Professional Development (PD) Funding

Alberta Child Care Grant Funding Program

Licensed daycare, out-of-school care and preschool programs, as well as licensed family day home agencies can apply for grant funding to support the recruitment, retention and professional development of their certified educators. Available supports include wage top-up, professional development funding and release time grant funding.

Read the Alberta Child Care Grant Funding Guide to see if you are eligible and learn about the process to apply for wage top-up, professional development and release time grant funding.

Wage top-up funding

This funding provides licensed child care programs with a wage top-up for certified early childhood educators over and above the base wage paid by the employer. Staff must be paid at least minimum wage before the wage top-up.

Eligibility

The wage top-up grant provides a wage enhancement for certified frontline staff who:

• provide direct child care, including program supervisors and alternate supervisors (as defined in the Early Learning and Child Care Licensing Regulation) as well as people hired in the role of family child care consultants or coordinators with a licensed family day home agency
• are certified as an Early Childhood Educator Level 1, 2 or 3
• meet the conditions outlined in the Eligible hours for wage top-up section of the Alberta Child Care Grant Funding Guide.

Funding rates

Funding is paid monthly up to a maximum of 181 hours at the following rates

* average as of November 2023

Professional Development Funding

The funding amounts educators are eligible for are determined by the certification level of the educator and the number of hours worked in the two months preceding the application.

Eligibility

Professional development grant funding is intended for staff who are paid employees of licensed child care programs, as well as family day home program educators working under licensed family day home agencies, who:

• provide direct child care, including program supervisors and alternate supervisors (as defined in the Early Learning and Child Care Regulation), as well as people hired in the role of family child care consultants/coordinators with a licensed family day home agency
• are certified as an Early Childhood Educator Level 1, 2 or 3
• are a Canadian citizen or an official Permanent Resident of Canada
• have worked at least 29 hours in at least one month preceding the date of the expenditure or the date the application was received

Funding rates

Release Time Funding

The Release Time Funding provides licensed child care programs with funding that allows their certified educators to be paid while studying, completing post-secondary coursework, and attending workshops or conferences that have been approved for professional development funding.

Eligibility

This grant is for Early Childhood Educators who are paid employees of licensed child care programs or family day home program educators working under licensed family day home agencies who:

• are eligible for the professional development grant, and
• paid for or enrolled in a post-secondary course, workshop or conference that is approved for professional development funding.

Funding rates

Further eligibility information, and the application for funding, can be found on the Alberta Children and Family Services website.

ALIGN Leadership Bursary - Agency Leadership Development Bursary

Purpose:

The purpose of the Leadership Bursaries are to foster future leadership capacity by enabling senior organizational leaders to participate in formal education and professional development programs that enhance their ability to lead their organization and the field. The focus will be to develop or enhance leadership skills and innovation in service delivery and development, human resource management, organizational excellence and fiscal management.

Eligibility:

For all bursaries, applicants must:

• Currently work as a senior staff member in a supervisory leadership role
• Work in a Non-Government Organization (NGO) whose primary responsibility is to serve clients through the Children Services delivery system
• Have worked in this organization a minimum of one year
• Be employed by an organization/agency that is contracted by Children Services, to provide services

Organizations must:

Have contracted funding from the Government of Alberta through Children Services and be responsible for providing direct services to clients through the service delivery system.

The ALIGN Leadership Bursary program is offering agencies a bursary up to $5,000.00 towards Agency Leadership Development. We will choose on a first come first serve bases and can offer up to $5,000.00 per agency/per year.

Criteria:

• You don’t have to be members of ALIGN, but you do have to provide services that are part of the Children Services through contract or grant
• Agency to send a short (no more than 2 pages) outline of their plan including the cost, and goals that you intend to achieve.
• When activities are complete report back as to how many people in your agency received the training and how it met your goals

Process:

• Fill in the ALIGN Bursary Application Form and attach your proposal.
• Submit to katiew@alignab.ca
• You will receive a response back to your request within 4 weeks of receiving the request.

