emergency community support to vulnerable community members.  Applications are made available and reviewed locally.  Our aim is to make this application process simple.  The application should take 15-30 minutes to complete.

These funds are being distributed as part of Employment and Social Development Canada’s (ESDC) Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF).  Before you begin, we encourage you to read the Frequently Asked Questions to fully understand what activities and expenses are allowable under this emergency funding for qualified donees.

The ECSF is a $350 million investment made by the Government of Canada, and a significant portion is being delivered through United Way/Centraide Canada, Community Foundations of Canada and Canadian Red Cross across the country.

United Way of Bruce Grey will be allocating $145 000 in our region.

Time Tables:

Applications will open October 5th

Deadline for applications is October 30th 2020 at 3 pm

You will also need to download the following 2 forms so they can be filled in and uploaded to the application:

Application: CLICK HERE

Tips for a successful Emergency Community Support Fund Application

Now that we’ve reviewed many applications and flowed some of the funding, we thought we’d share some tips on filling out the application

  • These funds are to support an increase in your program in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The costs have to relate to an increase in supports you are providing. This is not to replace lost fundraising.
  • We do expect you to access rent rebate programs, wage subsidy programs and other such programs to manage a loss of fundraising.
  • Funding for ‘storing’ resources for later use will need a full explanation. We expect the increase in resources to be offered to the community through increased access to your program.
  • Budgets should have greater detail explanations. Be true to your budget costs, simple round number estimates indicate limited planning. We’ve added a question in the application to explain the budget in better detail.

If you have questions…please call us. If you want to walk through the application line by line, call us. If you can’t scan and upload supporting documents…call us! Basically…call us! We want you to be successful with your application. Call us 519-376-1560.