Albertans and people around the world are responding to the extraordinary and evolving circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the Alberta Real Estate Foundation we are thankful for the dedication and purposeful action by our grantees, partners and industry stakeholders which is contributing towards strengthening Alberta’s of our communities.

In an effort to provide support through this period of increased uncertainty, the Foundation is committed to the following:

• We will continue to process grant payments in a timely fashion, respond quickly to questions, and to support open projects through to completion. We have put the necessary technology in place to enable our team to work remotely and we can still be reached through phone and email. In an effort to do what we can to “flatten the curve”, any in-person meetings scheduled for the coming months will be moved to teleconference and video online.
• We will not be asking any organisation to return funds due to impacts to a project or event resulting from COVID-19. If you have any concerns regarding your project, please contact us. We are open to working with you to adapt the project so it can get back on track or discuss the potential of redirect funding, depending on how your organisation would like to move forward.
• We will be flexible on timelines and deadlines for reporting. When you determine the amount of time your project will require, you can let us know.
• We will be open to discussing the potential of releasing grant payments early, if organisations are facing cash flow concerns.
• We will connect with our philanthropic and government partners to identify opportunities to respond nimbly and collaboratively to the needs of our stakeholders.

Grantmaking going forward:

Our existing grant program will move forward as planned. Our next round will be in May, for a decision in June. Please visit our Get Funding page for more details and to submit your inquiry.

Over the coming weeks and months we will determine if there is additional support the Alberta Real Estate Foundation can provide. Now is a good time to prepare for what happens in the medium to long term, even if that preparation is just in the form of thought experiments and “what-ifs” to think through the possibilities.

If you have any questions or suggestions for us, please don’t hesitate to reach out to questions@aref.ab.ca.