Environmental Operating Grants

Eligible organizations must:

• Be a registered charity with Canada Revenue Agency or other qualified donee.
• Operate exclusively in Edmonton and/or Northern Alberta. Our definition of “Northern Alberta” is somewhat flexible, but we generally consider the City of Wetaskiwin to be the southern boundary of Northern Alberta.
• Have a primary charitable purpose that is environmental in nature, including renewable energy, energy conservation, and climate change; environmental education; land, habitat, and wildlife conservation; waste management; and air and water quality.

When to Submit

The current three-year funding cycle is 2025 to 2027.

• Applications open September 4 and closes October 9, 2024
• Final decisions made in December
• For funding after January 1, 2025

Review Environmental Operating Grant – Guidelines & FAQs before submitting an application through our online portal.

Applying for an Environmental Operating Grant

There is no set minimum or maximum amount of funding you can request. The total pool of funding available is $300,000/year for three years, for a total of $900,000. Funds will be distributed among all successful applicants. With that in mind, please ask for what your organization needs.

All operating expenses are eligible. This includes things like rent, utilities, equipment, professional development, and staff salaries or wages. Review the guidelines for a full list of activities that are not supported.

Funding decisions will be made using a holistic review process completed by a volunteer committee with expertise in the environmental sector.

If more applicants make it through the review process than the grant program can support the committee will take into consideration the amount of funding an organization has received from ECF in the past few years.

For more information about our grant programs, contact our staff at grants@ecfoundation.org or by phone at 780-426-0015.