Calgary Foundation grants: which program fits your request?

Calgary Foundation runs several programs with very different sizes and rules. Choosing the right one matters more than anything else in your application.

Community Grants

• Request size: $10,000 to $200,000, including multi-year requests. Smaller requests don't qualify here.
• Timing: two deadlines a year, usually mid-February and early September. The spring 2027 round opens in January and closes in mid-February 2027. Exact dates are posted nearer the time.
• Who can apply: registered charities and other qualified donees with projects in Calgary and area.
• Not funded:
  • annual events and conferences;
  • academic research;
  • fundraising activities or fundraisers' salaries;
  • debt retirement or endowments;
  • direct financial support to individuals;
  • most requests from schools;
  • local playgrounds and parks;
  • travel outside the area;
  • programs requiring religious participation;
  • expenses incurred before the grant decision.
• Watch out: organizations with a Community Grant final report due within the 12 months before the next intake can't apply.

Neighbour Grants

• Request size: up to $10,000.
• Next deadline: November 9, 2026, with results in early December. Later 2027 deadlines are announced in late fall.
• Who can apply: registered charities can apply if they use a community-development approach, with meaningful leadership roles for grassroots people from the community. Nonprofits without charity status and informal groups should contact the foundation about options.
• Before applying: talk with foundation staff to confirm eligibility.

Other programs

• Stepping Stones: microgrants under $1,000.
• Strategic Opportunity Grants: monthly rolling deadlines. They fund planning and design work, not delivering a program.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Sending a $5,000 request to Community Grants. It falls below the $10,000 minimum.
• Applying to Neighbour Grants with a staff-led program. The foundation looks for genuine grassroots leadership from community members, so check with staff first if your project was designed internally.
• Asking Strategic Opportunity Grants to fund program delivery.

Sources: Community Grants, General Guidelines (September 2026), Neighbour Grants, Grassroots Grants, Strategic Opportunity Grants. Checked 21–22 October 2026.