Veteran Homelessness Program: Applicant Guide

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© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, 2023.

Cat. No.T94-26/2021E-PDF

ISSN 978-0-660-39813-6

Aussi disponible en français sous le titre Programme Itinérance chez les vétérans - Guide du demandeur

Veteran Homelessness Program: Applicant Guide
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Table of Contents

Introduction

The Government of Canada is committed to preventing and reducing Veteran homelessness in Canada. Veterans have served our country courageously and they deserve a safe and affordable place to call home.

In taking action to address the fact that there is an estimated more than 2,000 Veterans experiencing homelessness homelessness every year, the Government of Canada is launching a dedicated Veteran Homelessness Program.

This Guide has been prepared to support your application. It contains key information on types of eligible activities and expenses, steps to apply, and key requirements to be considered for federal funding under the Veteran Homelessness Program.

What is the purpose of the Veteran Homelessness Program?

The purpose of the Veteran Homelessness Program is to help prevent and reduce Veteran homelessness in Canada. The program delivers contributions funding through two streams: the Services and Supports Stream and the Capacity Building Stream.

The Services and Supports Stream will focus on the delivery of rent supplements and wrap-around services (such as counselling and addiction treatment) to Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

The Capacity Building Stream will focus on research and improved data collection on Veteran homelessness, as well as increased capacity of organizations to deliver tailored initiatives to address the needs of Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

What is the purpose of this Call for Proposals?

The purpose of this Call for Proposals is to invite organizations to apply for funding through:

  • the Services and Supports Stream only;
  • the Capacity Building Stream only; or
  • both the Services and Supports Stream and the Capacity Building Stream.

It is possible to apply to both streams of funding. This requires the submission of two applications through the INFC Funding Portal during the intake period.

If you apply to both the Services and Supports Stream and the Capacity Building Stream, you could be successful for one stream only, or both. If you are successful for both streams, the two projects you are submitting may be combined into a single agreement with the Government of Canada.

What is the maximum duration for projects funded under this program?

The maximum duration of Contribution Agreements for selected projects is five years.

Who can apply to the Program?

For both streams, eligible Applicants include:

  • Not‑for‑profit organizations;
  • Veteran-serving organizations;Endnote *
  • Municipalities;
  • Indigenous organizationsEndnote **
  • Public health, research organizations, educational institutionsEndnote ***; and,
  • ProvincialEndnote **** and Territorial Governments and their entities, including departments, agencies and Crown Corporations.

For both streams, ineligible Applicants include :

  • For profit organizations; and
  • Federal entities, including federal Crown corporations.

 Note: To verify the merit criteria that will be used to assess projects submitted through the Services and Supports Stream, please consult this section of the guide.

The Services and Supports Stream

How much funding is available for the Services and Supports Stream?

Up to $72.9 million over 5 years is available for contributions funding under this stream.

The maximum level of financial support approved per project under this stream will not exceed $6.5 million over five years.

What types of projects are eligible under the Services and Supports Stream?

Through this Call for Proposals, Infrastructure Canada (INFC) aims to identify organizations with the administrative capacity and expertise to deliver rent supplements and wrap-around supports to Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness, or to distribute funding to other service delivery organizations (Ultimate Recipients) to perform these functions.

Rent supplements are social assistance payments to help pay for the cost of rental housing for individuals and families by “bridging the gap” between what an individual or family can afford to pay and the actual cost of housing.

Wrap around supports consist of, among other things, connecting Veterans with comprehensive and integrated, multi-disciplinary teams of professionals. This includes social workers, homelessness and housing workers, addictions and mental health counsellors, and peer support workers.

What types of activities are eligible under the Services and Supports Stream?

The eligible activities under the Services and Supports Stream include:

  1. Activities designed to reduce Veteran homelessness, including those:
    • Providing financial assistance to cover housing costs, including:
      • rental and utility payments;
      • rental and utility deposits;
      • rental and utility arrears; and,
      • tenant insurance.
    • Connecting individuals and families to more stable housing through activities such as:
      • facilitating access to housing, which includes:
        • determining client’s preferences and needs for housing and type of supports; and,
        • securing housing for clients by working with private and public local real estate, landlord associations, etc. to identify available housing units.
      • setting-up housing for clients;
      • furnishing housing for clients;
      • repairing damages caused by clients;
      • providing landlord‑tenant services, which includes building and maintaining relationships with landlords and providing landlord mediation and training on roles and responsibilities of tenants and landlords; and
      • re-housing (if required).
    • Connecting individuals to transitional and interim housing;
    • Making minor capital investments in shelters, transitional housing and permanent supportive housing to support small renovations, retrofits, and repairs;
    • Offering support services to improve the self-sufficiency of individuals living in transitional housing through individualized services;
    • Connecting individuals to education, training, and employment services including:
      • life skills (e.g., job interview training, anger management, sessions on healthy relationships, parenting skills development, effective communication, budgeting, healthy eating); and
      • essential skills development (e.g., reading, document use, numeracy, writing, oral communication, working with others, computer use and continuous learning).
    • Providing general health and medical services, including counselling and addictions support services;
    • Connecting individuals and families to clinical, health and treatment services through case management, including through an intensive case management team;
    • Connecting individuals and families to population-specific supports, including culturally appropriate supports for Indigenous Veterans.
  1. Activities designed to prevent Veterans and their families at imminent risk of homelessness from becoming homeless including those designed to:
    • Divert individuals and families from the homelessness-serving system by empowering them to find solutions to their housing situation and leverage resources in the community;
    • Intervene to help individuals affected by eviction, family break-up, or other types of crises who are at immediate risk of losing their accommodation, and who lack access to alternative accommodation;
    • Assist individuals and families exiting public systems who are at imminent risk of homelessness (e.g., military, child protection, corrections, inpatient health care); and,
    • Stabilize at-risk individuals and families in their current living situations or to help them make the transition to new accommodation.
  1. Activities to develop and expand the capacity of service providers operating in the homelessness and Veteran-serving sector, including:
    • Hiring of a dedicated project manager;
    • Onboarding and managing a dedicated homelessness management information system server; and,
    • Improving the capacity of homelessness and Veteran service providers to serve Veterans.
  1. Activities designed to plan, coordinate and integrate responses to Veteran homelessness including those designed to:
    • Collect information on Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness;
    • Support a broader systematic approach to addressing Veteran homelessness;
    • Identify, integrate and improve services to Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness;
    • Develop partnerships in support of a broader systematic approach to addressing or preventing Veteran homelessness; and,
    • Work with the housing sector to identify opportunities for and barriers to permanent housing (e.g., establishing landlord relationships, mapping of current available assets) in support of a broader systematic approach to addressing Veteran homelessness.

What types of expenditures are eligible under the Services and Supports Stream?

The eligible expenditures under the Services and Supports Stream include:

  • Cost of providing rent supplements and placement-related fees, including:
    • Damage and/or security deposit(s);
    • first and last month’s rent;
    • one‑time rent arrears assistance;
    • insurance; and,
    • basic groceries and basic move-in supplies (e.g. appliances, cookware).

