Community Development Funding

Each of our nine member councils evaluates applications and distributes funding for their specific area of the province. Our member representatives have deep roots in their communities and, with their local perspective, they support initiatives and organizations that’ll have the biggest impact to members and their communities.

Applications are now closed for 2026 funding!

Our funding priorities

We’re committed to connecting people and communities to financial possibilities by investing our resources in bettering our communities, strengthening our economy and improving quality of life for individuals and families. We focus on distributing funding to local programs and initiatives that make a meaningful difference.

Eligibility

You're eligible to apply for funding if:

you're a not-for-profit, community-based voluntary organization, or community service or not-for-profit co-operative.
you're a municipal, Indigenous or local educational institution/entity.
your organization or initiative is located in and/or benefits the communities and individuals within the district.

Application deadline

Applications are now closed for 2026 funding! Applications were accepted between January 1 and April 1, 2026 for all districts. Our member councils review applications once per year and we’ll inform you of our funding decisions ten to twelve weeks after the deadline has passed.

If you have any questions, please contact us at cdfunding@affinitycu.ca or call or Contact Centre at 1.866.863.6237.

Learn more about your district's funding guidelines

Saskatoon District

Application deadline: April 1

The Saskatoon District encompasses the business area historically or traditionally served by advice centres in the trading area of Saskatoon.

Historically, approved requests are typically up to $10,000. Some requests may be approved for up to $25,000 depending on available funding.

We’re specifically interested in supporting local initiatives and organizations dedicated to:

Promoting self-reliant approaches to poverty reduction and community-based economic development.
Creating opportunities for disadvantaged individuals (such as people living with disabilities, low-income families, youth facing barriers, Indigenous populations and newcomer and immigrant communities) to participate more fully in economic and social life.
Enhancing and promoting approaches to environmental sustainability that minimize social and economic barriers. These initiatives may include environmental leadership and education, retrofits, sustainable transportation, local/sustainable purchasing, ecosystem preservation and restoration, sustainable agriculture and resource management.
Responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action.

When assessing applications, we prioritize organizations and initiatives that:

Demonstrate potential to achieve positive outcomes in our funding priority areas.
Address a critical need in the community and have strong community support.
Have limited access to other sources of funding and demonstrate a high need for Affinity support, and/or can leverage Affinity support to access other funds.
Demonstrate the capacity to successfully carry out the proposed program or project.
Have a membership with Affinity Credit Union.

Types of requests we consider include:

Program funding and one-time project funding requests.
Capital request for facilities/building construction, repair or maintenance projects, equipment and other capital items.
Organizational capacity development funding.
Seed/planning funding (e.g. business plans for projects, enterprise or housing initiatives).

Typically, we don’t consider requests for:

Private businesses or individuals.
Political or lobby groups.
Religious activities (with the exception of non-denominational activities with community-based purposes other than propagation of faith).
Contingency funds or deficit funding.
Team requests, including travel or uniforms.
Assistive equipment for individual use.
Event sponsorships (please see our sponsorship and donation program).
Requests for playground or park enhancement projects.