The City of Calgary is currently accepting applications for 2026 funding for the Civic Partner Operating Grant Program.

All Civic Partners that are eligible to apply under this Operating Grant Program (see section 3 on Eligibility in the Civic Partner Operating Grant Program Guidelines) will receive a written email invitation with details about the application and deadline. If Civic Partners are unsure whether or not they are eligible, they should reach out to their Administrative Relationship Contact or by email to partnerships@calgary.ca to confirm. Applications will be structured so that Civic Partners can easily show their alignment to the Operating Grant Program review criteria.

Review the Civic Partner Operating Grant Program Guidelines in full and determine if your organization is eligible to apply. Complete the online grant application and submit any required documents by midnight on Friday, March 7, 2025. If you have any questions, please contact your Administrative Relationship Contact (Civic Partnership Consultant or other partnership liaison) or email partnerships@calgary.ca with “Civic Partner Operating Grant Application” in the subject line.

Provide any additional documents that may be requested during the review process.

Late applications will only be accepted if an extension is requested and approved in writing in advance of the application deadline. Information submitted in grant applications may be made public.

Application deadline: Friday, March 7, 2025.
 

Eligibility

Only City of Calgary Civic Partners, as defined in the Investing in Partnerships Policy, that receive operating funding in the year the Operating Grant Program is accepting applications, and are in good standing with The City (e.g. following the terms of their agreement, providing all the required items, having paid any amounts owned to The City for services or taxes, no breaches or defaults), are eligible for the Operating Grant Program. All eligible Civic Partners will be invited to apply by The City. If a Civic Partner is unsure if their organization is eligible, they should reach out to their Administrative Relationship Contact or email partnerships@calgary.ca to inquire. There will be no open public calls for applications from the community and unsolicited applications will not be accepted.
 

Application Process

All Civic Partners that are eligible to apply under this Operating Grant Program will receive a written email invitation with details about the application and deadline. If Civic Partners are unsure whether or not they are eligible, they should reach out to their Administrative Relationship Contact to confirm. Applications will be structured so that Civic Partners can easily show their alignment to the Operating Grant Program review criteria.
 

Funding Priorities

This Operating Grant Program focuses on multi-year operating funding aligned with The City’s existing service planning and budgeting processes to help support the organizational structure and capacity required for Civic Partners to deliver results for Calgarians.
 

Application Review Process

An Administrative Grant Review Committee (the Committee) will review all applications and develop funding recommendations for Council approval. The Committee will be guided by a Committee Terms of Reference that will be shared with Civic Partners.

Once an application is submitted, communication specific to the application between a Civic Partner, the Committee and any individual Committee member will only be through the structured, consistent approaches outlined below to support a fair, transparent process. Applicants will be kept informed of the status of their application review during the process including key dates.
 

Review Criteria

The review of applications and the development of funding recommendations will be based on criteria that align with The City’s wider service planning and budgeting process. Criteria will be tailored to Operating Grant Program Streams to ensure they are appropriate.

Criteria will consider how Civic Partner applications demonstrate the following:

• Clearly defined community or other needs for the Civic Partner’s organizational programs and services and clear identification of how the Partner’s operations, strategies and plans meet these needs separate and apart from The City’s directly delivered services.
• Results for Calgarians that align with Council priorities or focus areas and either extend or complement existing City services or meet a demonstrated need not already addressed by The City.
• Demonstration of delivering results and clearly identified future success measures including quantitative performance measures and, where appropriate, qualitative measures.
• Context for performance by comparing against benchmarks for a Partner’s sector or performance comparisons with counterpart organizations, as appropriate.
• Demonstration that the Civic Partner is seeking to address equity, anti-racism, Truth and Reconciliation, accessibility and other key considerations, as appropriate, as community expectations and City policies and strategies evolve over time.
• Leveraging opportunities to collaborate with organizations, where appropriate, to achieve shared results.

The review criteria will also consider the following foundational elements of Civic Partner organizations:

• A Civic Partner’s financial health and risks based on information provided and prepared annually for the Civic Partner Audit Report financial review process, Civic Partner Annual Report and related information.
• Structural considerations that impact organizational capacity including a Civic Partner’s size, scale and operating model. For example, consideration for opportunities to leverage other funding sources including earned revenue.
• Impact of inflation, population growth or other pressures on a Civic Partner’s operations
• Management, operation or support for management or operation of a City-owned asset, or stewardships of a City collection or asset.
• Specific role of the Partner in:
  1) Extending existing City programs or services
  2) Complementing existing City services
  3) Meeting a demonstrated need not already addressed by The City.
   

Funding Approval Process

All Civic Partners will be formally notified on the outcome of Council’s decisions once the official Council meeting minutes have been released by The City Clerk’s Office.

The City’s four-year Service Plans and Budgets, including approved funding for Civic Partners, is subject to adjustment by Council through an annual process to ensure alignment to changing conditions and priorities. If changes to approved funding levels are to be included as part of an annual adjustments process, Civic Partners will be notified.

For the first round of the Operating Grant Program in 2025, as directed by Council, funding recommendations will be included as part of the November 2025 Service Plans and Budgets adjustments package.
 

Reporting

As directed by Council, Civic Partners receiving operating grants will continue to report to Council through existing accountability measures including the Civic Partner Annual Report and Civic Partner Audit Report. Each Civic Partner will also be required to follow any accountability requirements in their legal agreements with The City.

In an effort to maintain transparency and accountability, The City will make the names of all recipients and funding allocation amounts available publicly.

*At least 75% of the funds provided to Calgary Arts Development are distributed to Calgary’s arts and culture sector through a variety of grant programs. Learn more at http://www.calgaryartsdevelopment.com

**OCIF’s operating budget is funded through interest earned on the OCIF Reserve.