Poppy Funds for Veteran support organizations

Veteran Support Partnership Program

Through generous donations to the Royal Canadian Legion Poppy Trust Fund, the Legion is able to provide funding to eligible organizations undertaking Veteran support initiatives, as outlined in the Poppy Manual.

Eligible organizations that provide support for Veterans and/or their families may apply for funding through the Legion.

Eligible Organizations

Eligible recipient organizations are non-profit and for-profit organizations, based in Canada. Individuals and federal or provincial organizations are not eligible for funding. To be eligible, the project must support Veterans as defined by the Legion, and/or their families. 

The Legion's definition of a Veteran:

“A Veteran is any person who is serving or who has honorably served in the Canadian Armed Forces, the Commonwealth or its wartime allies, or as a Regular Member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or as a Peace Officer in a Special Duty Area or on a Special Duty Operation, or who has served in the Merchant Navy or Ferry Command during wartime.”

Eligible Projects  

Eligible projects may be assessed against the following criteria:

• The project must be of a finite duration, with clear start and end dates within a calendar year.
• The applicant has the capacity to deliver the project.
• If the project has a physical and/or psychological remedial intent, it must be sanctioned by an accredited institution.
• The project objectives are specific and realistic and clearly support the objective of the Legion.
• The project will have noticeable impact and reach.
• Where agreements for collaboration are required to ensure the successful delivery of the project, contributors have confirmed their participation.
• The proposed budget is reasonable and sufficiently detailed.

Ineligible Projects

A project is NOT eligible if:

• it establishes a requirement for operational (core) funding to the organization;
• it duplicates government or Legion initiatives;
• it creates a financial dependency;
• it is of a commercial nature and allows the organization to generate profits or increase its economic value;
• it is completed before the application is submitted; or
• its revenues cover or exceed expenditures.

Examples of eligible expenditures directly related to the project may include:

• professional fees;
• administrative expenditures (e.g. printing, photocopying, fax, mail);
• equipment and machinery rental expenditures;
• facility rental expenditures (e.g. meeting rooms);
• travel expenditures inherent to the success of the project; and
• material development and distribution expenditures (e.g. print, translation, mail).

Ineligible expenditures

Expenditures that are NOT eligible include, but are not limited to:

• air travel;
• design or assessment fees for projects;
• construction expenditures for projects;
• operational expenditures;
• fundraising expenditures; and
• insurance expenditures.

How to apply

Poppy Funds to eligible organizations are disbursed at the national, provincial and branch levels of the Legion, depending on where the organization operates.

To apply for Poppy Funds, please use ONE of the avenues below, depending on where your program operates:

Organizations that operate a program locally or within one province

Organizations with programs that operate exclusively within the territory of a single province may apply for Poppy Funds through the applicable Legion Provincial Command. This includes requesting the authority to solicit branch funds within that province.

For programs that are exclusively within an individual province send your request to the applicable Provincial Executive Director at https://legion.ca/contact-us/provincial-commands

Organizations that operate a program across two or more provinces

Organizations with programs that operate in two or more provinces are considered national in scope and are eligible to submit a request for national Poppy Funds. 

Organizations that are national in scope may apply through the Veteran Support Partnership Program. Submit your request to the Poppy & Remembrance Committee at info@legion.ca using the attached guidelines and application form.

• Guidelines: Requesting national funding
• Application Form: Request for national funding
• Agreement: Contribution agreement template
• Report: Final activity report form

Requests for national funding should be submitted at least three (3) months before the start date of the proposed project to allow for processing and notification of funding.