Question Period Note: COMMUNITY SERVICES RECOVERY FUND

What is the federal government doing to advance the implementation of the Community Services Recovery Fund?

• This government has committed to ensuring that charities and non-profits have the tools they need as they emerge from the pandemic.
• Budget 2021 announced $400 million for a temporary Community Services Recovery Fund to help charities and non-profits adapt and modernize so they can better support recovery in our communities.
• We are working diligently to advance the implementation of this Fund. We have selected National Funders who will distribute the Fund to a broad and diverse range of charities and non-profits across Canada. Agreements with National Funders are expected this fall.

Community Services Recovery Fund
Charities and non-profits play an important role in supporting Canadians through tough times. They were also hit hard by the pandemic, even as the need for their services grew.

To respond to these challenges, the government took immediate action to support charitable and non-profit organizations by introducing the Emergency Community Support Fund, the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance, and the Canada Emergency Business Account.

The government also has committed to ensuring that charities and non-profits have the tools they need to modernize as they emerge from the pandemic.

To this end, Budget 2021 announced the establishment of the Community Services Recovery Fund (CSRF), a time limited grants and contributions COVID-19 response program for charitable and non-profit organizations. The objective is to help charities and non-profits adapt and modernize so they can better support recovery in communities.

National Funders will be responsible for distributing CSRF funding to eligible organizations across Canada. A public solicited Call for Proposals (CFP) to select National Funders launched on January 24, 2022 and closed February 22, 2022. Community Foundations of Canada, United Way Centraide Canada and the Canadian Red Cross were invited to submit proposals under the CFP.

The Department is aiming to sign contribution agreements with National Funders this Fall 2022. The application processes for grant funding will be open to a broad and diverse range of charities and non-profits, including those serving equity-deserving groups, for projects that contribute to:
o Modernization: transforming ways of doing things using the most recent ideas and methods;
o Adaptation: making processes more flexible and better prepared for new conditions; and
o Resiliency: to better anticipate, withstand, respond to and recover from disruptions
Examples of projects that could be funded under the CSRF include: developing new fundraising plans, organizational training and coaching, buying equipment to meet spacing needs, or new technologies to improve services.

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