Applicants must meet all of the following criteria:

• Primarily serve or benefit Ottawa residents.
• Clearly demonstrate that they are one or both of:
  • A collective that represents a sector or sub-sector and that provides services, advocacy, coordination, or other benefits to that sector.
  • An individual organization that represents and/or serves a sector or sub-sector.
• If a collective, identify a lead / host organization that:
  • Is headquartered in Ottawa.
  • Is a registered charity or other Qualified Donee.
  • Can fulfill the role of Charitable Partner for the full term of the funding.
• If an individual organization:
  • Be headquartered in Ottawa.
  • Be a registered charity or other Qualified Donee, or have an existing, formal relationship with a charity or Qualified Donee that can act as a charitable partner.

Applicants may be a collective or an individual organization, but in either case must meet the following criteria:

• A significant portion of its mandate and activities are in service of the collective, the sector, and/or other agencies, not in direct program or service delivery.
• It must maintain ongoing operations. This can take many forms, and could include regular meetings, permanent staff, incorporation as a non-profit or charitable organization, a distinct operating budget, ongoing initiatives / services, etc.
• Applicants must not be organizations that solely provide direct services to individuals. The focus of this funding is on collectives and organizations that serve or represent sectors of community organizations.

For example, an individual frontline service organization is not eligible to apply on its own. However, a city-wide network that represents those frontline service organizations is eligible.

• An organization that provides services to both individuals and other organizations is eligible to apply. However, in this case the focus of the LOI must be on the applicant’s role in serving, coordinating, advocating for, or otherwise benefiting a sector at large.
• To qualify as a collective, applicants must have multiple current member agencies and must be able to credibly claim to broadly represent a sector. They should have ongoing activities, and not be built around a single initiative, program, or service.

For example, two organizations working together to deliver a project in partnership are not a collective. Multiple agencies working in the same sector that communicate, coordinate, and collaborate regularly are a collective.

• If there are multiple collectives or organizations that could reasonably claim to represent your sector, we strongly encourage you to communicate and collaborate on a single proposal for your sector, rather than submitting multiple proposals individually.
• If there is not a collective or organization that represents your sector, but you wish to create one, we encourage you to apply for a one-year Community Initiative Grant to begin that development process. The Multi-Year Operations Grants are intended to support existing community sector infrastructure organizations and collectives.

We recognize that many organizations play multiple overlapping roles, and that these roles shift and evolve over time. If you are unsure of your fit for this funding, please contact us.