For more information, go here.

*AECEA makes every effort to ensure this information is up to date. Please consult original documentation/website to confirm accuracy*

ALIGN Leadership Bursary - ALIGN Leadership Bursary for Non-Accredited Programs/Courses

The purpose of this Leadership Bursary is to foster future leadership capacity by enabling senior organizational leaders to participate in formal education and professional development programs that enhance their ability to lead their organization and the field. The focus will be to develop or enhance leadership skills and innovation in service delivery and development, human resource management, organizational excellence and fiscal management. Tuition costs for non-accredited programs are a max. $5,000 and do not cover travel costs. This bursary can be granted throughout the year. This can be a course, workshop, conference etc. but must be leadership focused. Please note the intention it to support leadership courses. This is NOT a practice (counselling, NMT, trauma, etc.) enhancement bursary.

Eligibility:

For all bursaries, applicants must:

• Currently work as a senior staff member in a supervisory leadership role
• Work in a Non-Government Organization (NGO) whose primary responsibility is to serve clients through the Children Services delivery system
• Have worked in this organization a minimum of one year
• Be employed by an organization/agency that is contracted by Children Services, to provide services

Organizations must:

Have contracted funding from the Government of Alberta through Children Services and be responsible for providing direct services to clients through the service delivery system.

Criteria:

• You don’t have to be a member of ALIGN, but you do have to provide services that are part of Children Services through contract or grant.
• Send the course outline or brochure with the application.
• We require the exact costs. The agency or individual must pay for the tuition and provide a receipt. They will be reimbursed once submitted.

Process:

• Fill in the ALIGN Bursary Application Form. The ED or CEO must sign the form so we know that this is part of the plan for your agency.
• Send that to katiew@alignab.ca
• You will receive a response back to your request within 4 weeks of receiving the request.

For more information, go here.

*AECEA makes every effort to ensure this information is up to date. Please consult original documentation/website to confirm accuracy*

Canada-Alberta Job Grant (CAJG)

The CAJG is an employer-driven training program where employers and government share the cost of training new and existing employees. Employers decide who gets training and what type of training may be needed for their employees. Eligible employers are required to contribute a minimum of one-third of the total training costs. Government contributes two-thirds of the cost to a maximum of $10,000 per trainee. If hiring and training an unemployed Albertan, up to 100% of training costs could be covered, up to $15,000 per trainee. Individual employers will have a cap on the amount of grant funding they can receive annually ($300,000) to ensure that funding will be available for as many Alberta employers as possible.

Eligible trainees under the CAJG are: Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and protected persons under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) who are entitled to work in Canada. Trainees must be residents of Alberta.

Eligible training:

• Training must be incremental, meaning that the training is in addition to the employer’s regular operational training, and would not have otherwise taken place without the grant
• Exceptions are made where the trainee is an unemployed hire who requires training, upgrading or bridging before starting the job
• Training must be instructional and result in a credential

Training duration and format:

• Minimum 21 instructional hours of training must start within 6 months of approval and be completed within 52 weeks of start date
• Training that starts before grant is approved will not be reimbursed
• Training can be delivered online, on-site, in a classroom or combined, on a part-time or full-time basis

For more information on the Canada-Alberta Job Grant, go here.

*AECEA makes every effort to ensure this information is up to date. Please consult original documentation/website to confirm accuracy*

Canada Student Grant for Part-Time Studies

Eligibility:

• The student must be enrolled in 20-59% of a full-time course load
• be enrolled in a program of study designated for federal part-time funding, and
• have a family income that is below the income threshold at which grant eligibility is cut-off listed in the table below.

To be eligible the student with dependants must:

• comply with all of the above; and
• have at least one dependant under the the age of 12 at the start date of studies, or 12 years of age or older requiring daily care due to a permanent disability.

Eligible students may receive up to $3,600 each school year (August 1 to July 31). Students can get this grant for each year of studies (including undergraduate and graduate levels) as long as they still qualify.