    • Wrap-around support services, including:

    • activities related to identifying interim housing and placement services;
    • financial management services helping the participant to retain their housing and reduce debts; and,
    • medical, social, addiction and mental health treatments.
  • Honoraria (e.g. tokens of appreciation for Indigenous elders or Veterans with lived experience of homelessness for participating in a community governance meeting on Veteran homelessness);
  • Minor capital costs as they relate to renovation, repair or retrofit of the participant’s new living space (e.g., patching and painting; adaptation for disabilities) including, supplies and labour costs.
  • Other capital costs, including computers and furniture;
  • Printing and communication costs;
  • Translation, including to Indigenous languages;
  • Professional fees, including consultants providing technical, administrative, legal or financial expertise;
  • Overhead costs up to a maximum of 15% of total project expenses, that are central to the recipient’s operations and directly related to support eligible activities as outlined in the Contribution Agreement. These include: postage, telephones, IT maintenance and head office support;
  • Wages and mandatory employment related costs (MERCs) for project staff;
  • Staff training and professional development costs; and,
  • Other expenditures, as approved by INFC, to meet the objectives of the program.

Where the recipient further distributes contribution funding to a service delivery organization to carry out project activities, payments from the Recipient to the service delivery organization to reimburse the latter for the above‑listed types of expenditures incurred are also eligible expenditures.

For Recipients that will further distribute funding to service delivery organizations (Ultimate Recipients), administrative costs (overhead costs) shall not exceed 15% of the overall project costs.

What types of expenditures are ineligible under the Services and Support Stream?

Ineligible expenditures include:

  • New capital construction;
  • Cost of purchasing land.

  Note: To verify the merit criteria that will be used to assess projects submitted through the Services and Support Stream, please consult this section of the guide.

The Capacity Building Stream

How much funding is available for the Capacity Building Stream?

Up to $6.2 million is available over five years for contributions funding under this stream.

The maximum level of financial support approved per project under this stream will not exceed $1.5 million over five years.

What types of projects are eligible under the Capacity Building Stream?

The Capacity Building Stream aims to support research on Veteran homelessness; develop and utilize effective approaches; collect data to address the needs of Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness; and develop and expand the capacity of organizations operating in the homelessness and Veteran-serving sectors.

Types of projects that could be eligible include:

  • supporting research and analysis on the specific needs and challenges faced by Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness, including Veteran sub-populations (e.g., Indigenous, women, seniors, racialized, gender-diverse and rural-based Veterans);
  • organizing learning and development opportunities (e.g. awareness/competency training) to improve an organization’s capacity to serve Veterans; or,
  • implementing a pilot project to address Veteran homelessness.

What types of activities are eligible under the Capacity Building Stream?

The eligible activities under the Capacity Building Stream include:

  1. Activities designed to understand, gather, analyze, and disseminate data and information about Veteran homelessness including those designed to:
    • Support research and analysis;
    • Collect information on Veterans experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness (including on Veteran sub-populations); and,
    • Publish the results, findings or performance information.
  1. Activities that provide innovative solutions to Veteran homelessness, including those designed to:
    • Develop and test new innovative tools and resources, that can be scaled up to prevent and/or reduce Veteran homelessness;
    • Pilot new project concepts including evaluation, best practices, and lessons learned. For these projects, activities may also include:
      • client services; and,
      • knowledge building; dissemination; analysis and studies practices, regional, national and international experiences, and the feasibility of adopting specific approaches).
  1. Activities to develop and expand the capacity of service providers operating in the homelessness and Veteran-serving sector, including:
    • Hiring of a dedicated project manager;
    • Onboarding and managing a dedicated homelessness management information system server; and,
    • Improving the capacity of homelessness and Veteran service providers to serve Veterans.
  1. Activities designed to plan, coordinate and integrate responses to Veteran homelessness including those designed to:
    • Collect information on Veterans experiencing homelessness;
    • Support a broader systematic approach to addressing Veteran homelessness;
    • Identify, integrate and improve services to Veterans experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness;
    • Develop partnerships in support of a broader systematic approach to addressing or preventing Veteran homelessness; and,
    • Work with the housing sector to identify opportunities for and barriers to permanent housing (e.g., establishing landlord relationships, mapping of current available assets) in support of a broader systematic approach to addressing Veteran homelessness.

What types of expenditures are eligible under the Capacity Building Stream?

The eligible expenditures under the Capacity Building Stream include:

  • Printing and communication;
  • Translation, including to Indigenous languages;
  • Professional fees, including researchers and IT consultants;
  • Costs related to holding focus groups, such as meeting rooms, equipment, hospitality, honoraria (e.g. tokens of appreciation for Indigenous elders or Veterans with lived experience of homelessness for participating in a community governance meeting on Veteran homelessness); etc.;
  • Overhead costs up to a maximum of 15% of total project expenses, that are central to the recipient’s operations and directly related to support eligible activities as outlined in the Contribution Agreement. These include: postage, telephones, IT maintenance and head office support;
  • Wages and mandatory employment related costs (MERCs) for project staff;
  • Staff training and professional development costs;
  • Other capital costs such as software; IT supplies and solutions; and,
  • Other expenditures, as approved by Infrastructure Canada (INFC), to meet the objectives of the program.

What types of expenditures are ineligible under the Capacity Building Stream?

Ineligible expenditures include:

  • New capital construction;
  • Cost of purchasing land.

What is the deadline to apply?

Application deadline is July 6, 2023 at 11:59 pm EDT. Applications received after the deadline will not be evaluated or considered.

How do I apply?

  Find detailed instructions on how to complete an Application through INFC’s portal in Annex B and Annex C .

The first step to apply to this Call for Proposals is to register for an INFC Applicant Account in the INFC Funding Portal. The portal will be open for registration on April 28, 2023 at 9:00 am EDT.

The account is necessary to access the Application Form. Detailed instructions on how to create your INFC Applicant Account and how to fill out the Application Form can be found in Annex B and Annex C of this guide. The application form will be available from April 28, 2023 at 9:00 am EDT through July 6, 2023 at 11:59 pm EDT.

Important: Please create your INFC Applicant Account a minimum of 1 week prior to the deadline to submit your application as it may take a few days for your account to be fully functional.

Once you have accessed the portal, you will be able to select which stream you want to apply for.

We encourage you to prepare your application in an external document and then copy and paste your answers into the fields of the Application Form. You do not need to complete your online application in a single attempt. The application can be saved and returned to as many times as necessary before the submission deadline. You will have access to support services during the application process.

IMPORTANT!

Applicants who are unable to submit a complete application through the portal are asked to reach out to this address: veterans@infc.gc.ca.

You are still required to register for an INFC Applicant Account (see Annex B) to receive communications and updates on your application. If this is an issue, please contact us as soon as possible.

What are the additional documents required?

No additional documents are required.

If your organization is located and operating in Quebec

Please consult the Approval and Authorization Process in relation to the Act respecting the Ministère du Conseil exécutif (RLRQ, chapter M-30). As per the Act, all Quebec public bodies must obtain a Ministerial Order from the Government of Quebec authorizing the conclusion of an agreement with the federal government or one of its departments.

As per the Act, a public agency designates a legal person or agency that, although not a government agency, a municipal body or a school body, has one of the following characteristics:

  • a majority of its members come from the Quebec public sector, that is, are appointed by the Government, a minister, a government agency, a municipal body, a school body or another public agency
  • its personnel is appointed in accordance with the Public Service Act (chapter F-3.1.1)
  • more than half of its financing is derived from Quebec public funds, that is from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, a government agency, a municipal body, a school body or another public agency

If your proposed project is successful and your organization is subject to the Act, an authorization from the Government of Quebec will be required prior to the conclusion of an agreement.

How will my application be assessed?

The Application Form captures the information required to assess your project against eligibility and merit criteria. After the submission deadline, all submitted applications will be assessed on a competitive basis against the eligibility and merit criteria below. Please make sure to include all relevant information in your answers, as applications will be assessed on the content of your response.

