Prepare to apply

What is your organization's legal name? The legal name is usually:

• the name on your registration with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) or provincial/territorial equivalent, or
• the name used on funding cheques, bank accounts, etc.

What is the operating (or common) name of your organization (if it differs from the legal name)?

State the year your organization was established.

This question is mandatory. Choose one of the following:

• Not-for-profit

  Not-for-profit organizations are organizations that do not seek financial gain. They primarily receive provincial/federal funding (supplemented by fundraising and fees). They often:

  • rely on volunteers to deliver programs
  • are governed by a Board of Directors or a Committee

  These organizations include:

  • community, charitable or voluntary organizations, including faith-based organizations (for example, churches, synagogues, temples, mosques)
  • associations of workers or employers as well as professional and industrial organizations
  • indigenous not-for-profit organizations
  • non-governmental organizations
  • unions Sector councils
  • not-for-profit Band Councils
• Public Sector

  All companies and agencies overseen by the Government of Canada are public sector employers. Under certain statutes, some agencies, such as school boards and hospitals, are considered public sector. They are often referred to as parapublic organizations. Public sector employers can be large or small. They have employees and are governed by Public Policy mandates.

  Public sector employers include:

  • public community colleges and vocational schools
  • public health, including public hospitals, nursing homes, senior citizen homes, rehabilitation homes
  • public degree-granting universities and colleges
  • municipal governments and agencies, including regional legislative bodies and departments
  • school boards and elementary and secondary institutions

  When a public sector employer uses a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) registered charity business number, it does not change the organization’s designation to a not-for-profit.

  Note: The following organizations are eligible with the agreement of their provincial or territorial government:

  • post-secondary institutions
  • social service and public health institutions
  • provincially/territorially funded institutions

  This agreement must be indicated by a letter from the province or territory.

• Private Sector

  Private sector employers aim to make a profit or to benefit their owners, members, or shareholders. They primarily use company profits. But they can also get Provincial/Federal government funding. These employers are privately owned and are independently managed. Note that volunteers may deliver some programs and a Board of Directors may govern the business.

  Private sector employers include:

  • bodies, incorporated or unincorporated, including partnerships and sole proprietorships
  • financial institutions
  • business, incorporated or unincorporated bodies, which include:
    • federal Crown corporations operating in a competitive environment and not ordinarily dependent on appropriations for operating purposes as indicated in Schedule III, Part II of the Financial Administration Act
    • provincial and territorial Crown corporations recognized as operating in a competitive environment and not ordinarily dependent on appropriations for operating purposes
    • private health and educational institutions
    • independent owners of franchises
      • Indian band corporations
      • private band councils
      • private universities or colleges

This question is mandatory. Select the most appropriate category from the following based on what you chose in Question 4.

• Not-for-profit sector

  • local community, charitable, or voluntary
  • provincial non-governmental organizations
  • national non-governmental organizations
  • not-for-profit band councils
  • Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) with a focus on encouraging employment
  • unions
  • associations of workers and/or of employers
  • Indigenous not-for-profit groups
  • sector councils
• Private sector

  • businesses, bodies incorporated or unincorporated
  • banks
  • private universities or colleges
  • Indian band corporations (profit basis)
  • private band councils
• Public sector

  • public degree school boards / school districts
  • municipal public health
  • municipal governments and agencies
  • provincial governments and agencies
  • territorial governments
  • public community colleges and vocational schools
  • public degree-granting universities
  • public degree-granting colleges

• Post-secondary institutions, as well as social service and public health institutions, are eligible with the agreement of the provincial or territorial government
• For-profit organizations may be eligible for funding if the nature and intent of project activities is non-commercial, not intended to generate profit, and supports program objectives

A business number is a unique 15-digit number that the CRA assigned to your business or legal entity. For example, 123456789 RR 0001.

Find more information about the Canada Revenue Agency.

Acceptable alternatives

If you do not have a business number, provide 1 of the following:

• your provincial/territorial corporation number (in other words the number found on your letters of patent)
• a document from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) dated within the last 2 years (copy must be provided with your application)
• your Registraire des Entreprises du Québec (REQ) number
• your federal corporation number with Industry Canada
• a document confirming the proof of operations for your organization, such as:
  • governance structure
  • articles of incorporation
  • list of board of directors
  • others

State the primary address of your organization. The primary address is usually the head or main office. The full mailing address including city, province and postal code are required.

