NHCP-LTCF Quick Grants Reimbursement Program is meant to function as a means of reimbursement for eligible THIRD PARTY ASSOCIATED COSTS for eligible CLOSED projects. This program has been designed, to the best of our ability, with simplicity in mind.

A land trust may submit project proposals with funding asks between $5,000.00 and $10,000.00 each, for immediate consideration. Application forms will be reviewed on a first-come, first served basis until all funds are awarded; applications must be complete and meet eligibility requirements in order to be considered.

Required Match: The NHCP-LTCF is a matching funds program, with a required match ratio of a minimum 1.5:1. This means that for every $1 of Program funds awarded, a minimum of $1.50 in matching funds from sources other than Canadian Federal Government investments must also be contributed.

Required Stewardship Endowment Contribution for Each Project: Projects funded under the NHCP-LTCF require a cash contribution to a stewardship endowment fund for the long-term stewardship of the lands, at the time of application

Project Financial Check: Applicants must provide WHC with a completed Financial Reporting Template at application and copies of individual invoices or receipts for NHCP-LTCF expenses that are over the amount of $1,000.

Project Audit: Projects may be selected for a program or financial audit by internal WHC staff or an external Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of the Quick Grants Reimbursement Program and the Funding Agreement. Successful applicants are required to maintain detailed records and supporting documentation associated with the project.

Year 5 2023-2024 

This is a reimbursement program, for THIRD PARTY ASSOCIATED COSTS ONLY. Eligible expenses are limited to third party professional services associated with land securement, and are supported by fully paid invoices. These NHCP-LTCF funds CANNOT be used to reimburse purchase price/cost of fee simple or conservation agreement/easement(s) OR salaries/wages/travel/etc.

• Eligible projects must close between April 1, 2023 and date of application submission.
• Eligible project expenses will be those incurred between April 1, 2023 to date of application submission.
• Associated project expenses that occurred between April 1, 2022 to date of application submission.
• Eligible project expenses can be applied to the project as matching funds (provided that the expenses were not paid for with other sources of Canadian federal funds).

Applicants can submit multiple Quick Grant Reimbursement Program applications and may receive funding from more than one application per year. However, applicants are only eligible to receive funding (from one or multiple grants) for ONE PROJECT per year and any applications for additional projects will not be considered. WHC retains the right to reassess the application limit and readjust if required.

All Quick Grants Reimbursement Program applications (funding requests between $5,000.00 and $10,000.00)will be reviewed by Wildlife Habitat Canada in the following areas:

• Project and applicant eligibility;
• Match requirement;
• The project must be CLOSED by the time of application (a closing date between April 1, 2023 and date of application submission);
• Minimum project size: 5 hectares;
• Minimum matching funds ratio of 1.5:1;

“NHCP-LTCF funds are allowed to be combined with other Canadian federal funds on the same project, as long as funds went towards unique (separate) expenditures and other funding did not trigger counting of hectares.”

Applications are reviewed and considered in the order in which they are submitted, on a first come, first served basis; however, applicants are encouraged to take their time and submit accurate, completed applications. If an applicant fails to upload the correct, requested documentation with their Application Form submission, the application may be deemed incomplete and disqualified from funding consideration.

All applicants will be notified as to the funding decision for their application. Successful applicants will receive a funding agreement  form for signature.

Quick Grants Reimbursement applications

• NHCP-LTCF Quick Grants Reimbursement Program Guidelines (Year 5)
• Applications: July 14 2023 to December 1^st  2023, or until all funds are allocated
• Reviewed by WHC: as received and based on time-stamp order
• Decision letters to applicants: approximately 4 weeks after the Application Form has been received and processed.

PREPARE AND SUBMIT YOUR GRANT APPLICATION ONLINE

Grant applications must be prepared and submitted through Wildlife Habitat Canada’s online grant system. Click here to access the login page.

The application form for Quick Grants Reimbursement Program can be viewed here . This form may be subject to change.

New users must create a new account to access the system. Please ensure you save your login details. You can work on your application in stages using this system, save your progress and return at a later date to complete your submission. When you are ready to submit, please do so by clicking the “Submit” button.

If an applicant has applied previously to NCC’s OQO Program or the NHCP-LTCF Program, the same username and password can be used to complete the Application Form.

To submit an application, all applicants must have read, acknowledged and agreed with the requirements of the Quick Grants Reimbursement Program Guidelines.

Successful applicants are expected to enter into a signed agreement with WHC regarding the exchange of funds. All applicants are expected to review the draft Funding Agreement prior to preparing and submitting an application.

This investment in nature is an important step in achieving Canada’s target of conserving a quarter of its lands and a quarter of its oceans by 2025, and toward conserving 30% by 2030.