INFC reserves the right to accept a proposal in full or in part. Incomplete applications will be given five business days to complete their information. Applications that do not provide the required information will be deemed ineligible.

The Department may also review information in the public domain, including but not limited to materials on your website and media articles, when determining the eligibility of your application.

All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application. INFC reserves the right to apply additional criteria in the selection of projects if the volume of applications is above the funding available under the Services and Supports Stream and the Capacity Building Stream of the Veteran Homelessness Program. Consideration could be given to the following factors: geographic coverage across Canada, official language minority community considerations, the provision of culturally-appropriate supports (including supports to First Nations, Metis and/or Inuit), service to Veteran sub-populations experiencing or at risk of homelessness (Seniors, Indigenous peoples, 2SLGBTQI+, women, Black and racialized Canadians, people with disabilities, Veterans living in rural and remote communities), and the applicant’s experience in both the homeless-serving sector and in serving veterans directly (for Services and Supports Stream only).

Eligibility and assessment criteria for the Services and Supports Stream

Eligibility Criteria

Description

Applicant Eligibility

Is the applicant eligible?

Expenditures Eligibility

Are the proposed expenditures eligible?

Total project value

Is the total project value less than or equal to $6.5 million over 5 years?


Merit Criteria

Description

Need for proposed activities

Your application should provide quantitative or qualitative evidence of Veteran homelessness in your community.

Knowledge of existing homeless serving infrastructure

Your application should demonstrate your knowledge of supports and services available for Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness in the community (e.g., Veteran-specific supports, organizations and programs to provide homelessness and housing case management).

Clarity of project and activities description

Your application should clearly describe:

  • The project objectives;
  • The project activities and timelines;
  • How the activities support the objectives of the Services and Supports Stream.

Ability to deliver/manage sub-projects to deliver rent supplements and wrap-around supports

Your application should demonstrate your capacity to deliver project activities and/or to further distribute funding to service delivery providers in your area of responsibility (e.g., city or region).

Experience working directly with Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness

Your application should demonstrate your capacity and knowledge of working with Veterans who are at risk of, or experiencing homelessness.

Demonstration of support from partners

Your application should include your plan to develop and maintain partnerships with Veteran-serving organizations or organizations in the homeless-serving sector.

Ability to provide services to a wider geographic area

Your application should explain how you would support Veterans outside of your immediate community.

Clarity of expected results and progress measurement

Your application should clearly describe:

  • The expected results of the project;
  • How the expected results support the program objectives;
  • How you intend to measure progress on the expected results.

Eligibility and assessment criteria for the Capacity Building Stream

Eligibility Criteria

Description

Applicant Eligibility

Is the applicant eligible?

Expenditures Eligibility

Are the proposed expenditures eligible?

Total project value

Is the total project value less than or equal to $1,5 million over 5 years?

Merit Criteria

Description

Clarity of project and activities description

Your application should clearly describe:

  • The project objectives;
  • The project activities and timelines;
  • How the activities support the objectives of the Capacity Building Stream.

Transferability of project

Your application should explain whether and how your project can be transferrable/applicable across the Veteran and/or homeless serving sector (for example, a pilot project or training could be transferable to other organizations).

Ability to expand knowledge on, or build capacity to serve, Veteran sub-populations experiencing or at risk of homelessness

Your application should explain whether and how the project intends to expand knowledge on Veteran sub-populations, or build capacity to serve Veteran sub-populations (e.g., Indigenous, women, gender-diverse and rural-based).

Clarity of expected results and progress measurement

Your application should clearly describe:

  • The expected results of the project;
  • How the expected results support the Capacity Building Stream objectives;
  • How you intend to measure progress on the expected results.

How will I know if my project has been selected for funding?

Once applications have been reviewed, successful applicants will be notified by INFC. Program staff will communicate with the project's primary contact and discuss next steps, including negotiation of the project details and budget, as well as the signature of a Contribution Agreement.

Please note that not all applications submitted under this Call for Proposals will be approved. Funding is limited and is subject to budget considerations of the Veteran Homelessness Program, and allocation of funds by Parliament. Decisions are final and there is no appeal process.

INFC will notify you in writing of the outcome of the review of your application.

Any questions?

If you have enquiries about this Call for Proposals process, please send them to the following address: veterans@infc.gc.ca.

Annex A: Definitions

Veteran
For the purposes of the Program, Veterans will be considered former members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
Homelessness
The situation of an individual, family, or community without stable, safe, permanent, appropriate housing, or the immediate prospect, means and ability of acquiring it.
At-risk of homelessness
Veterans at risk of homelessness are defined as individuals and their families whose current housing situation will end in the near future (for example, within 2 months) and for whom no subsequent residence has been established.
At-risk populations
These include, but are not limited to: Veterans, individuals experiencing homelessness, women and children fleeing violence, 2SLGBTQI+ individuals, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, racialized minorities, seniors.
Homeless-serving sector
The homeless serving sector includes organizations, institutions, or bodies that support individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness (e.g., non-profit organizations, public institutions, or community centers). Organizations within the homeless-serving sector collectively support individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness by providing services across the continuum of care, including but not limited to, multiple aspects of social services, criminal justice, child welfare, health care, education, and other wrap-around supports.
Veteran-serving organizations
organizations that support Veterans and their needs. This includes organizations that provide housing options, social services, or other supports to Veterans. Organizations that focus on providing services or supports to a broader group of individuals (e.g., individuals experiencing homelessness, including Veterans), can also be considered Veteran-serving organizations, if they demonstrate experience working with the unique needs of the Veteran population.
Rent supplements
Social assistance payments to help pay for the cost of rental housing for individuals and families by “bridging the gap” between what an individual or family can afford to pay and the actual cost of housing.
Wrap-around Supports
Services and supports that consist of, among other things, connecting Veterans with comprehensive and integrated, multi-disciplinary teams of professionals. This includes social workers, homelessness and housing workers, addictions and mental health counsellors, and peer support workers.
Indigenous peoples
Self-identified. Includes First Nations, Inuit, Métis Nation, and urban and off-reserve Indigenous Peoples of Canada.
Contribution
A conditional transfer whereby specific terms and conditions must be met or carried out by a recipient before costs are reimbursed.
In-kind contributions
Involve non-cash asset transactions (e.g., securities, land, buildings, equipment, use of facilities, labour, goods) that are provided by interested parties.
Overhead costs (Administrative costs)
Expenses associated with running a business that can't be linked to creating or producing a product or service.
Recipients
Successful applicants who receive funding from INFC and hold the overarching contribution agreements with the Department. Recipients will either directly deliver rent supplements and wrap-around services to Veterans; or will further distribute funding to other service-delivery organizations (Ultimate Recipients).
Ultimate Recipients
Service delivery organizations who will directly deliver the program and receive funding from Recipients.
Sub-projects
Projects delivered by service delivery organizations (Ultimate Recipients).
Capital costs
Capital costs are intended to increase the capacity or improve the quality of facilities that address the needs of Veterans and their families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Total Eligible Cost
The sum of eligible costs as determined under the terms and conditions of the VHP .
Total Project Cost
The sum of both eligible and ineligible costs for a given project.
Crown corporations
A corporation that is owned and regulated by the national government to serve a need that cannot be met by the private sector alone.

Annex B:  Infrastructure Canada’s Funding Portal Guidance

IMPORTANT!

Applicants who are unable to submit a complete application through the portal are asked to reach out to this address: veterans@infc.gc.ca.

You are still required to register for an INFC Applicant Account (see Annex B) to receive communications and updates on your application. If this is an issue, please contact us as soon as possible.

