Enhanced Capacity Advancement Program

Important dates

Overview

The Enhanced Capacity Advancement Program (ECAP) helps to enhance and advance the non-profit/voluntary sector in Alberta by providing operational funding, for up to 3 years, to Alberta-based non-profit organizations that have a primary mandate and proven ability to:

• Deliver diverse capacity-building programs, supports and services to other non-profit organizations and enhance and advance Alberta’s non-profit/voluntary sector as a whole. These programs, supports and services must be intended for, and made available to, any non-profit/voluntary sector organization at the local, regional and/or provincial scale.
• Lead or participate in collaborative work to address broad priority issues that impact the entire non-profit/voluntary sector (for example: collaborate with relevant stakeholders such as other non-profit serving organizations, government, academia and the for-profit sector).

Capacity building is activity that results in improved knowledge, skill and ability to make and execute decisions in a manner that achieves effective and efficient results at the individual, organizational and sector level. There are 5 capacity categories that ECAP recipient organizations must work to enhance across the sector:

• systems capacity
• strategic leadership capacity
• adaptive capacity
• management capacity
• operational/technical capacity

See the ECAP Guidelines for more details.

Funding priority will be given to organizations that conduct work to address one or more of the following sector priority topic areas:

• sector collaboration
• volunteerism
• non-profit/voluntary sector workforce
• data and data literacy
• digital transformation
• alternative revenue generation

Prospective applicants are encouraged to carefully review the ECAP Guidelines which provide more fulsome detail.

Funding

Eligible capacity building non-profit organizations may receive up to a maximum of $225,000 per year in operational funding annually for up to 3 years. Eligible applicant organizations will be asked to demonstrate the breadth, depth and impact of their internal and external capacity building work and their work in the sector priority topic areas listed above to determine funding recommendations.

Continued program funding throughout the 3-year cycle is dependent on ongoing demonstrated impact and successfully meeting reporting requirements.

Eligibility

Eligible organizations

To be eligible for the ECAP grant, all of the following criteria must be met:

• Eligible organizations must have a primary mandate and proven ability to:
  • deliver diverse capacity-building programs, supports and services to other non-profit organizations and enhance and advance Alberta’s non-profit/voluntary sector as a whole
    • capacity building results in improved knowledge, skill and ability to make and execute decisions in a manner that achieves effective and efficient results at the individual, organizational and sector level
    • there are 5 capacity categories that ECAP recipient organizations must work to enhance across the sector (systems capacity, strategic leadership capacity, adaptive capacity, management capacity and operational/technical capacity). See the ECAP Guidelines for more information on these categories.
    • Capacity-building programs, supports and services provided by eligible organizations must be intended for and made available to any non-profit/voluntary sector organization at a local, regional and/or provincial scale.
  • lead or participate* in collaborative work to address broad priority issues that impact the entire non-profit/voluntary sector (for example: collaborate with relevant stakeholders such as other non-profit serving organizations, government, academia, the for-profit sector etc.)

*Participation must include robust and ongoing contribution to collaborative work and projects. Temporary participation or providing one-off input through engagement activities does not satisfy this requirement.

• eligible organizations must be registered as a non-profit organization and in good-standing under one of the following Acts:
  • Societies Act
  • Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act with a registration in Alberta under the Business Corporations Act
  • Companies Act, Part 9 (Non-profit Companies)
  • Special Act of the Alberta Legislature
  • Part 21 of the Business Corporations Act – Extra-Provincial Corporations
• eligible organizations must have a history of operating in Alberta for at least one year, with an Alberta-based address that is regularly monitored by an active member of the organization
• eligible organizations must have the ability to demonstrate:
  • proven ability to deliver on its mandate
  • sufficient community support for its mandate, which includes ongoing financial support from a range of sources and
  • broad accessibility and use of its diverse programs and services

Ineligible organizations

The following are not eligible for funding under the ECAP:

• organizations that provide direct front-line service to the public, as their primary mandate or as the majority of their work
• organizations that provide capacity building support to a specific subsector of the non-profit/voluntary sector as their primary mandate (for example: social services, arts and culture, sport and recreation, environment etc.) rather than the entire non-profit/voluntary sector
• organizations that provide capacity building support to a specific demographic as their primary mandate (for example: youth, seniors, newcomers, specific cultural or religious communities etc.)
• organizations that provide capacity building support with a specific topical focus as their primary mandate (for example: rural or urban development, agriculture, health and safety, a specific industry etc.)
• organizations that do not provide a diverse range of capacity building programs, services and supports (for example: web-based platforms and apps, crowdfunding platforms, cryptocurrency exchanges etc.)
• organizations that provide funding to other non-profit organizations as their primary mandate
• organizations that have overdue or incomplete accounting/reporting relating to any grant previously awarded by Alberta Arts, Culture and Status of Women
• municipalities and other government-associated organizations that operate on a non-profit basis (for example: hospitals, universities, colleges, schools and school boards)
• for-profit organizations
• individuals

Lower priority will be given to organizations that:

• have a deficit greater than 10% of their operating budget for one of the prior 3 years
• have a deficit for 2 of the prior 3 years
• have a significant amount of operational funding from another provincial ministry, or level of government (for example: municipal or federal)
• are unable to demonstrate a broad range of revenue sources and/or
• are seeking funding through the ECAP that exceeds 25 to 30% of their overall operating budget

How to apply

The application period for the 2026-29 grant cycle is now closed. Organizations that submitted applications will receive information from program staff regarding the status of their applications.

The next multi-year funding cycle is anticipated in the fall of 2028.

Updated program guidelines, application form and submission instructions will be provided at the beginning of the next application period.

After you apply

Applicants will receive notification of their progress through the application stages and will receive written notification of the decision regarding their application.

All decisions on grant applications are final and no appeals will be considered.

If your application was not successful, but your organization meets ECAP eligibility criteria, we encourage you to submit another application for the next intake cycle.

Information for recipients

Program recipients must adhere to the conditions outlined in the ECAP Guidelines. Program recipients can find more information in the guidelines on topics such as funding conditions, eligible and ineligible expenses, impact and financial reporting requirements and acknowledgement standards.

Contact

If you require more information, contact:
Email: [email protected]

Related

• Funding for non-profits