Funding Opportunities

The Fund will provide non-repayable grants between $75,000 and $1,000,000 per project that range from 60 – 80% of eligible project costs. An applicant must make a financial contribution to the project, and their overall contribution may be a combination of cash and in-kind according to the cost-sharing requirements below. The required contributions depend on the value of total eligible project costs. Projects with higher eligible costs are expected to make a larger contribution, which can include other funding sources.

A minimum of 20% of eligible project costs must be contributed by the applicant. The financial contribution may be made by project partners or alternate funding sources such as federal funding. In-kind contributions such as staff time can count toward the applicant’s contribution to a maximum of 10%. All applicants must make a cash contribution to their projects.

Note: If selected for funding, grant recipients will have 45 days from the conditional grant offer to confirm matching funds. Failure to meet this requirement may result in the withdrawal of the offer.

Projects with total eligible costs of:

• Up to $249,999 will require a contribution of at least 20% of eligible project costs
• $250,000 – $499,999 will require a contribution of at least 30% of eligible project costs
• $500,000 + will require a contribution of at least 40% of eligible project costs

For example:

• A project with total eligible costs of $100,000 will require the applicant to contribute at least 20% or $20,000. The Fund will provide a grant no greater than 80% or $80,000.
• A project with total eligible costs of $400,000 will require the applicant to contribute at least 30% or $120,000. The Fund will provide a grant no greater than 70% or $280,000.
• A project with total eligible costs of $1,000,000 will require the applicant to contribute at least 40% or $400,000. The Fund will provide a grant no greater than 60% or $600,000.

In-kind contributions

In-kind contributions can constitute a maximum of 10% of the total eligible project costs. These can include donated material, equipment, or labour. Applicants will be required to disclose in-kind contributions within the budget at the application stage.

Grants provided from the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund are considered provincial funds. As per provincial stacking rules, no more than 80% of the total project costs can be covered by the Province of Nova Scotia.

Projects funded by the Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund generally fall under two streams: Mitigation and Adaptation. Some projects may have elements of both mitigation and adaptation, in this circumstance the applicant is encouraged to contact program staff to discuss which stream to apply under.

The Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund is intended to support community climate change projects in various stages of the project development cycle, including ideation, assessment, feasibility, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and knowledge mobilization. To be eligible, projects must be based in Nova Scotia and must meet at least one of the two core objectives (mitigation or adaptation). Projects that meet some or all the co-benefits identified in the objectives are favorably considered.

Organizations may submit a maximum of two applications for consideration in each intake round. Applicants submitting multiple projects should note that projects are selected on their individual merit based on the strength of the application and alignment with Fund objectives. The Fund will award a maximum of one grant per organization per round.

Organizations that have received a grant from the Fund can reapply if they are in good standing with their prior project. However, in cases of equal scores during the evaluation process, preference will be given to first-time applicants.