Community Places Program

• Funding covers up to 70% of the eligible project budget.
• Financial assistance is available up to a maximum of $30,000 per project.

• The applicant must be located within Northern Development’s service region.
• Eligible applicants include local governments, registered not-for-profits, and registered First Nation bands.
• The project must be community-oriented, promote opportunities for community gathering, and be accessible to all members of the community (not limited to a private membership).
• Applicants must secure and provide a resolution of support from the appropriate local or First Nations government or regional district, based on the project location.

Who is eligible?

• Local governments located within Northern Development’s service region
• Registered not-for-profit organizations within the service region
• Registered First Nation bands within the service region

Who is not eligible

• Companies and organizations located outside Northern Development’s service region.
• Private for-profit businesses.
• Educational institutions or projects attached to educational institutions.
• Projects or organizations whose community spaces are limited to private membership and not accessible to the general public.

Eligible expenses

• Capital expenditures directly necessary for project implementation.
• Contractor fees for construction or enhancement work.
• Incremental third-party project management costs.
• Rental of tools and equipment required for construction.
• Wages for direct project labour (with timesheets and paystubs as documentation), including employer's portion of CPP, EI, and Pension (up to 9.85%).
• PST related to project expenses.
• In-kind volunteer labour contributions (documented as per specified hourly rates).
• Costs for internal equipment use owned by the applicant (with documentation, up to eligible hourly rates).
• Monetized donations of materials, equipment, or services from third parties (with proper confirmation and receipts).

Eligible geographic areas

• Applicants located within Northern Development’s service region.

• Strength of the application submission, including completeness and quality of supporting documents.
• Percentage of project funding requested from Northern Development versus applicant's financial contribution.
• Demonstrated support from multiple stakeholders within the community.
• Alignment of the project with broader strategic documents or community plans.
• Potential for the project to address community needs such as accessibility, inclusivity, and health and safety concerns.

• Projects are considered complete when all related expenses are invoiced and entered in the applicant’s accounting software, and photos of the completed project have been taken.
• There are no ongoing key deliverable reporting requirements after project completion.
• Supporting documents such as financial statements, before photos, and letters of support may need to be provided during application submission.
• Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.