Organizations who are:

• BIPOC-led
  • ‘Led by’ refers to organizations that have individuals at different levels of the organization (including board and senior leadership) with direct lived experience and/or connections to and within the same communities they seek to serve.
• BIPOC-serving
  • ‘Serving’ refers to organizations that have a strong representation of equity-deserving community within their client base, may have strong or developing DEI policies and practices – but are not specifically focused on an equity-deserving community.
• In good standing with ECF. (i.e. Have submitted reports for previous BIPOC grants received from ECF.)
• Based in and serve the Greater Edmonton Area. For Indigenous organizations, based in and serve within Treaty 6 Territory.
• A Registered Canadian Charity
  • Organizations who are NOT a Canadian Charity can work in partnership with an existing Canadian Charity or other qualified donee.
  • Charities can submit one application for their own organization but can submit any number of applications that are in partnership with BIPOC organizations.
    • If this is your situation, please contact the grants team directly as you will be unable to open more than one application online (grants@ecf.ca)

How much can we apply for?

 Up to $750,000 is available for BIPOC grants for 2025. Dependent upon the applicant pool, we are budgeting to fund:

• 5-10 projects up to $50,000 – limited to charities
• 10-20 projects up to $25,000 – we recommend smaller charities, Non-Profit Organizations and grassroots organizations applying in partnership with a charitable organization to apply for projects up to $25,000.

BIPOC Grants must align with demonstrated organizational need (i.e. renovations, equipment purchases, program support and delivery).

 BIPOC Grants are eligible for:

• Existing Programming
  • Existing programs/operations that are currently underway.
• New and Expanding Programming
  • Development, delivery, piloting, or evaluation of new and expanded programs.
• Capacity Building
  • Strengthening the organization’s ability to deliver on its charitable mission, and/or strengthen the sector or a collective group such as costs to collaborate, engage and organize the community, identify issues and frame shared actions.
• Equipment purchases or renovations
  • Buying specific items or renovating a space or

Examples could include:

• Salaries
• Program Materials
• Program Equipment
• Promotion
• Administration
• Accessibility Considerations
• Space
• Consultant Fees
• Professional Development
• Organizational Assessments
• Technology
• Community-based Research
• Events*
• Equipment Purchases
• Renovations

 *Events – ECF generally does not approve grant requests for events through our application-based grant programs. There may be some consideration under BIPOC grants to support unique, culturally significant events with the purpose of building community and broadening outreach to support existing or new programming.

When must these activities occur?

• Expenses covered by the grant must be incurred after September 1, 2025 (after grant decisions are made).

BIPOC Grant Timeline

• Application opens Tuesday, May 20 at 12pm (noon).
• Application closes Friday, June 20 at 12 pm (noon).
• Applications are assessed by a volunteer committee consisting of community leaders and sector experts during the month of July.

• Final decision and announcements made mid-August.
  • Applicants awarded a grant will be guided through the next steps, including reporting requirements. Grants will be issued end of August.

2025 BIPOC Grant Guidelines and Application Questions

Application Portal

BIPOC Grant reports are an online form found on this portal. The report form will be added to the same user account that submitted the grant application approximately three months after the application has been approved. If you prefer an alternative reporting mechanism (in-person report back or video submission), please contact grants@ecf.ca to discuss next steps.

The form is comprised of a number of short answer, drop-down menu, and multiple select questions. These questions address general information about your grant, staff resources allocated to your grant, grant impact, financial information, and any follow-up activities which your organization may be undertaking. You will also need to upload financials for the grant which clearly indicate where the grant money was spent. Receipts for expenses are not required.