State “yes” or “no” to the question of whether your mailing address is the same as the primary address. If you answer “no”, state the mailing address of your organization.

Describe your organization’s primary activities and include the following information:

• the main activities of your organization
  • mission
  • mandate
  • objectives
  • any specific groups that use the same facility. For example:
    • seniors club
    • Royal Canadian Legion
    • FADOQ Club, etc.
• if your organization is the only one in your community that offers a meeting place or accessible communication technology

Note: ESDC does not fund core activities and core operational expenses. However, you can propose expansions to your main activities in your proposal. You must make it clear in your proposal, if some or all of your activities are similar to your organization's main activities, and if some or all of them are an expansion. Not doing so could lead to your application being rejected.

For example, your organization holds social afternoon get togethers on Thursday for all seniors in your region. In your proposal for the 2024 NHSP Community-based CFP, you describe your organization's plan to also hold social get togethers for all seniors in your region on Saturday and Monday afternoons. Despite being a similar activity to your organization's regular core activities, they are in fact an expansion.

Target Group(s)

If applicable, identify the target group(s) that best align(s) with your organization's mandate or purpose (you may select more than 1).

• Seniors
• Individuals experiencing homelessness
• Youth
• Women
• Newcomers
• Black people
• Racialized people
• Members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities
• People with disabilities
• Low income
• Remote/rural
• Official language minority communities (OLMC)
• Indigenous peoples:
  • First Nations
  • Inuit
  • Metis
  • urban/non-affiliated
  • Other: specify

If you wish to identify your target group(s) as visible minorities, please specify a group in the space provided (Other (specify)). For an exhaustive list of visible minority groups please see the Employment Equity Act.

Please specify in the space (Other (specify)), if your organization's primary activities also target veteran seniors or seniors who primarily speak languages other than English and French.

Who is the main contact person for the proposed project? ESDC will require a primary contact who they can reach out to regarding your organization's application for funding.

This person must be available for questions from the time the application is submitted to the time decisions are communicated in February 2025. The Department will reach out if they require additional clarification and/or documentation.

Please provide the primary contact information. If the contact details change after your application is submitted, please notify the Department in writing as soon as possible.

Note that the email address provided will be used for all correspondence.

If ESDC cannot reach the main contact, who else can ESDC contact? Provide the person's full name, telephone number where ESDC can reach them during business hours and their email address. The secondary contact's information must be different from the main contact person.

This person must be available for questions from the time of submission to the time decisions are communicated in February 2025. The Department will reach out if they require additional clarification and/or documentation.

Note that the email address provided will be used for all correspondence.

Select the correct address. If different from the main address, provide another address.

If “Yes”, complete the fields for each amount owing. ESDC will not reject your application for this reason. However, you must provide the details as to the type of debt and the arrangements you have for repayment.

For example:

If you have a payment plan in place to repay the debt, check “Yes” under Question 19, otherwise check ‘No’. You may be asked to provide the current arrangements for repayment during the assessment of your application.

Give a short title that describes your project. The title must be a maximum of 64 characters. Do not use “New Horizons for Seniors”, or your organization’s name.

This question is mandatory. State the planned start and end dates of your project. The start date should be mid to end of March 2025.

ESDC expects to finalize funding decisions by end of January 2025.

Once the agreement has been signed, you must complete your project activities within 12 months, but no later than March 31, 2026.

ESDC will notify you in writing of the outcome of the review of your application. You cannot begin any of the proposed activities or incur any expenses until your project is approved, and both you and the Department sign a Funding Agreement. Do not assume any commitment until the signing of the Funding Agreement. If you purchase anything for the project after the approval but before the signing of the Agreement, the amount will not be reimbursed, and your project may no longer be eligible.

Indicate the amount you are requesting for your proposed project. It cannot exceed $25,000.

Organizations with offices in multiple locations are eligible to apply for funding only if each location operates independently and has a separate governing structure and must have a separate CRA business number.

Organizations that do not operate independently may only receive a maximum total amount of $25,000 for all locations.

