As charities recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and face the possibility of reduced government funding and the uncertainty of donations, they may have to look at different ways of working, or perhaps even decide it is time for the charity to stop operating.
The Foundation may be able to assist charities to undertake the changes they feel they need to make.
Charities can apply for funding under this program if they:
(a) are social-service charities that operate primarily in Alberta or Saskatchewan; or
(b) are umbrella organizations for the voluntary sector or for a subsector, and they have at least some member-organizations that operate in Alberta or Saskatchewan.
The Foundation will consider applications in the following streams:
Mergers: Where two or more charities wish to consider a formal amalgamation, the Foundation will consider applications for funding to support the initial discussions, the detailed reviews and some part of the implementation. Normally, an application will cover only one phase of the process at a time, recognizing the results of an early phase can be uncertain. Certain costs will not be considered in the implementation phase: the Foundation will not pay costs of severance payments to staff or for retirement of any debts or contracted arrangements such as leases.
Alliances: Charities may identify ways they can work differently with other charities to provide service at reduced costs, or in ways that administrative costs can be turned into programming costs. There are any number of ways that two or more charities may decide to create some form of alliance. It could involve sharing space or services, merging back-office operations, developing co-ordinated services or something else entirely. The key will be ensuring at least a maintenance of the level of service received by clients while finding ways to increase efficiencies. The Foundation will consider applications for exploration and implementation of such alliances.
Closure: Some charities may decide that they cannot continue operations, for financial reasons or otherwise. In those cases, the Foundation will consider applications so that a charity can obtain the professional assistance it requires to wrap up its operations, and to ensure clients receive the assistance they need to make the transition to another service provider. The Foundation will not consider requests for grants to pay for severance payments to staff or for debts incurred prior to the grant being awarded.
Charities wishing to apply for grants under the Restructuring program should submit an application through the Foundation’s application portal.