Introduction

  • Applicants must register for an INFC Funding Portal Applicant Account.
  • By accessing your Applicant Account through the INFC Funding Portal, you will be able to create, save, edit, and submit applications to the Veteran Homelessness Program, as well as view your organization’s list of submissions through “My Dashboard”.
  • Applicants who are unable to apply through the INFC Funding Portal are asked to reach out at this email address: veterans@infc.gc.ca.
  • Applicants that already have an INFC Applicant Account can skip to Step two.

Important: Please ensure that you create your INFC Applicant Account a minimum of 1 week prior to the deadline to submit your application as it may take a few days for your account to be established.

Step one: Register for your INFC Applicant Account

    • Enter the INFC Funding Portal. Please use the most recent version of the following supported web browsers to access the INFC Applicant Portal:
    • Microsoft Edge
    • Apple Safari
    • Google Chrome
    • Mozilla Firefox
    • Internet Explorer (not recommended)
    • Click New User.
    • Confirm you have read the Privacy Notice Statement
    • Register your account by:
      • providing a valid e-mail address
      • creating a username and password
    • Activate your account by logging out after saving and returning to the sign in page

Passwords must contain characters from at least three of the following four classes: uppercase, lowercase, digit, and non-alphanumeric.

Create your organization profile

Have you previously applied through the INFC Funding Portal?

For applicants who have previously applied to an INFC program, your organization’s profile has already been created using information provided in previous applications. You can find your profile by searching the Existing Organization Name list. Once you find your organization’s profile, review the information provided and ensure that it is up-to-date. Please edit your organization’s profile if necessary. In the event that your organization is not found, you can proceed to create a New Organization profile.

How do I edit my organization’s profile?

You can edit your organization’s profile once you have made an INFC Applicant Account
by clicking on Profile.

  1. Once you enter your Profile page, click on Manage Organizations. Here, you will be able to locate your organization.
  2. Edit as needed and click Save.

Are you a new applicant to an Infrastructure Canada program?

  • If you are a new applicant, create your organization’s profile by clicking New Organization.
  • Fill in the required fields including:
    • the organization’s full legal name
    • contact information
    • organization address
    • organization type
  • Click Submit.
  • Once you have created your organization’s profile, find your organization from the Existing Organization Name list.
  • Enter the name and contact information for your organization.
  • Click Save.
  • Sign out by clicking on your name in the top right corner, selecting Sign out and sign back into your INFC Applicant Account

Step two: Manage your INFC Applicant Account

With your INFC Applicant Account within the INFC Funding Portal, you are able to apply to the Veteran Homelessness Program Call for Proposal. The INFC Funding Portal is the place to access your organization’s dashboard, application forms, and online resources.

Managing Permissions - Account Administrator/Owner

If you are the first person in your organization to register for an INFC Funding Portal account, you will automatically be the primary contact for your organization’s account and also be assigned the role of Account Administrator/Owner.

As Account Administrator/Owner, you will be responsible for:

  • Reviewing and approving (or declining) requests from other members of your organization to access the INFC Funding Portal and the Veteran Homelessness Program Call for Proposals Application Form.
  • Determining whether an approved team member(s) has “read only” capabilities or “update” (populating an application) capabilities.
  • Determining whether an approved team member(s) can Attest to and/or Submit project applications.
  • Determining whether an approved team member(s) can be your “delegate”, which permits them to have the same account privileges as you and undertake the above-noted actions on your behalf (as the team Account Administrator/Owner).

How to grant access to the application to members of your organization

In order for other members of your organization to access the INFC Funding Portal and work on the Veteran Homelessness Program Call for Proposals Application Form, you must grant them permission through your Profile page. It is only after you have made your INFC Funding Portal Account that other members of your team can proceed to make their own INFC Funding Portal accounts and start an application.

First, have your team members create their own INFC Applicant Accounts. When asked to identify the Lead Applicant Organization, ensure that they “link” themselves to your organization by selecting it from the Existing Organization List. It is only through this process that they will be linked to your organization and be able to access your organization’s Application. Once your team members have created their accounts, you will receive an e-mail notification titled: “Your action required”.

Next, go to your Profile page. Click on Manage Permissions. Here, you will see a list of individuals who are requesting access to the INFC Funding Portal and Application Form.

  • Click the drop-down menu located next to their name and account information.
  • Click Edit.
  • Answer the questions as prompted:
    • Enable Portal Access
    • Portal contact role
      • Update
        • Enable updating of application contents
        • No ability to modify the organization’s contact and account information
        • No ability to attest and/or submit the Application Form
      • Read
        • Read-only mode
    • Status
    • Can Attest
    • Can Submit
    • Is Delegate

Once you have assigned roles to your team members and saved this information, they will be able to see your Application Form in their own accounts under My Dashboard. Any changes that are made and saved to your Application Form by your team will be visible to all accounts linked to the Application Form

My Dashboard

Your dashboard will list your ongoing and completed application forms at INFC. Use the

dashboard to navigate to your application form(s) and keep track of the progress and status of your application(s). You do not need to complete your online application in one attempt. The application can be saved and edited as many times as necessary before the submission deadline.

Apply for Funding

To apply, you will find a link to the application form on the INFC Funding Portal.

An application, regardless of bundling, must describe how the project(s) will support the objectives of the Veteran Homelessness Program and satisfy the merit criteria for the stream(s) you are applying for.

Resources

The Resources page gives you access to additional online tools, including the Applicant Guide and its Annexes to help you complete the Application Form.

Help

While using the INFC Funding Portal, applicants will have access to support services at any stage of the application process. To contact support services, click on “INFC support” in the bottom left corner of any
page within the INFC Funding Portal. If, at any time, your account is inaccessible, please email the support team at crmsupport-soutiengrc@infc.gc.ca.

Step three: Apply for funding

After creating and confirming your organization account, to access the Application Form:

  • Click Apply for Funding
  • Click Apply for the Veteran Homelessness Program
  • Select the program stream you want to apply for.
  • Confirm the “Privacy and Eligibility” Statements
    • Read the Privacy and Third Party Notice Statement and confirm that you have read the statement by selecting “Yes”.

Create a new Project submission:

  • Read the Organization Eligibility Self-Assessment and confirm that your Organization meets all of the eligibility requirements for funding under the Veteran Homelessness.

Note: Please provide a brief, descriptive project title.

Annex C: Step-by-Step to the Application Form

Important tips when preparing your application

You are encouraged to prepare your application in an external document and then copy and paste your answers into the fields within the Application Form.

To edit or delete information that is displayed in table format, click on the down arrow icon and select either edit or delete.

Unless otherwise noted, the maximum character count for questions requiring a narrative answer (text box) is 2,000 characters.

Frequently, click Save to save your answers. This allows you to pause and resume work on your application without losing any information.

Questions marked with a red asterisk(*) are required and will need to be completed to validate and submit your application.

Once you have completed all questions in a section, click Validate. In addition to saving your work, this will verify that you have submitted all of the required information, and the tab at the top of the page will turn green.

All sections must be validated  in order to submit your application to INFC.

IMPORTANT!

Applicants who are unable to submit a complete application through the portal are asked to reach out to this address: veterans@infc.gc.ca.

You are still required to register for an INFC Applicant Account (see Annex B) to receive communications and updates on your application. If this is an issue, please contact us as soon as possible.

IMPORTANT!

The purpose of this Call for Proposals is to invite organizations to apply for funding through:

  • the Services and Supports Stream only;
  • the Capacity Building Stream only; or
  • both the Services and Supports Stream and the Capacity Building Stream.

