One of the biggest reasons organizations miss grant opportunities is simple: they don't know when the deadlines are. By the time they discover a program, the intake period has closed and they're waiting another year. A grant calendar eliminates this problem by mapping out every major deadline across the year so you can plan, prepare, and submit on time.
This calendar covers the major grant programs available to Alberta nonprofits, sport clubs, and Indigenous organizations. Note that specific dates shift year to year — always verify current deadlines on the funder's website.
January
- Canada Summer Jobs: Deadline typically mid-January. Start preparing in November.
- TELUS Community Boards: Some regional boards accept Q1 applications in January
February
- Alberta Sport Connection: Annual program grant applications typically due in February
- Edmonton Community Foundation: Spring grant cycle opens
March - April
- Community Initiatives Program (CIP): First intake period (dates vary)
- CFEP: First intake period typically opens in spring
- New Horizons for Seniors: Annual intake typically in spring
- Calgary Foundation: Spring grant cycle
May - June
- RBC Future Launch: Rolling intake but Q2 is a common decision period
- Suncor Energy Foundation: Quarterly review — Q2 submissions reviewed
- TD Friends of the Environment: Quarterly intake
July - August
- Summer planning period. Use this time to prepare fall applications, gather documents, and draft narratives
- KidSport: Ongoing applications — peak demand in August-October for winter sport registration
September - October
- CIP: Second intake period (dates vary)
- CFEP: Second intake period
- Edmonton Community Foundation: Fall grant cycle
- Calgary Foundation: Fall grant cycle
- Sport Canada: Some federal sport programs have fall deadlines
November - December
- Canada Summer Jobs preparation: Begin planning for January deadline
- Year-end planning: Review the year's grant outcomes, update financial statements, plan next year's applications
- Corporate programs: Many corporate funders (TELUS, Suncor, ATB) have Q4 intake periods
The most important date on your grant calendar isn't the deadline — it's the date four to six weeks before the deadline. That's when you need to start writing.
Building Your Own Calendar
This general calendar is a starting point. Build your own customized calendar by:
- Identifying every grant you're eligible for using this list as a starting point
- Adding the specific deadline dates for each program (check funder websites annually)
- Setting preparation start dates four to six weeks before each deadline
- Assigning responsibility for each application to a specific person
- Blocking time in your organizational calendar for grant writing sprints
A well-maintained grant calendar transforms grant funding from a reactive scramble into a proactive strategy. Organizations that plan their applications across the year consistently secure more funding than those that apply only when they stumble across an opportunity.
Alpine Grants maintains a comprehensive grant calendar for all of our clients, ensuring no deadline is missed. Book a 10-minute discovery call and we'll build a customized grant calendar for your organization.