The NHCP-LTCF program is designed to directly support Canada Target 1 and as such, land funded under the NHCP-LTCF program must count towards objectives for permanent or long-term protection of land, either as a “Protected Area” (PA) or an “Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measure” (OECM), as defined by Appendix 1 of One with Nature 2019:

Protected Area (PA): A Protected Area is “a clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values.” (One with Nature definition, 2019).

Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measure (OECM)*: An OECM is broadly defined as “a geographically defined area other than a Protected Area, which is governed and managed in ways that achieve positive and sustained long-term outcomes for the in-situ conservation of biodiversity, with associated ecosystem functions and services and where applicable, cultural, spiritual, socio-economic, and other locally relevant values.” (One with Nature definition, 2019).

*If your project involves a unique mechanism for conservation or an OECM, please contact WHC to discuss the details of your project before submitting an application.

Note: Successful applications with projects involving a unique mechanism for conservation or an OECM will require approval by ECCC before a Funding Agreement between WHC and the Applicant can be signed (WHC will facilitate the ECCC request for approval).

A Decision Support Tool exists to provide support in assessing whether or not an area contributes to Canada’s Target. Applicants are encouraged to review the Decision Support Tool and assess their project land using the Decision Support Tool Screening Template for Protected Areas and OECMs to determine whether the area can be counted towards Canada Target.

For further information, see the overview of the Accounting for Protected and Other Conserved Areas.

NHCP-LTCF Small Grant funds can be used to fund both in-year securement expenses AND associated securement costs of fee simple land or Conservation Agreements.

A land trust may submit a maximum of two* project proposals with funding asks between $5,000.00 and $50,000.00 each, for immediate consideration. Application forms will be reviewed on a first-come, first served basis until all funds are awarded; applications must be complete and meet eligibility requirements in order to be considered.

Wait listed Large Grant projects may elect to submit a revised project to the Small Grant program; however, if funds are awarded under the Small Grant program, the project will be removed from consideration under the Large Grant program.

Required Match: The NHCP-LTCF is a matching funds program, with a required match ratio of a minimum 1.5:1. This means that for every $1 of Program funds awarded, a minimum of $1.50 in matching funds from sources other than Canadian Federal Government investments must also be contributed.

Required Stewardship Endowment Contribution for Each Project: Projects funded under the NHCP-LTCF require a cash contribution to a stewardship endowment fund for the long-term stewardship of the lands.

Project Financial Check: For Final Reporting, successful applicants must provide WHC with a completed Financial Reporting Template and copies of individual invoices or receipts for NHCP-LTCF expenses that are over the amount of $1,000.

Project Audit: Projects may be selected for a program or financial audit by internal WHC staff or an external Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of the Small Grants program and the Funding Agreement. Successful applicants are required to maintain detailed records and supporting documentation associated with the project.

All Small Grant applications (funding requests between $5,000.00 and $50,000.00) will be reviewed by Wildlife Habitat Canada in the following areas:

• Project and applicant eligibility;
• Project duration and completion date;
• Match requirement;
• Hectares;
• Risk of incompletion.

Applications are reviewed and considered in the order in which they are submitted, on a first come, first served basis; however, applicants are encouraged to take their time and submit accurate, completed applications. If an applicant fails to upload the correct, requested documentation with their Application Form submission, the application may be deemed incomplete and disqualified from funding consideration.

All applicants will be notified as to the funding decision for their application. Successful applicants will receive a funding agreement from for signature.

Small Grant Application Important Documents:

1. Grant application login page
2. Small Grants – Guidelines – Year 5)
3. Communications Guidelines and Procedures for NHCP-LTCF
4. Small Grants – Project Budget and Invoice (Installment 1)
5. NHCP-LTCF Small Grants Funding Agreement Template – Year 5
6. Project Budget Template_Year 5 (Application)
7. Parcel Grid Template
8. Stewardship Endowment Calculator (Optional)
9. NHCP-LTCF Guidance for Conservation Planning Framework
10. Small Grants – Financial Reporting template 2023-2024 (Final Reporting) *available later in the year
11. NHCP-LTCF Attestation Letter Template_Small Grants (Final Reporting) *available later in the year

(subject to change)

• Documents and reporting must be submitted through Wildlife Habitat Canada’s online grant system. Click here  to access the login page.

Project Dates: April 1, 2023 and *NEW* February 15, 2024 (closing)

Small Grant applications * Now Open

• NHCP-LTCF Small Grants Guidelines – Year 5: Launching mid-June
• Applications: mid-June 2023 to September 2023, or until all funds are allocated
• Reviewed by WHC: as received and based on time-stamp order
• Decision letters to applicants: approximately 4 weeks after the Application Form has been received and processed.
• Final Reporting: March 31, 2024

To submit an application, all applicants must have read, acknowledge and agree with the requirements of the program Guidelines for their respective category (Large or Small Grant program).

