It is believed that the New Fiscal Relationship ("NFR") 10-Year Grant funding will support Not-for-Profit Organizations ("NPOs") to build stronger communities over the long term as it will allow them to plan over several years. Learn what a 10-Year Grant means for Indigenous NPOs across Canada, and how the FMB supports Indigenous NPOs that want to apply.
What is the NFR 10-Year Grant for Indigenous NPOs?
The NFR 10-Year Grant is a funding mechanism that provides more flexibility and predictability in how an Indigenous NPO uses its funding to address the NPO's needs and priorities.
The NFR 10-Year Grant currently includes 28 programs.
The NFR 10-Year Grant allows Indigenous NPOs to do the following:
- Better manage finances over a longer period to meet changing community needs
- Keep unspent funds (no claw-backs of surplus funds at year end)
- Reduce the amount of reporting and resources needed to manage your finances
Funding escalator announced in Budget 2021
Canada's Budget 2021 confirmed funding for a new annual NFR 10-Year Grant escalator starting in 2021-22. Escalation will be based on inflation and the population of each community, but a minimum of 2 percent annual growth will be provided to ensure that NPOs within the grant receive stable and predictable funding. There is no cap / maximum escalator percentage. Indigenous Services Canada completes line-by-line comparisons each year of three formulas and uses the highest percentage as the escalator:
- Inflation and Population Growth
- Minimum 2% Increase
- Regional Indigenous Services Canada block Indexing rate
How is the FMB involved?
Indigenous Services Canada and the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) co-developed the NFR 10-Year Grant. This was a recommendation in the report "A new approach: Co-development of a new fiscal relationship between Canada and First Nations".
The FMB's governance and finance practices were selected by Indigenous Services Canada and the Assembly of First Nations as the framework that should be used in the NFR 10-Year Grant.
As part of a Memorandum of Understanding dated November 6, 2018 between the FMB, the Minister of Indigenous Services, and the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, the FMB's accepted the role of evaluating whether an Indigenous NPO that expresses interest in a NFR 10-Year Grant meets the eligibility criteria.
The FMB uses its NFR 10-Year Grant Eligibility Policies and Guidelines to do this work. The final decision on whether a grant is offered to an Indigenous NPO remains with Indigenous Services Canada.
How the FMB supports Indigenous NPOs
- Provide advice and support, as well as access to FMB-developed tools, during the NFR 10-Year Grant funding application process
- Support the development of policies on financial administration
- Confirm that Indigenous NPO's financial administration policies meet the grant eligibility criteria
- Analyze the financial performance of Indigenous NPOs and confirm whether grant eligibility criteria is met
- Prepare and issue compliance opinion reports on grant eligibility to Indigenous Services Canada
- Provide access to FMB-developed tools and templates to assist Indigenous NPOs in developing policies on financial administration
- Provide Capacity Development services to Indigenous NPOs to support continued grant eligibility
- Conduct procedures to determine the extent to which minimum provisions of a financial administration policies have been implemented
- All FMB services are provided at no cost to Indigenous NPOs
See how your NPO can qualify for the 10-Year Grant