NEEF Criteria
NEEF supports projects that address one or more of the objectives of the fund and support a specific Decision. Please keep the following criteria in mind when writing your proposal.
Priority will be given to projects that:
- Fit in the context of local and regional environmental plans.
- Lead to long-term sustainable improvement in the environment.
- Have community buy-in, demonstrated by support letters and donations from local government and other organizations within the local community.
- Have benefits continuing after the funding is invested and the project complete.
Costs eligible for NEEF funding
The fund will not normally cover more than 50% of project costs. In-kind donations are acceptable at market rates and must be verifiable and documented by written commitments or quotes from donors, where appropriate. Grants can be used towards:
- Contracted goods and services.
- Capital costs, materials and supplies, excluding the costs of land.
- Incremental labour (wages plus employer costs) and related costs such as supervision, travel, training and skill development.
- Rent or lease of facilities and equipment dedicated to the project.
- Specific administrative costs to a maximum of 10 percent of grant request.
- In-kind contribution will be matched to a maximum of 25 percent of the project total cost.
Note: For multi-year projects, project funding must be matched on an annual basis. NEEF can fund up to 50% of the annual cost of a project.
Ineligible projects and costs
- Funds cannot be used to subsidize or compete with private enterprise.
- Funds cannot be used to pay wages of employees doing their regular jobs.
- Requests will not be approved if funding is normally available from other sources.
- Funds cannot be used to pay GST.
- Funds cannot be used to pay for any costs incurred prior to a project’s start date.
In-kind Contributions
Both volunteer labour and equipment are eligible for matching NEEF funds up to a maximum of 25 percent of the total annual value of the project. As one example, a project budget could be dependent on 25 percent in-kind, 25 percent cash from other sources, and 50 percent funding from NEEF.
In-kind contributions will be valued as follows:
- Volunteer labour will be valued at minimum wage which is currently $15.65/hour.
- Professional services will be valued at fair market rates, or as approved by the MC when developing the contribution agreement.
- Actual salary costs for staff directly engaged in the project may be eligible where they are incremental, and will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
- Equipment rates will be based on the fair market value of the equipment at the time of the proposal. Documentation may be required from a certified appraiser from a certified appraiser confirming the value of assets.
Cash and in-kind funding expended prior to a project start date will not be eligible.