Organizations can only submit 1 application per project. Multiple projects that may include multiple locations may not exceed a total of $25,000 per organization.

For example:

XYZ Senior's Centre has 5 locations managed by the organization, operating under the same business number with the same Board of Directors. Each location wants to propose different activities (for example, one wants to start an intergenerational crafting circle, and another wants to expand their Monday coffee chat to happen on Wednesdays as well).

For this scenario, there are 2 options to apply:

Option 1 - Each XYZ location can apply separately for the project activities taking place at their location, however, the total accumulated requested amount cannot be higher than $25,000.

OR

Option 2 - XYZ Senior's Center can submit one application requesting up to $25,000 for all the project activities that would take place at the different locations.

In comparison:

123 Veteran's Society has 7 independent chapters, each with their own Board of Directors and operates independently. Each chapter can apply for up to $25,000 using their Business Number.

In 500 words or less, include a brief project summary which:

• identifies the need for this project, and demonstrates how your project will address the needs of seniors
• clearly describes how seniors will participate in the project activities
• indicates the expected results of your project, including the number of seniors you expect to use your service or to benefit from the activities. Make sure they are realistic and clearly defined

Project activities must meet at least 1 of the program objectives.

If applicable, describe how your project targets:

• vulnerable seniors' populations (consult the list in Question 29 (Vulnerable Groups))
• rural and remote areas

Notes:

• Projects that target vulnerable seniors' populations or rural or remote areas will receive extra points in the assessment
• New applicants will receive extra points in the assessment if they have:
  • not received funding from NHSP before, or
  • if they have not received funding from NHSP in the last 5 years (before April 1, 2020)
• You can apply for funding to deliver new programs for seniors or to expand on existing programs for seniors. Current activities being delivered with no proposed changes are not eligible. Please consult core activities and core operational tasks for more information

Project example:

ABC Senior's Club is submitting an application for a new project to improve the social participation of newcomer seniors in a city. As part of the new project, seniors involved with the organization will run English Cafes where newcomer seniors can practice their English conversation skills. The organization will also be organizing various activities and workshops on fraud and elder abuse.

In 500 words or less, describe how your project meets:

• 1 or more of the program objectives
• 1 or more national priorities (if applicable)

This question is mandatory. Describe, in full detail, the proposed project activities. These must be broken into clear steps. Explain the timeframes involved in completing each step (for example, September to October 2025 - Purchase equipment)

Project activities are the steps that you will take to meet the project objective(s). Activities should be S.M.A.R.T.: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.

The activities should show how you would achieve the project outcome(s) and outputs and these must be well explained and demonstrate the central roles of seniors in their planning and delivery.

Include details about all the planned activities. Refer to the eligible activities.

If you are proposing any activities that are similar to your organization's regular core activities, make sure to explain how they are an expansion of those activities. More information is available in Question 9 (Organization's Primary Activities).

Note

In question 30 (Project Cost) of this application, you will have to identify the cost associated with each of the activities you identify. Please consult the lists of eligible and ineligible activities in Who Can Apply

State where your project activities will be taking place. Will they be at the organization's main address and/or at a different location? If you answered "yes" to a different location, include the address for every other location.

If your project's activities take place in a rural or remote area , your application will receive extra points in the assessment.

ESDC commits to enhancing the vitality of the English and French linguistic minorities in Canada. ESDC support and assist their development and foster 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 Québec and French-speaking communities established outside the province of Québec.

If your proposed project involves official language minority communities, you should answer "Yes" to this question. Complete the question following the instructions in the application form.

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

If your project supports members of official language minority communities your application will receive extra points in the assessment.

Indicate the vulnerable groups your project is targeting, if applicable. You can select more than 1.

For example:

• have low income
• are Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and Métis)
• are 2SLGBTQIA+
• are Black or racialized
• are members of Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs)
• are persons with disabilities
• are immigrants or newcomers
• are living in rural and remote settings
• are at increased risk of social isolation due to factors such as being an informal caregiver or living alone
• are veterans

Note: Having the participation from diverse seniors in your project activities means your project meaningfully targets a group of vulnerable seniors. Your project must be designed with clear efforts to reach 1 or several groups of vulnerable seniors or provide services specifically tailored to their needs.