Community Organization Assistance Program (PAOC) – Support for projects

• Financial assistance covers up to 95% of eligible project costs, up to a maximum of $80,000 per project (Volet 2 – Support for Projects).
• The grant is non-recurring for each project.
• 90% of the funding is disbursed upon signature of the funding agreement, with the remaining 10% paid after submission of the required final report.

• The applicant must be a community action organization established as a non-profit organization under the Quebec Companies Act (Part III), a cooperative under the Cooperatives Act, or a non-profit under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act.
• The organization must be rooted in the community, maintain associative and democratic life, and have autonomy in determining its mission, approaches, practices, and orientations.
• The organization must operate in Quebec.
• Projects must originate from the community sector and align with objectives such as increasing housing services, improving tenant living conditions, or developing new community-based housing practices.

Who is eligible?

• Non-profit organizations involved in community action in the housing sector
• Cooperatives constituted under Quebec or Canadian law, working in community action

Who is not eligible

• Organizations whose mission or activities are political, partisan, religious, union-based, or professional in nature.
• Non-profit organizations created by a public body to serve public administration interests.
• Organizations listed in the Register of Enterprises Ineligible for Public Contracts (RENA).
• Companies or organizations that have failed to meet their obligations under a previous grant from the Société d'habitation du Québec in the last two years, after being duly notified.

Eligible expenses

• General expenses such as office rent, office supplies, and technological infrastructure (limited to a maximum of 50% of the grant amount).
• Salaries and employee benefits directly related to the project.
• Training and skills development costs for employees (for core mission support).
• Expenses related to volunteer support and coordination (for core mission support).
• Travel expenses in accordance with Quebec government reimbursement guidelines, including other related ancillary costs.
• Representation expenses (for core mission support).

Eligible geographic areas

• Quebec

• Relevance: The extent to which the project addresses the objectives and identified needs, expected scope of impact in alignment with government housing priorities, and sustainability of the solution.
• Quality: Soundness of proposed activities and means, realistic and coherent financial plan, assurances of completion, partnerships, and contribution to advancing knowledge.
• Outreach and credibility: Degree of stakeholder engagement, knowledge transfer potential, and overall project impact.
• General quality of the application: Clarity in the description of the organization and project, well-defined objectives and expected results.
• Quality of writing: Completeness, precision, and conciseness of provided information and overall structure.

• The program is aligned with the Government Action Plan for Community Action 2022-2027.
• The program ends on March 31, 2026, though the government reserves the right to end it earlier.
• Public funding received from other sources must be declared for cumulative aid calculation purposes.
• The Société d'habitation du Québec may reclaim funds if information provided is found to be false or incomplete.