For each project submitted, applicants are required to fill out Part 1 (Tell us who you are), Part 2 (Tell us about your project), Part 3 (Tell us about your budget), Part 4 (Required Documents) and Part 5 (Attestation).

If you submit a single project for the Services and Supports Stream only, please follow the instructions for Part 2A.

If you submit a single project for the Capacity Building Stream only, please follow these instructions for Part 2B.

If you submit two projects, the most convenient way to apply is to make a complete submission for your first project. Once it has been submitted, you can submit your second project. The portal will let you reuse the information you provided for Part 1: Tell us who you are.

Part 1: Tell us who you are

Section of the INFC Funding Portal's Application Form:

    Organization Information

Organization Information

Most of the information from this section will be prefilled with the information you provided when you created your  INFC Applicant Account. However, you can modify your organization’s mandate and you are invited to select the target groups that best align with your organization's primary activities.

Organization Contacts

Please provide primary and secondary contacts for the purposes of INFC communicating with your organization or business about the proposed project.

If your organization’s primary or secondary contact is different from the contact who will be leading your project, please create a new contact profile by clicking Add a Contact. This will add a contact to your organization’s profile.

Organizational Capacity

INFC will use the information provided in this section to help assess your organization’s capacity to manage a project.

How many employees does your organization currently have?
Please indicate the total number of people employed in your organization or business. The number of employees must be a whole number.

Has your organization undergone any important transformations in the past two years?
“Important transformations” refers to events such as a change in leadership in the board of directors or at the executive level, an important reduction, increase or turn-over in staff, a merger with or split from another organization, a change in mandate or main activities, etc.

If you answer yes, please provide a description of the changes.

Please describe how your organization has the experience and expertise to carry out the proposed project activities. If applicable, please include any past experience(s) with Government of Canada and the results of the project(s).
Please provide a description of your organization’s experience and expertise in administering projects (i.e. financial administrative/management experience, program management and control, etc.). This information will help the Department to assess the extent to which your organization is capable of undertaking the proposed project activities and achieving the expected results. You may wish to highlight related past achievements in addition to describing current expertise and activities or projects.

Does your organization owe any amounts to the Government of Canada?
If yes, please indicate the amounts owing in the spaces provided.

See the following example:

Amount Owing

Nature of Amount Owing

Department or Agency to which money is owed

$10,000

Overpayment

Infrastructure Canada

Note: Answering "yes" to this question will not invalidate your application. However, you must provide details as to the type of debt owed and the arrangements that have been made for repayment.

If an amount is owing, please indicate whether or not payment arrangements have been made. 

Once you have added an amount owing, save it by clicking on the disk icon before adding a new one.

REMINDER!

Once you have completed all questions in a section, click Validate. In addition to saving your work, this will verify that you have submitted all of the required information, and the tab at the top of the page will turn green.

All sections must be validated in order to submit your application to INFC.

Part 2A: Tell us about your project (Services and Supports Stream projects)

Section of the INFC Funding Portal's Application Form:

    Project Identification

REMINDER!

Follow Part 2A instructions if you apply for the Services and Supports Stream.

Follow Part 2B instructions if you apply for the Capacity Building Stream.

Project Identification

Planned Project Start and End Dates

Please indicate the planned start and end dates of your proposed project. The maximum duration of Contribution Agreements for selected projects is up to five years total.

We anticipate projects starting in fall 2023.

Proposed activities cannot begin before your project is approved and a Contribution Agreement has been signed between the organization and INFC. Any activities that occur prior to the signing of the Agreement by INFC cannot be reimbursed.

You should not assume any commitment on the part of the Department until funding has been approved and a Contribution Agreement has been signed by a representative of the Department. INFC will notify you in writing of the outcome of the review of your application.

Project Description

INFC will use the information you provide in this section to assess your project proposal.

Project Objectives

The maximum character count for this question (text box) is 8,000 characters.

In your answer, please provide the following information:

1. Provide evidence of Veteran homelessness in the community you intend to serve.

Please indicate which community/communities your organization intends to serve using Veteran Homelessness Program funding. 

Please provide quantitative and/or qualitative evidence of Veteran homelessness in the community you intend to serve.

The quantitative evidence of community-level Veteran homelessness (Data should indicate when it was collected and for which period it covers). This may include:

  • the size of the Veteran population experiencing or at risk of homelessness from previous enumeration methods (e.g., Point-in-Time count, Period Prevalence Count, Registry Week, Census Homeless Count, By-Name List, etc.); and
  • the composition of the Veteran population experiencing or at risk of homelessness (e.g., chronicity/episodicity, length of stay in shelters or demographic breakdown).

The qualitative evidence of community-level Veteran homelessness may include:

  • references to news articles;
  • interviews with Veterans with lived experience in the community;
  • focus groups with Veterans in the community.

If your organization does not have quantitative evidence of community-level Veteran homelessness, please provide a plan outlining how your organization intends to collect quantitative data.

2. Describe the supports and services available for at-risk populations (including Veterans) experiencing or at risk of homelessness in the community.

This can be demonstrated by providing a description of various supports and services in the community for Veterans experiencing or at-risk of homelessness, such as:

  • Emergency shelters available in the community (e.g., number of shelters, shelter beds) including violence against women shelters;
  • Other types of housing options (e.g., transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, purpose-built housing for Veterans);
  • Veteran-specific supports (e.g., VAC case management, Veteran-serving organizations, peer supports);
  • Complementary supports (e.g., soup kitchens, mental health and addiction services, legal clinics, case management).

These examples do not necessarily need to be services/supports that are directly delivered, funded or supported by the applicant.

3. Outline the objectives of your project.

These must be clearly linked to the Veteran Homelessness Program objectives of preventing and reducing Veteran homelessness and the Services and Supports Stream objectives. Before completing your answer, make sure you review the following sections of the Applicant Guide:

The Services and Supports Stream objectives focus on:

  • Supporting the delivery of rent supplements and/or wrap-around supports to Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness;
  • Fostering partnerships and networks to address existing and emerging homelessness and housing issues faced by Veterans;
  • Identifying and addressing community priorities to support Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness. 

Project objectives should:

  • be S.M.A.R.T.: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely.
  • be consistent with the funding program’s objectives and linked to the program objectives
  • identify the specific outcome(s) that the project is designed to accomplish
  • ensure that these outcome(s) are measurable
  • identify who will benefit from the project; and
  • show how meeting the project objectives will help to achieve the identified outcomes.

Project Activities

In your answer, please provide the following information:

Describe, in full detail, the proposed project activities broken down into clear steps (timeline).
Project activities are the steps that will be taken to meet the objectives of the project. Activities should be specific, measurable, realistic and relevant to the project objectives and demonstrate how the project outcome(s) will be achieved.

Your answer to this question must include details regarding all your planned activities. Please refer to the following sections of the Applicant Guide for examples of rent supplements and wrap-around services, and additional details on eligible activities:

You must include the following details for each activity:

  • First column (Timeline): a timeline for this activity
  • Second column (Activity): the type of activity (most of the time, you will answer “other” and specify the type of activity in the third column (Other Activity).
  • Fourth column (Description): A description of the activity and an explanation of how it relates to the objective(s) of the project.

There should always be a clear link between the project activities and the project objective(s) that you identified previously in the application.

This section of the application should demonstrate your expected progress and plans to complete the project on time and within budget. The activities should be in line with your budget (Part 3 – Tell us about your budget).

