The Fund prioritizes partnerships between Black-led organizations and other partners like governments, non-profits and other such organizations.

Contribution Funding through the Co-Investment Fund supports organizations that have already partnered and secured funding but require more capital. It can be used to:

• top-up funding – when you have most of your project funding secured and require top-up funding to close a funding gap
• leverage other funding sources – get funding confirmation within 30 days of being prioritized that can then be used to secure funding from other sources

Contribution Funding provides:

• an unsecured contribution that facilitates seamless integration into project financing structures. This can make it easier for you to attract other sources of funding.
• more certainty on funding amounts* Please refer to the Viability Assessment Spreadsheet for more details.

* The Co-Investment’s Contribution funding amounts are based on lesser of per unit calculation, project needs or percentage of costs (Non-profits/coops = 40%.)

Eligible applicants include:

• Black-led organizations in Canada

Eligible projects include the construction of:

• new community and affordable housing
• mixed use market / affordable rental
• conversion from a non-residential use to affordable residential
• shelters
• transitional and supportive housing

To be eligible your project:

• must have a minimum of 5 units/beds
• be primarily for residential use

Your projects must have support from another level of government such as:

• a municipality
• a province or territory

Partners will be required to contribute to the project including monetary or in-kind contributions.

Support can be in the form of investment of resources. It can also be in the form of a letter endorsing your project.

Applications are reviewed for readiness, eligibility and completion. CMHC will contact you if additional documentation or clarifications are required before starting the assessment and prioritization of your application.

To effectively create your application:

1. Talk to your CMHC specialist to help you gather the required documentation (see the required documentation checklist (PDF) and product highlight sheet (PDF)).
2. You must submit the Financial Viability Assessment (XLSX), the Integrity Declaration (PDF) as well as the Accessibility Criteria (PDF) and the Energy Efficiency Criteria (PDF) Attestations.
3. Submit your application in the application portal AFTER you have received confirmation from your CMHC specialist.

Approval process and timelines

1. Contribution funding commitment (up to 30 days)
   You’ll receive a contribution agreement confirming CMHC’s conditional approval of funding for the project if your application is deemed complete.
2. Meet funding conditions (you have up to 6 months to satisfy all conditions)
   Your CMHC Specialist will continue to work with you to meet all conditions outlined in the agreement. You must satisfy conditions within the set time frame, or you may be at risk of a cancellation of the application or changes to CMHC’s funding commitment.
3. First advance (required documentation must be provided 10 days before each drawdown date)
   The Contribution Agreement will outline the process and any supporting documentation needed to request an advance from CMHC.

Before you begin the application process, contact your CMHC specialist to help you prepare and gather the required documentation for your application submission.