Successful applicants are expected to enter into a signed agreement with WHC regarding the exchange of funds. All applicants are expected to review the draft Funding Agreement prior to preparing and submitting an application. All awardees of the NHCP-LTCF (Large or Small Grant program) must complete the Final Reporting Form, in full, by the deadline.

Canadian federal government contributions cannot be used as matching funds under the NHCP-LTCF program. This includes any COVID-19 federal subsidies (such as the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy).

Year 5 Project Dates: April 1st, 2023 and February 15th, 2024 (closing)

NHCP-LTCF Small Grant funds can be used to fund both in-year securement expenses AND associated securement costs of fee simple land or Conservation Agreements.

Per program year, applicants are permitted to submit one project per Application Form with a funding ask between NEW* $50,001.00 and $1,000,000.00. NEW* Applicants may choose to submit up to 3 Large Grant project Application Forms with a combined total ask of up to $1,250,000.00/ per organization (this would require that an application be submitted for each proposed project), or a single Large Grant project for a minimum ask of $50,001.00 and maximum ask of $1,000,000.00.

Wait listed Large Grant projects may elect to submit a revised project to the Small Grant program; however, if funds are awarded under the Small Grant program, the project will be removed from consideration under the Large Grant program.

Required Match: The NHCP-LTCF is a matching funds program, with a required match ratio of a minimum 1.5:1. This means that for every $1 of Program funds awarded, a minimum of $1.50 in matching funds from sources other than Canadian Federal Government investments must also be contributed.

Required Stewardship Endowment Contribution for Each Project: Projects funded under the NHCP-LTCF require a cash contribution to a stewardship endowment fund for the long-term stewardship of the lands.

For first installment, Awardees will be required to submit an attestation signed by a senior officer confirming the total match value of the project, that all matching funds are in place and that no other sources of Canadian federal government funds have been used as Cash match or In-Kind matching funds.

Project Audit: Projects may be selected for a program or financial audit by internal WHC staff or an external Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of the Small Grants program and the Funding Agreement. Successful applicants are required to maintain detailed records and supporting documentation associated with the project.

Large and Small Grants program: Year 5 2023-2024

• Eligible projects must close between April 1, 2023 and *NEW* February 15, 2024.
• Eligible project expenses will be those incurred between April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024.
• Associated project expenses that occurred between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2024 can be applied to the project as matching funds (provided that the expenses were not paid for with other sources of Canadian federal funds).

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply to the Land Trusts Conservation Program (LTCF), applicants must meet all the criteria below:

1. Applicants must be a Canadian Land Trust*;
2. Applicants must be a registered Canadian charity; and,
3. Applicants must be in compliance or working towards substantial compliance with the Canadian Land Trust Standards and Practices (2019)** or Guide des bonnes pratiques en intendance privée: aspects juridiques et organisationnels, as demonstrated through a Board resolution or confirmed through an attestation by a senior officer of the organization. This includes, in particular, compliance or substantial compliance with Standards 8-12 which address the securement and stewarding of conservation lands.

* A Canadian Land Trust is defined as a not-for-profit conservation organization that, as all or part of its mission, actively works to conserve land by acquiring land or Conservation Agreements (or assisting with their acquisition) and/or stewarding/managing land or Conservation Agreements (CLT Standards & Practices 2019).

**The Canadian Land Trust Standards & Practices were revised in January 2019 and land trusts will be in a transition phase while adopting new practices. Land trusts are expected to be making significant progress towards the adoption of a Board resolution. Resolutions are expected to be filed with the appropriate Alliance, if applicable, and on-file with the land trust for review by WHC, upon request.

Per program year, applicants are permitted to submit one project per Application Form with a funding ask between NEW* $50,001.00 and $1,000,000.00. NEW* Applicants may choose to submit up to 3 Large Grant project Application Forms with a combined total ask of up to $1,250,000.00/ per organization (this would require that an application be submitted for each proposed project), or a single Large Grant project for a minimum ask of $50,001.00 and maximum ask of $1,000,000.00.  

A project is defined as a parcel or grouping of parcels that may or may not share the same landowner (see multiple ownership below):

• sharing the same conservation objectives (see below);
• clearly contributing to Canada’s Target (i.e., can be counted as Protected Areas or Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures); and,
• consisting of either conservation agreements or fee simple acquisition or a combination thereof.

NOTE: Proposed projects that do not consist of traditional fee simple or conservation agreement transaction or conservation mechanism, may be considered on a case by case basis and would require ECCC approval. Contact WHC staff in advance of application submission to review.

