Funding Information

Where does CDSS money come from?

CDSS revenue is FCSS revenue, cost-shared between the province and participating municipalities.  When a local program receives a grant from CDSS, they are actually receiving an FCSS funding from the province and from the municipalities. These are taxpayers’ dollars.

How is the FCSS grant determined?

Each municipality receives an annual provincial FCSS grant, which is then matched by the participating municipalities.  The provincial grant represents 80% of total funding, with municipalities contributing the remaining 20%.  The 20% match is the minimum required for a municipality to receive the maximum provincial grant.  Municipalities may also choose to ‘over-contribute’ additional dollars to support local programming, as CDSS municipalities have done in the past.

CDSS funded programs also access other revenue through donations, fundraising, fees and other grants.  Programs expect to raise another $1,287,339 in non-FCSS revenue in 2021, bringing the combined revenue (FCSS and non-FCSS) of CDSS programs and services to well over $2 million.

What is the total FCSS grant to CDSS for 2023?

CDSS will receive $934,313 FCSS funding in 2023:  $747,450 in provincial grant funding, and $186,863 in required municipal matches.

Where does CDSS money go?

CDSS-funded programs together employ about 65 full, part-time and casual staff, support around 650 volunteers, provide a wide variety of services, and partner with other agencies to support various community development events and initiatives.

Programs and services funded by CDSS in 2023 include:

  • Camrose and District Boys and Girls Club
  • Camrose and District Home Support and Meals on Wheels
  • Camrose and District Pre-School
  • Camrose Family Resource Centre Association
  • Changing Ways (formerly Family Violence Action Society)
  • OSCAR – Out of School
  • Service Options for Seniors
  • Various smaller or partnered projects, such as the CDSS Help Book, Camrose and Area Men’s Shed, Camrose Seniors Coalition, Habitat for Humanity Financial Literacy Project; Information and Referral; Interagency (including the monthly Newsletter); Social Development Committee Community Research Project, SportQuip, and Volunteer promotion, to name a few.

To receive a copy of the most recent CDSS Audited Financial Statement please email director@fcss.ca

What are the CDSS-FCSS grant criteria?

Funding priorities are set by the CDSS Board of Directors.  The Board also decides how funds will be allocated among community applicants. Programs must operate within the CDSS service area, which is basically the City and County of Camrose.

Board decisions are made within the context of provincial grant criteria.  According to the FCSS Act and Regulations, any program receiving FCSS funding (including money from CDSS) must:

  1. Promote, encourage and facilitate the involvement of volunteers,
  2. Promote efficient and effective use of resources,
  3. Encourage and facilitate co-operation and co-ordination with allied service agencies operating within the municipality,
  4. Promote, encourage and facilitate the development of stronger communities,
  5. Promote citizen participation in planning, delivery and the governance of the program and of services provided under the program, and
  6. Be of a preventive nature that enhances the social well-being of individuals and families through education or intervention strategies provided at the earliest opportunity, and do one or more of the following:
    • help people to develop independence, strengthen coping skills and become more resistant to crisis;
    • help people to develop an awareness of social needs
    • help people to develop interpersonal and group skills which enhance constructive relationships among groups;
    • help people and communities to assume responsibility for decisions and actions which affect them;
    • help sustain people as active participants in the community.

CDSS-FCSS funded programs and services MUST NOT:

  1. Provide primarily for the recreational needs or leisure time pursuits of individuals;
  2. Offer direct financial assistance to sustain an individual or family;
  3. Be primarily rehabilitative in nature;
  4. Duplicate services that are ordinarily provided by a government or government agency.

How can a program apply for CDSS funding?

Each summer, programs currently funded by CDSS are invited to submit a grant application for the next year. The application deadline is usually late September.  The CDSS board reviews applications at its October meeting, at which time it determines grant amounts and sets the budget for the upcoming year.

Because CDSS has limited revenue, the application procedure is not publicized, and only currently funded programs are sent the application package. Other organizations may certainly apply for CDSS funding, but must contact CDSS before doing so. They may request an electronic copy of the application package at the time.

The application package includes a narrative template, a budget template, and the CDSS Program Logic Model template.  The PLM is mandatory, and must reference the FCSS Outcomes Model and accompanying Provincial Priority Measures Bank, which are also part of the application package.  Instructions are provided in the application package, and assistance is available from CDSS Administration.

What are the reporting requirements?

All CDSS funded programs sign annual Funding Agreements confirming that CDSS grants will be used for the activities outlined in the approved grant application.  Funded programs are required to provide an interim report in late August/early September, and a final report towards the end of March. In addition to financial reporting, CDSS requires outcomes reporting, which must be based on the Program Logic Model submitted with the grant application the previous fall.

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