The Canada Fund for Local Initiatives – Ukraine (2026)

The Embassy of Canada to Ukraine is pleased to launch its annual call for proposals for the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI).

Program description

The CFLI is a program designed to support small-scale, high-impact projects which align with Global Affairs Canada’s thematic priority areas for engagement. The program is directed at projects conceived and designed predominantly by local actors. Projects will be selected and approved by the Embassy of Canada to Ukraine. The CFLI also serves to support positive bilateral relations between Canada and recipient countries, their civil societies, and supporting local endeavours. In Ukraine, we are seeking applications that align with our thematic priorities (see Annex below).

The average CFLI contribution is $30,000 to $50,000 Canadian Dollars (CAD$100,000 is the maximum allocation amount for a project eligible under CFLI). Please note that all contributions are made in Canadian dollars and then converted to the local currency (in Ukraine, UAH). Consult the currency converter for local currency equivalents.

How to Apply

• All projects must be completed between the date of signature of the Contribution Agreement (around Aug/Sept 2026) and March 15, 2027.
• The deadline for submission is June 10, 2026 23:59 (GMT+3). Applications submitted after this deadline will NOT be considered. Preliminary proposals should be submitted electronically to KYIVGR@international.gc.ca.
• Only those proposals using the designated application form and including the required budget document will be considered.
• For more information on the types of activities and costs that are eligible for CFLI funding, please refer to the list of CFLI eligible activities and costs in the Annex below.
• Preliminary proposals must be completed in either in English or French.
• Project proposals must explicitly answer ALL questions in the CFLI project preliminary application form. The proposed project budget should summarize the proposed activities and associated costs.
• Applications will be assessed for approval on their merits by a selection committee at the Embassy of Canada to Ukraine.
• To obtain an application form, please download the CFLI Preliminary Application for Funding Form (PDF 249.15 KB)

• To download and open a PDF form, you need to have Adobe Reader 10 or higher installed.
• Help: Opening PDFs on your computer.

• Project applications are kept on file at missions in accordance with Global Affairs Canada’s information management policies.
• Thank you for your application. We will contact all applicants using your submitted e-mail address by June 29 at the latest with information on the status of your application. If selected, we will invite you to complete a full proposal.

Organizations eligible to apply for CFLI funding

Eligible recipients include:

• Ukrainian non-governmental, community and not-for-profit organizations,
• Ukrainian academic institutions working on local projects,
• Intergovernmental, multilateral and regional institutions, organizations and agencies working on local development activities in Ukraine,
• Ukrainian municipal, regional or national government institutions or agencies working on local projects

The majority of CFLI funding is to be directed toward Ukrainian civil society organizations (including non-governmental organizations) and other institutions working at the local level. Other entities, such as international, intergovernmental, multilateral and regional organizations may be eligible for funding, provided they are working with local partners and on local projects that are consistent with the objectives of the CFLI. Similarly, municipal, regional and national government institutions may receive funding, provided that their projects are essentially local in nature. The CFLI is always looking to fund innovative projects that deliver measurable results.

Thematic priorities

All projects must align with at least one of the following CFLI thematic priorities:

Support for Ukraine's Human Dimension (return and reintegration of detained civilians, POWs, and unlawfully deported children):

• Psychosocial, medical, and peer-based rehabilitation programs for detained civilians, returning children who have been deported, returning POWs, and their families, using survivor-centered and trauma-informed approaches, emphasizing groups such as women and detained civilians.
• Documentation and awareness initiatives that amplify the voices of former detainees, deported children, and affected families, helping to reduce stigma and sensitize local authorities and communities toward returnees and their needs.
• Legal aid, rights awareness, and support for families of missing persons, including access to reparations, official recognition, and engagement with national and international accountability mechanisms.
• Vocational, educational, and livelihood programs that restore dignity and purpose for returnees and their families, aligned with Ukraine's wartime and post-war economic realities.

