Resilient Futures

Who is eligible?

• Registered charities.
• Qualified donees.
• Non-profit organizations.

Who is not eligible

• Individuals, including sole proprietorships.
• For-profit organizations or businesses, private foundations, and corporate foundations.
• Federal, provincial, or municipal government agencies and school boards.
• Organizations engaged in political activity supporting or opposing any political party, elected representative, or candidate for public office.
• Organizations with less than one year of incorporation, operating, and financial history, or organizations whose primary purpose is to support and benefit other ineligible organizations.

Eligible expenses

• Financing of project activities carried out by staff or an external professional or consultant related to the project criteria, goals, and workplan.
• Legal, financial, or other technical expertise, advice, guidance, and services.
• Incremental staff expenses dedicated to carrying out activities and admin costs related to the project, up to 15% of the project budget.
• Expenses related to stakeholder, partner, or community meetings and consultations, including room rentals, audio-visual or digital equipment, printing, translation, and interpretation.
• Travel expenses deemed essential to the project, up to the rates set out in the Directive on the Management of Expenditures on Travel, Hospitality and Conferences.

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Individuals, including sole proprietorships, and for-profit organizations or businesses.
• Private foundations, corporate foundations, federal, provincial, or municipal government agencies, and school boards.
• Organizations engaged in political activity supporting or opposing any political party, elected representative, or candidate for public office, or organizations whose primary purpose is to support other ineligible organizations.
• Tax filing software alone, general tax-filing training that does not directly lead to clients filing their taxes, and benefit access services that do not result in a client applying for a benefit.
• One-time general financial information sessions without tailored advice, financial education geared towards higher income earners, matched savings programs without the eligible services, debt consolidation loans, Licensed Insolvency Trustee services, projects focused on change in law or government policy, deficit or emergency funding, major capital expenditures, core operating expenses unrelated to the project, cost of alcoholic beverages, and projects outside of Canada.

• Project responds to an identified community need.
• Reasonable budget aligned with project activities and projected impact.
• Proposed workplan and activities are clearly connected to intended impact(s).
• Project aligns with Resilient Futures goals, including focusing on those living on low to moderate incomes.
• Project is led by and/or includes the community it serves in design, adaptation, and implementation processes.

• Read the Guidelines and Criteria document and the FAQs and Glossary document.
• Access the Open Water online application through Catalyst and create an account.
• Start an application, select the Financial Empowerment Partner funding stream, and answer the eligibility questions.
• Complete the Organization Details, Project Information, and Proposal Questions sections.
• Answer all questions marked with a red asterisk.
• Submit the application by clicking Save and Finalize and confirming submission; mailed hard copies are not accepted.

• LOI proposals are shortlisted by Prosper Canada staff to determine fit and eligibility.
• Successful LOI applicants are invited to the Full Proposal stage.
• Full Proposals are reviewed by an Advisory Committee of community volunteers from across the country.
• Prosper Canada’s Board of Directors reviews the recommended proposals and makes the final funding decision.
• All Full Proposal applicants are notified of funding decisions, funding agreements are signed, and projects start by October 2026.

• Prosper Canada leads the initiative.