Shared and mutually beneficial conservation objectives may include:

• Where parcels occur in a cluster, connectivity/continuity of protected lands, providing increased ecosystem integrity and risk mitigation for climate change or as key wildlife corridors.
• Where parcels are more geographically dispersed, intact habitat for a particular species-at-risk or protection of rare ecosystem types, priority habitats or protection of key stopover points on migratory pathways.

Notes:

• Eligible projects must have a closing date between April 1^st, 2023 and February 15^th, 2024.
• Land trusts are expected to commit to protecting the number of hectares presented in the application, regardless of the number of landowners or parcels.
• NEW* If an awarded project fails to close successfully by January 15, 2024, the awardee will be required to attest to a 95% confidence that close will complete by February 15, 2024. They will also be required to expand on projects risks for WHC’s information.

Note: Projects that do not close by January 15, 2024 may be at risk of forfeiting LTCF award, in part or in full.

Applicants are permitted to submit one project per Application Form between *NEW* $50,001 and $1,000,000. Applicants may choose to submit up to 3 Large Grant project Application Forms with a combined total ask of up to *NEW* $1,250,000.00/per organization (this would require that an application be submitted for each proposed project), or a single Large Grant project for a minimum ask of $50,001.00 and maximum ask of $1,000,000.00.Required Match: The NHCP-LTCF is a matching funds program, with a required match ratio of a minimum 1.5:1. This means that for every $1 of Program funds awarded, a minimum of $1.50 in matching funds from sources other than Canadian Federal Government investments must also be contributed.

Required Stewardship Endowment Contribution for Each Project: The amount of stewardship endowment required under the NHCP-LTCF is outlined in the guidelines.

Project Audit: Successful applicants must have a financial audit completed on the project by an external Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA). A copy of the audit must be received by WHC by the final reporting deadline.

Audit cost and payment: Note that the cost of the audit will be covered outside of awarded NHCP-LTCF funds, and therefore the audit cost should not be included in your NHCP-LTCF funding ask. Successful applicants must provide a realistic project audit estimate to WHC within one-month of funding approval. Common audit pricing on land acquisition projects is normally in the range of $500 to $6,000; however, only the amount noted on the third-party audit invoice will be paid. *NEW* Payment of the audit invoice will be made by WHC, following WHC’s receipt and approval of the project’s financial audit and final reporting (2% or less of the total LTCF award to a maximum of $5000).

To submit an application, all applicants must have read, acknowledge and agree with the requirements of the program Guidelines for their respective category (Large or Small Grant program).

Successful proponents are expected to enter into a signed agreement with WHC regarding the exchange of funds. All applicants are expected to review the draft Funding Agreement prior to preparing and submitting an application.

All awardees of the NHCP-LTCF (Large or Small Grant program) must complete the Final Reporting Form, in full, by the deadline.

Reference the following documents prior to preparing and submitting an application:

LARGE GRANTS

1. 1. Large Grants – Guidelines – Year 5 (*subject to change)
   2. LTCF Funding Agreement Template_Year 5 (Large Grants)(subject to change)
   3. Project Budget Template – Year 5 (Application)
   4. Parcel Grid Template
   5. Stewardship Endowment Calculator (Optional)
   6. NHCP-LTCF Guidance for Conservation Planning Framework
   7. Evaluation Criteria Table (Applications)
   8. Example of Required Financial Project Audit (Final Reporting)

Large Grant Application Important Documents:

• • Large Grants – Guidelines (Year 5)
  • Communications Guidelines and Procedures for NHCP-LTCF
  • Project Budget Template_Year 5 (Application)
  • NHCP-LTCF_Example for Financial Project Audit (Final Reporting)
  • NHCP_LTCF Financial Reporting_LRG Grants (Final Reporting) *available later in the year

*Subject to Change

Documents and reporting must be submitted through Wildlife Habitat Canada’s online grant system. Click here (new link) to access the login page.

Click here to view the HOW TO Complete the Final Report Form video.

A draft application form for Large Grants can be viewed here. This draft may be subject to change.

New users must create a new account to access the system. Please ensure you save your logon details. You can work on your application in stages using this system, save your progress and return at a later date to complete your submission. When you are ready to submit, please do so by clicking the “Submit” button.

If an applicant has applied to previously to NCC’s OQO Program or the NHCP-LTCF Program, the same username and password can be used to complete the Application Form.

The External Review Panel will be comprised of 3 to 6 advisors from across Canada who have extremely strong knowledge or experience in matters of land conservation and/or grant making in conservation.

Canadian federal government contributions cannot be used as matching funds under the NHCP-LTCF program. This includes any COVID-19 federal subsidies (such as the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy).

This list will be updated as funding agreements are signed

This list will be updated as funding agreements are signed.