The Description field should also contain the following information:

  • Information on how the project will be set up as well as how staff will be recruited.
  • Additional details about how the project will be delivered. For example, will there be sub-projects, or will your organization deliver all aspects of the project?

The information you provide here will have a significant bearing on the assessment of your proposed project and of your organization’s ability to undertake the project successfully.

Expected Results of the Project

The maximum character count for this question (text box) is 8,000 characters.

In your answer, please provide the following information:

Describe the expected results of your project.

These must be clearly linked to the Services and Supports Stream objectives to prevent and reduce Veteran homelessness. They must also be concrete and measurable (qualitative or quantitative), and must be defined as milestones.

Milestones are the short-term and intermediate changes that are expected to occur as the result of the project (more than one outcome could be directly related to an objective). They answer the questions “How do we know the project is successful?” and “How do the activities lead to improvements for the beneficiaries?”

Before completing your answer, make sure you review the following section of the Applicant Guide:

Expected results may be defined in different ways, for example (but not limited to):

  • Expected number of Veterans experiencing homelessness who obtain more stable housing;
  • Expected number of Veterans at risk of homelessness who maintain stable housing.

Project Details

Does the project include results measurement indicators?

Please provide the following information:

Describe your plan to measure progress on results.

This can be demonstrated by, for example:

  • Outlining a plan to measure/evaluate results;
  • Identifying key performance indicators;
  • Describing existing or planned data collection systems that can be used to measure results (e.g., Homelessness Management Information System)
  • Discussing how an existing (or planned) By-Name List is, or would be in the future, used to measure results.

Please describe how you will meet and track the expected results of the project. Provide a description of how you plan to gather, measure, monitor and report on results achieved by your project.

A performance indicator provides evidence that results have or have not been achieved. They ensure a proper assessment of the progress achieved towards the intended outputs, outcomes, goals and objectives of the project. Applicants must provide performance indicators which will clearly demonstrate how they will measure each anticipated result and ensure their project is progressing as planned.

Proposals must include at least one result measurement indicator for each of the project’s expected results identified previously. In addition, for each result measurement indicator, data collection mechanisms must be provided.

Measuring results is a way to ensure that you know how your project is progressing towards meeting the expected results. It helps connect a project’s activities and outputs to its intended outcomes as well as the CFP’s overall outcomes. INFC uses the information you provide in this section to assess your capacity to demonstrate results.

Examples of key performance indicators:

  • Number of Veterans experiencing homelessness receiving rent supplements;
  • Number of Veterans at risk of homelessness receiving rent supplements;
  • Number of Veterans receiving wrap-around supports;
  • Percentage of Veterans who remained housed or successfully exited the Program 12 months following receipt of a rent supplement or wrap-around supports; and,
  • Estimated number of shelter users who are Veterans experiencing homelessness.

Recipients will be required to monitor, track, and report on program data (including demographic information of Veterans served) and the results of all funded projects and sub-projects (including number, duration and amount of rent supplements provided, types of wrap-around supports provided, Veterans placed in stable housing, etc.) as stipulated in their Contribution Agreements.

Does this proposed project fit with your organization’s other activities?

The maximum character count for this question (text box) is 8,000 characters.

In your answer, please provide the following information:

1. Describe your ability to deliver services and supports (either directly, or through Ultimate Recipients) to at-risk populations*.

*At risk populations include, but are not limited to: Veterans, individuals experiencing homelessness, women and children fleeing violence, 2SLGBTQI+ individuals, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, racialized minorities, seniors.

Please indicate whether your organization plans on:

  1. Please indicate whether your organization plans on:
    1. Directly delivering supports: Your organization plans on directly delivering rent supplements and wrap-around supports to Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness; or,
    2. Further distributing funding: Your organization plans on flowing funding to other service delivery organizations (Ultimate Recipients) to deliver rent supplements and wrap-around supports; or,
    3. A combination of both i) and ii).

Based on your response above, please also provide details to b), c), or d), as applicable.

  1. Provide details of your organization’s past experience directly delivering supports to at-risk populations, for instance:
  • Providing services such as community programs, language programs, digital literacy programs, life skills, case management, volunteer in community, etc.;
  • Referring individuals to other supports and services within the community (e.g., referrals to VAC services and benefits, housing providers, culturally-appropriate supports, health and mental health supports, etc.);
  • Integrating benefits and services from different orders of government to avoid duplication and claw backs;
  • Establishing partnerships with community stakeholders or other orders of government;
  • Delivering grants and contributions projects specifically aimed at supporting at-risk populations.

AND/OR

  1. Provide details of your organization’s past experience flowing funding to service delivery organizations (Ultimate Recipients), for instance:
  • Managing Calls for Proposals or soliciting sub-project proposals within your organization’s community or region;
  • Contracting and managing sub-project agreements with service delivery organizations;
  • Monitoring, tracking and reporting on the results of all funded sub-projects;
  • Establishing partnerships with community stakeholders or other orders of government.

OR, if your organization does not have experience with #1 or #2 above, please:

  1. Provide details of your organization’s plans to strengthen capacity to deliver services directly or further distribute funding, for instance:
  • Hiring case managers, project managers;
  • Leveraging funding from the Veteran Homelessness Program’s Capacity Building Stream.

2. Describe your organization’s experience directly serving Veterans experiencing or at-risk of homelessness.

3. Describe your organization’s ability to provide services to Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness outside of your organization’s immediate community.

This can be done by describing:

  • examples or plans for mobile service delivery outside the community;
  • examples or plans of establishing and implementing referral systems with organizations in adjacent communities;
  • examples of how the organization would be able to provide rent supplements, at a minimum, to Veterans in adjacent communities where there is no Veteran Homelessness Program funding.

4. Describe how the project relates to the ongoing work of your organization.  

This can be done by highlighting how past achievements and current activities and/or projects are related to your proposed project. This information helps the Department to determine the extent to which your organization is able to undertake the proposed project and to achieve the expected results.

Please include any previous work done by your organization, your partners and your potential partners. Include details as to how your project builds on, and does not duplicate, this previous work.

Will any of the project activities be delivered in a different location than where your organization is located?

If “yes”, please list the main address first, followed by each additional location.

Is your project designed to benefit or involve people in English or French-language minority communities?

If “yes”, please provide an explanation and any details on whether consultations will take place with these communities

INFC is committed to enhancing the vitality of the English and French linguistic minorities in Canada by supporting and assisting their development and fostering the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society. Official Language Minority Communities are English-speaking communities established within the province of Quebec and French-speaking communities established outside the province of Quebec.

If your proposed project will involve official language minority communities, you should answer ‘Yes’ to this question and ensure that this is listed and described in your Project Objectives. 

Please also identify the linguistic profile of the beneficiaries targeted by the project, document any special needs of the official language minority community and indicate whether or not they were consulted. The related budgetary items can be identified in Part 3 of the Application Form (Tell us about your budget).

Answering "No" to this question will not invalidate your application.

Is your project targeting other vulnerable groups?

In your answer, please provide the following information:

1. Select the vulnerable groups your project is targeting, if applicable.

For every Veteran sub-population selected, you will need to provide an explanation as to how the project will specifically target it.

2. Explain whether the project aims to serve Veterans in urban, remote or rural populations (or a combination thereof).

Please provide detailed and specific responses.

3. Explain whether the project aims to serve First Nations, Inuit or Métis Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Please provide detailed and specific responses.

4. Explain whether the project addresses ways of delivering culturally-appropriate supports.

Please provide detailed and specific responses.

Will any other organizations, networks, or partners be involved in carrying out the project?