Enhancing an Inclusive Ukraine (support to vulnerable minorities, including LGBTQI+ groups, cultural minorities, women, and people with disabilities):

• Community spaces, support networks, and public awareness campaigns in smaller cities and rural areas that foster inclusion, combat discrimination, and improve safety for LGBTQI+ Ukrainians, minority communities, and people with disabilities.
• Leadership, civic participation, and resilience-building programs for vulnerable groups, including women affected by displacement, minority communities, and persons with disabilities, empowering them to contribute to Ukraine's recovery.
• Community-based responses to mental health strain, gender-based violence, and social isolation affecting vulnerable groups, with a focus on frontline, de-occupied, or heavily impacted areas, or areas receiving large numbers of internally displaced persons.
• Action-based research that generates practical, evidence-based insights on the needs of vulnerable or minority groups, translated into actionable recommendations for local authorities and civil society.

Projects that prioritize growth that works for everyone, including piloting sustainable social enterprise models, will be given a preference in the final selection.

• Social enterprise-based approaches that create livelihoods for veterans, displaced persons, women, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups, while addressing local recovery or security-related needs.
• Locally rooted, conflict-sensitive business models that reinvest in communities, strengthen social trust, and bridge humanitarian, development, and security objectives.
• Scalable pilot initiatives linking economic opportunity with healing, inclusion, and community stability, designed to attract additional donor or private sector support over time.

Preference will be given to projects outside of Kyiv and major cities.

Gender-based analysis

In 2017, Canada adopted its Feminist International Assistance Policy to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls as the most effective way to reduce poverty and build a more inclusive, peaceful and prosperous world. In alignment with this policy, the CFLI project application process now requires a gender-based analysis (GBA). The purpose of this change is to enhance the gender equality outcomes of the CFLI program.

A GBA will require applicants to:

• consider how women, girls, men, and boys are affected differently by the problem their project is aiming to address, ensuring, at the same time, that the project does not cause harm,
• consult women and/or girls in the development of their project proposal, and
• ensure that the views of those women and/or girls inform the project’s design.

Note that consultations can include, but are not limited to, speaking to women and girls from the local community, women and other individuals who work for civil society organizations that have worked in the local community and female and male decision and change makers who have knowledge of the local community.

Inadequate completion of a GBA may affect the consideration of your proposal.
A resource that can help you to further prepare for this analysis is here:
Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus)

Eligible costs

The following project costs are eligible for CFLI funding:

• accounting costs,
• administrative and overhead costs related to the project (overhead should not exceed 15% of total CFLI contribution),
• advocacy and lobbying related costs,
• capital and/or operating expenditures related to the lease and/or purchase and/or building of infrastructure,
• civic education costs,
• conference and event expenditures,
• costs of services received by recipients,
• domestic travel expenses, using lowest fares possible but not exceeding full fare economy class,
• environmental assessment costs,
• facilities charges,
• equipment rental, and/or purchase (only when the purchase is required to meet project objectives, reflects good value for money, and the recipient has a strong care-and-maintenance plan in place for equipment sustainability),
• hospitality costs, excluding alcoholic beverages,
• installation, maintenance, shipping and/or transportation costs, including fuel,
• computers and communication devices,
• lease or rental of vehicles,
• legal costs,
• medical costs,
• miscellaneous expenses integral to the project,
• outreach, communication and information dissemination costs,
• publishing costs,
• radio and television broadcast fees,
• research-related costs,
• salary costs, including stipends, relating to the project,
• security costs,
• training and capacity building expenditures,
• translation and interpretation fees,
• vehicle and equipment operation, installation and/or maintenance,
• website development and related costs.

The following costs are not eligible for CFLI funding:

• purchases for nuclear facilities, of technologies and related activities,
• assistance to military or paramilitary organizations,
• gifts,
• luxury goods,
• direct fiscal support to a government,
• seed funding and/or microfinance,
• core funding or recurrent costs of an organization,
• expenses incurred prior to the signing of the contribution agreement, or after it expires.