Read the fine print in Alberta's Community Initiatives Program and you will find a rule that catches a lot of applicants. Volunteer time counts toward your contribution, but only time spent directly on eligible project activities. Hours spent in planning meetings, fundraising, or preparing grant applications do not count. The hours many boards log first are exactly the hours the funder excludes. That one line captures the challenge of in-kind contributions: they can make a real difference to your application, but only if you count the right things, value them defensibly, and keep the records to prove it.
What Counts as an In-Kind Contribution
An in-kind contribution is any non-cash resource that supports your project. The most common types are:
- Volunteer labour, from coaches and tutors to the crew that builds a playground.
- Donated space, such as a church hall, school gym, or office provided free or below market rent.
- Donated materials and equipment, like lumber, sports gear, food, or computers.
- Pro bono professional services, including accounting, legal, design, or engineering work.
- Donated media or advertising, such as free radio spots or print ads.
Funders value in-kind support for two reasons. It shows the community is invested in your project, and with programs that require you to match the grant, it can count toward your share. Alberta's Community Facility Enhancement Program, for example, requires an applicant contribution equal to or greater than the grant request, and lets donated materials, professional services, and volunteer labour count toward that match.
Three Ways to Value In-Kind Contributions
1. Use the funder's rate
If the funder publishes rates, use them and nothing else. Alberta's CFEP and CIP both value volunteer labour at $20 per hour for unskilled work, $40 per hour for skilled labour such as a ticketed electrician or plumber, and $120 per hour for heavy equipment including an operator. Using a higher number than the funder allows does not help you; it just signals you did not read the guidelines.
2. Use the replacement cost
When the funder does not set rates, value volunteer time at what you would have paid someone to do that task. The test is the task, not the volunteer. A lawyer coaching under-nine soccer is a soccer coach for budget purposes, not a lawyer. A lawyer reviewing your lease for free is pro bono legal work, and a written estimate from the firm at its usual rate is reasonable evidence.
3. Use fair market value for goods and space
Donated materials and equipment should be valued at verified fair market value: what the item would cost to buy in an arm's-length transaction. Donated space is valued at what comparable space rents for locally. A letter from the landlord or facility stating its normal rental rate is the simplest evidence.
| Contribution | How to value it | Evidence to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Volunteer labour | Funder rate, or market wage for the task | Sign-in sheets with name, date, task, and hours |
| Donated space | Comparable local rental rate | Letter from the provider stating the normal rate |
| Materials and equipment | Fair market value | Supplier invoice marked "donated" or a written quote |
| Professional services | Provider's normal rate for the work | Invoice or letter showing hours and rate, marked as donated |
A Worked Example
Here is a hypothetical community garden build in Alberta, valued at the provincial rates above:
- 120 hours of general volunteer labour at $20 per hour: $2,400
- 16 hours from a volunteer ticketed electrician at $40 per hour: $640
- 6 hours of a donated skid steer with operator at $120 per hour: $720
- Donated lumber, valued from the supplier's invoice marked "donated": $3,100
Total in-kind: $6,860. In the budget, list each line separately in an in-kind column, and in the budget justification, show the math exactly as it appears here. For more on writing that justification, see our guide to explaining every dollar in your budget.
An in-kind number without a paper trail is a guess. An in-kind number with sign-in sheets and a supplier letter is a contribution the funder can actually count.
Writing In-Kind Into Your Budget Narrative
A funder reading your in-kind lines wants to know three things: what the contribution is, who is providing it, and how you arrived at the value. One or two plain sentences per line is enough. For example: "Volunteer labour for garden bed construction: 12 volunteers over two build days, estimated 120 hours at the program's unskilled rate of $20 per hour. Hours will be recorded on daily sign-in sheets." Or: "Meeting space: the community hall provides the room free of charge for 20 evening sessions. The hall's normal rental rate is confirmed in the attached letter."
Notice that both examples also say how the contribution will be tracked. That small detail tells the reviewer you will be able to report actuals, which matters when the in-kind counts toward a required match. If you are unsure how a particular funder treats in-kind support, ask the program officer before you build the budget, not after.
In-Kind Is Not the Same as a Donation Receipt
Two rules trip people up here. First, the Canada Revenue Agency does not treat services as gifts. Volunteer time, skills, and effort are not property, so a registered charity cannot issue an official donation receipt for them, no matter how valuable the work. You can still count those services as in-kind in a grant budget if the funder allows it; you just cannot receipt them. Donated goods are different: a registered charity can generally receipt a gift of property at fair market value, following CRA's receipting rules.
Second, your financial statements may not show in-kind support at all. Under Canadian accounting standards for not-for-profit organizations, recognizing contributed materials and services is optional, and allowed only when fair value can be reasonably estimated and the items would otherwise have been purchased. Talk to your accountant about how your statements handle it, so your grant budget and your books tell a consistent story.
Common In-Kind Mistakes
- Counting ineligible time, such as board meetings or grant writing, when the funder excludes it.
- Inflating rates by valuing volunteers at their professional wage instead of the task they performed.
- Mixing in-kind with cash so the budget appears to have more money available than it does.
- No records, which turns a strong contribution into a number the funder cannot verify at reporting time.
- Forgetting to report actuals. If you estimated 300 volunteer hours, your final report should show what really happened.
Good volunteer tracking does double duty: it supports your in-kind numbers and shows reviewers you have an engaged base. Our post on how volunteer management strengthens grant applications covers simple systems that work for small teams. If your project is a facility upgrade, our CFEP explainer shows how in-kind fits into that program's matching requirement. Always confirm current guidelines on the funder's website before applying, since rates and eligible activities can change.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you value volunteer hours for a grant in Canada?
Use the funder's published rate if it has one. Alberta's CFEP and CIP, for example, use $20 per hour for unskilled labour, $40 per hour for skilled labour, and $120 per hour for heavy equipment with an operator. If no rate is given, use a reasonable market wage for the task performed and keep sign-in sheets as evidence.
Can in-kind contributions count as matching funds?
Often, yes, but it depends on the funder. Alberta's Community Facility Enhancement Program lets donated materials, professional services, and volunteer labour count toward the applicant's matching contribution. Other funders require some or all of the match in cash, so check the guidelines.
Can a charity issue a tax receipt for volunteer time?
No. The CRA does not consider services to be property, so volunteer time and donated services cannot be receipted. They can still be shown as in-kind contributions in a grant budget where the funder allows it.
What records do funders want for in-kind contributions?
Keep volunteer sign-in sheets with names, dates, tasks, and hours; letters from space providers stating their normal rental rate; and supplier invoices or quotes marked as donated for materials and professional services.
Want a second set of eyes on your in-kind numbers before a funder sees them? Book a 10-minute discovery call and we'll help you count every contribution you are entitled to, and nothing you are not.