In your answer, please provide the following information:

Describe your plan to develop or maintain partnerships* with Veteran-serving organization(s) or organization(s) in the homelessness sector.

You may demonstrate this by including:

  • A description of engagement and/or collaboration efforts undertaken with Veteran-serving organization(s) or organization(s) in the homelessness sector during the development of this proposal (e.g., phone calls, meetings);
  • How partnerships with organizations will be maintained under the VHP ; and,
  • A description of the process by which partner organizations will be consulted/involved as part of the decision-making process of the organization;

* Examples of partnerships include, but are not limited to:

  • Formal partnerships with a Memorandum of Understanding;
  • Participation in multi-organization groups/committees;
  • Joint delivery of a program;
  • Collaboration with other organizations to develop plans or strategies; and,
  • Supporting another organization in the delivery of programs and services.

Does the proposed project address the Program’s national, regional or local priorities?

This question does not apply to this call. Please answer “N/A".

Does your project include activities that are listed in the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) Physical Activities Regulations established under the Impact Assessment Act?
Please note: Applicants need to verify if their proposed activities are listed under the above Act. Please visit the Justice Laws Website to access the Physical Activities Regulations.

Indicate ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

If the answer is ‘No’ – an impact assessment will not be required.

If answer is ‘Yes’, as per the Impact Assessment Act, you must submit your project description electronically to the IAAC online registry for further review. The IAAC will determine if an impact assessment is required. If required, INFC funding will be conditional on the status and results of the impact assessment. Results are accessible on the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry website.

REMINDER!

Once you have completed all questions in a section, click Validate. In addition to saving your work, this will verify that you have submitted all of the required information, and the tab at the top of the page will turn green.

All sections must be validated in order to submit your application to INFC.

Part 2B: Tell us about your project (Capacity Building Stream projects)

Section of the INFC Funding Portal's Application Form:

    Project Identification

REMINDER!

Follow Part 2A instructions if you apply for the Services and Supports Stream.

Follow Part 2B instructions if you apply for the Capacity Building Stream.

Project Identification

Planned Project Start and End Dates

Please indicate the planned start and end dates of your proposed project. The maximum duration of Contribution Agreements for selected projects is up to five years.

Proposed activities cannot begin before your project is approved and a Contribution Agreement has been signed by both you and INFC. Any activities that occur prior to the signing of the Agreement by INFC cannot be reimbursed.

You should not assume any commitment on the part of the Department until funding has been approved and a Contribution Agreement has been signed by a representative of the Department. INFC will notify you in writing of the outcome of the review of your application.

Project Description

INFC will use the information you provide in this section to assess your project proposal.

Project Objectives

The maximum character count for this question (text box) is 8,000 characters.

In your answer, please provide the following information:

1. Outline the objectives of your project.

These must be clearly linked to the objectives of the Veteran Homelessness Program and at least one of the Capacity Building Stream objectives:

  • To support the research, development and utilization of effective approaches and data to address the needs of Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness;
  • To develop and expand the capacity of the homelessness and/or Veteran-serving sectors.

Before completing your answer, make sure you review the following sections of the Applicant Guide:

Project objectives should:

  • be S.M.A.R.T.: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely.
  • be consistent with the funding program’s objectives and linked to the program objectives
  • identify the specific outcome(s) that the project is designed to accomplish
  • ensure that these outcome(s) are measurable
  • identify who will benefit from the project; and
  • show how meeting the project objectives will help to achieve the identified outcomes.

2. Explain whether the project is transferable/applicable across the Veteran and/or homeless serving sector.

In your answer, please indicate how your proposed project (e.g., pilot, research project, capacity-building project) could:

  • expand knowledge on Veteran homelessness across Canada; or,
  • expand the capacity of service providers to serve the specific needs of Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness; or,
  • be replicated elsewhere in Canada.

Project Activities

Describe, in full detail, the proposed project activities broken down into clear steps (timeline).
Project activities are the steps that will be taken to meet the objectives of the project. Activities should be specific, measurable, realistic and relevant to the project objectives and demonstrate how the project outcome(s) will be achieved.

Your answer to this question must include details regarding all your planned activities. Please refer to the following sections of the Applicant Guide for details on eligible activities:

You must include the following details for each activity:

  • First column (Timeline): a timeline for this activity
  • Second column (Activity): the type of activity (most of the time, you will answer “other” and specify the type of activity in the third column (Other Activity).
  • Fourth column (Description): A description of the activity and an explanation of how it relates to the objective(s) of the project.

There should always be a clear link between the project activities and the project objective(s) that you identified previously in the application.

This section of the application should demonstrate your expected progress and plans to complete the project on time and within budget. The activities should be in line with your budget (Part 3 – Tell us about your budget).

The Description field should also contain the following information:

  • Information on how the project will be set up as well as how staff will be recruited.
  • Additional details about how the project will be delivered.

The information you provide here will have a significant bearing on the assessment of your proposed project and of your organization’s ability to undertake the project successfully.

Expected Results of the Project

The maximum character count for this question (text box) is 8,000 characters.

In your answer, please provide the following information:

Describe the expected results of your project.

These must be clearly linked to at least one of the Capacity Building Stream objectives. They must also be concrete and measurable (qualitative or quantitative), and must be defined as milestones.

Capacity Building Stream objectives:

  • To support the research, development and utilization of effective approaches and data to address the needs of Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness;
  • To develop and expand the capacity of the homelessness and/or Veteran-serving sectors.

Milestones are the short-term and intermediate changes that are expected to occur as the result of the project (more than one outcome could be directly related to an objective). They answer the questions “How do we know the project is successful?” and “How do the activities lead to improvements for the beneficiaries?”

Before completing your answer, make sure you review the following section of the Applicant Guide:

Project Details

Does the project include results measurement indicators?

In your answer, please provide the following information:

Describe your plan to measure progress on results.

This can be demonstrated by, for example:

  • Outlining a plan to measure/evaluate results;
  • Identifying key performance indicators.

This could include but is not limited to, for example:

  • if the project is developing training materials, evaluating the satisfaction of participants;
  • if the project is developing a pilot program, surveying client satisfaction.

Please describe how you will meet and track the expected results of the project. Provide a description of how you plan to gather, measure, monitor and report on results achieved by your project.

A performance indicator provides evidence that results have or have not been achieved. They ensure a proper assessment of the progress achieved towards the intended outputs, outcomes, goals and objectives of the project. Applicants must provide performance indicators which will clearly demonstrate how they will measure each anticipated result and ensure their project is progressing as planned.

Proposals must include at least one result measurement indicator for each of the project’s expected results identified previously. In addition, for each result measurement indicator, data collection mechanisms must be provided.

Measuring results is a way to ensure that you know how your project is progressing towards meeting the expected results. It helps connect a project’s activities and outputs to its intended outcomes as well as the CFP’s overall outcomes. INFC uses the information you provide in this section to assess your capacity to demonstrate results.

Does this proposed project fit with your organization’s other activities?

The maximum character count for this question (text box) is 8,000 characters.

In your answer, please provide the following information:

Describe how the project relates to the ongoing work of your organization.

This can be done by highlighting how past achievements and current activities and/or projects are related to your proposed project. This information helps the Department to determine the extent to which your organization is able to undertake the proposed project and to achieve the expected results.

Please include any previous work done by your organization, your partners and your potential partners. Include details as to how your project builds on, and does not duplicate, this previous work.

Will any of the project activities be delivered in a different location than where your organization is located?

If “yes”, please list the main address first, followed by each additional location.

Is your project designed to benefit or involve people in English or French-language minority communities? If yes, please provide an explanation and any details on whether consultations will take place with these communities

INFC is committed to enhancing the vitality of the English and French linguistic minorities in Canada by supporting and assisting their development and fostering the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society. Official Language Minority Communities are English-speaking communities established within the province of Quebec and French-speaking communities established outside the province of Quebec.

If your proposed project will involve official language minority communities, you should answer ‘Yes’ to this question and ensure that this is listed and described in your Project Objectives. 

Please also identify the linguistic profile of the beneficiaries targeted by the project, document any special needs of the official language minority community and indicate whether or not they were consulted. The related budgetary items can be identified in Section 3 of the Application Form (Tell us about your budget).

Answering "no" to this question will not invalidate your application.

Is your project targeting other vulnerable groups?

Select the Veteran sub-populations your project is targeting. In addition, please provide the following information:

1. Describe whether your project will expand knowledge on Veteran sub-populations experiencing or at risk of homelessness, or build capacity to serve Veteran sub-populations experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.

Examples include:

  • a qualitative or quantitative research project that focuses on sub-populations (for example, interviewing 2SLGBTQI+ Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness);
  • hiring a dedicated staff member to create and implement programming specific to a sub-population (e.g., hiring a program manager to develop a community program for women Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness);
  • learning and development opportunities (e.g. awareness/competency training) on a sub-population;
  • initiatives that focus on incorporating culturally appropriate supports into programming, tools, or projects;
  • strategies, programs, and/or projects developed and delivered to support a specific Veteran sub-population.

2. Explain whether the project aims to serve Veterans in urban, remote or rural populations (or a combination thereof).

Please provide detailed and specific responses.

3. Explain whether the project aims to serve First Nations, Inuit or Metis Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Please provide detailed and specific responses.

4. Explain whether the project addresses ways of delivering culturally-appropriate supports.

Please provide detailed and specific responses.

Will any other organizations, networks, or partners be involved in carrying out the project?

If relevant, please describe the other group(s) or individual(s) as well as the role(s) and expertise they will bring to the project.

This information will help the Department to assess the support base for your proposed project. 

Does the proposed project address the Program’s national, regional or local priorities?

This question does not apply to this call. Please answer “N/A".

Does your project include activities that are listed in the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IACC) Regulations Designating Physical Activities established under the Canadian Impact Assessment Act, 2019?

Please note: Applicants need to verify if their proposed activities are listed under the above Act. Please visit the Justice Laws Website to access the Physical Activities Regulations.

Indicate ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

If the answer is ‘No’ – an impact assessment will not be required.

If answer is ‘Yes’, as per the Impact Assessment Act, you must submit your project description electronically to the IAAC online registry for further review. The IAAC will determine if an impact assessment is required. If required, INFC funding will be conditional on the status and results of the impact assessment. Results are accessible on the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry website.

REMINDER!

Once you have completed all questions in a section, click Validate. In addition to saving your work, this will verify that you have submitted all of the required information, and the tab at the top of the page will turn green.

All sections must be validated in order to submit your application to INFC.

Part 3: Tell us about your budget

Section of the INFC Funding Portal's Application Form:

    Funding

REMINDER!

If you submit projects for both the Services and Supports Stream and the Capacity Building Stream, you will need to provide one budget for each project.

Therefore, you will have to fill out Section 3 twice, once for each stream.

The Department’s funding programs generally encourage and/or require applicants to seek cash and/or in-kind contributions for their proposed project from other sources of funding. Each program has a “stacking limit”, that is, a maximum permitted amount of combined funding from federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments for any one project or initiative. Contributions to the project cannot exceed 100% of eligible expenditures.

The Department uses the information provided in this section to verify that your funding request conforms to any stacking limit or requirement for funding from other sources.

"Other sources of funding" includes funds received by any source other than the program you are applying to. This includes funding from your own organization.

Estimated Cost

Please provide the Total Estimated Project Cost (includes other sources of funding in cash or in kind) and the Requested Federal Contribution.

Other Sources of Contributions

Please provide the total amount in cash and/or the total amount in kind for funding from other sources.

Please provide a complete breakdown of these contributions and indicate if this funding is secured. Although not mandatory, you can provide letters confirming the funding by uploading a document in this section.

Once you have added a contributor, save it by clicking on the disk icon before adding a new contributor.

Project Cashflow

Applicants must provide an estimate of the project’s costs for the Requested Federal Contribution only.

Please provide a breakdown of the Requested Federal Contribution for each project component by fiscal year.

Once you have added a project component, save it by clicking on the disk icon before adding a new component.

Budget Details

Associated Businesses or Individuals.

Please select all statements that apply to your planned expenditures of the INFC funding.

In carrying out projects, recipients may have to purchase various goods or services needed to perform the project from contractors. Some recipients may also contract-out to third parties (i.e. outside providers) to perform part of the project activities and aid the recipient to achieve the objectives of the project.

“Associated businesses or individuals” means:

  • an officer, director or employee of your organization
  • a member of the immediate family of an officer, director or employee of your organization
  • a business in which an officer, director or employee of your organization, or a member of their immediate family, has a financial interest, or
  • a business which is related to, or associated or affiliated with, your organization.

Project activities must go beyond your organization’s normal activities, as the Veteran Homelessness Program does not fund your organization’s core, existing or on-going activities.

Capital Assets: Are capital assets among your planned expenditures with INFC funding?

Please indicate Yes or No.

If yes, explain how your project will benefit from the purchase of capital assets.

A capital asset is any single or composite asset with a purchase value of more than $1,000 that is not physically incorporated into another product and that remains functional at the end of the project.

A composite asset is a collection of unique assets that form one identifiable functional unit, where all components are required for the asset to be functional. The collection of assets is treated as a single capital asset if the total cost of all individual items together is greater than $1,000 (before taxes).

For example, a personal computer composed of a hard-drive, a monitor, a keyboard, a mouse and cabling is a composite capital asset. Four $300 chairs are not capital assets because each chair is functional on its own and, as single units, fall below the established threshold of $1,000 (before taxes).

Further Budget Details

Please use the text box to provide any additional information you would like to provide about your budget.

In addition, please break down each project component by expense.

Important: The INFC Funding Portal is a portal used for several programs. It is your responsibility as an applicant to verify if an expenditure is eligible for the stream you apply for in the following sections of the Guide:

REMINDER!

Once you have completed all of the questions in a section, click Validate. In addition to saving your work, this will verify that you have submitted all of the required information, and the tab at the top of the page will turn green.

All sections must be validated in order to submit your application to INFC.

Part 4 – Required documents

Section of the INFC Funding Portal's Application Form:

    Required Document

Required document and other supporting documents may be attached in this section. The Government of Canada reserves the right to request additional documentation to supplement the application.

Part 5 – Attestation

Section of the INFC Funding Portal's Application Form:

    Attestation

Validation Status

Each section of application requires validation before submission to INFC. Once validated, the following sections will turn green:

  • Organization Information
  • Project Identification
  • Funding
  • Required Documents

If there is a section that remains red, please go back to that section and confirm all required information is present and select “Validate”.

Privacy and Attestation

Read the “Privacy and Eligibility” notice statement and select “Yes” to confirm you have read the statement.

Select “Next” to proceed with the attestation. In the text boxes provided, please include:

  • Your Name
  • Your Position within the Organization
  • Name of Organization

Using the checkbox, please select “I confirm” followed by “Attest” to complete your attestation.

If you wish to modify your application before submitting, select “Cancel attestation”.

Select “Submit” to send your application to INFC. At this point you will no longer be able to make modifications to your application.