The grant amount is based on family income and family size. The grant amount gradually decreases as income increases, with the rate of reduction varying by family size. When family income is equal to or greater than the income threshold at which grant eligibility is cut-off, students are not eligible to receive any grant funding.

For more information on the Canada Student Grant for Part-Time Studies, go here​.

*AECEA makes every effort to ensure this information is up to date. Please consult original documentation/website to confirm accuracy*

Freehorse Family Wellness Society (FFWS)

Freehorse Family Wellness Society (FFWS) is a non-profit organization founded by a few committed and dedicated leaders of Alberta based First Nations.

A Board of Directors including First Nations people provides the leadership and direction to the management and staff of FFWS.

FFWS is currently offering a post secondary funding program on behalf of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). Post Secondary Funding Program assists students from various Alberta First Nations whose status is the result of Bill C-31. Alberta residents from Nunavut and the North West Territories with Indian or Inuit Status are also eligible under our Post Secondary Funding Program.

Please go through their eligibility criteria to see if you are eligible to apply for sponsorship with their Program. During sponsorship, FFWS supports our students by providing tuition, books, and living allowance.

For more information and to apply, go here.

*AECEA makes every effort to ensure this information is up to date. Please consult original documentation/website to confirm accuracy*

Indigenous Student Supports

Band funding

If you’re a Band member of a First Nation, you may be eligible for federal funding, administered through your Band office, to help you pay for your education. Here’s how to get started:

• find out how Band student support funding works
• read about this Learning Clicks Ambassador’s experience with Band scholarships

Scholarships and bursaries

• Belcourt-Brosseau Métis Awards: the largest non-governmental source of student funding for Métis students in Canada
• First Nations Training to Employment Program (FNTEP): supports the development of partnerships to create training and work experience projects that lead to employment for First Nations members
• Indigenous bursaries search tool: a searchable list of more than 680 bursaries, scholarships and incentives across Canada
• Indigenous Careers Award: valued at $2,000 per semester up to $4,000 per academic year to encourage Indigenous students to complete post-secondary studies that lead to high-demand careers in Alberta
• Indigenous Graduate Award: valued between $7,500 and a maximum of $15,000 to encourage Indigenous Albertans to pursue graduate studies in Alberta
• Indspire: the largest non-governmental funding body for First Nations, Inuit and Métis post-secondary students across Canada
• Métis and Non-Status Bursary Program: for post-secondary studies in a social services field
• Northern Alberta Development Council (NADC) Student Bursary: for students in a variety of fields of study who are willing to work within the NADC area after they complete their schooling​
• Windspeaker and Aboriginal Multi-Media Society (AMMSA) Scholarship Guide: an extensive list of scholarships and bursaries available to Indigenous students

*AECEA makes every effort to ensure this information is up to date. Please consult original documentation/website to confirm accuracy*

Muttart Bursary Program

(Restricted to Registered Charities)

Grants are usually awarded in amounts of less than $1,500 to cover the tuition or registration costs of courses, programs, conferences or other training opportunities. Courses or programs must be offered by a non-profit entity or a publicly funded post-secondary institution. Professional development opportunities may include:

• administrative courses – accounting, computer skills, communication, interpersonal skills, supervision, etc.
• program-related courses – cultural awareness, youth engagement, counseling, community development, mentoring, coaching, pedagogical leadership, child development, collective impact, outcome measurement, etc.
• management level courses – human resources, information technology, legal, communications, project and change management, operations, financial and accounting, fund development, etc.

​Muttart Leadership Program

The aim of the Leadership Bursary program is to increase the capacity of management staff, or persons serving in a senior staff capacity within these charities, to contribute now, or in the near future, to leadership within or across organizations, or enhance leadership competence in key policy areas related to the charity or sub-sector’s work. Professional development opportunities may include:

• leadership courses or programs
• management programs
• governance courses or programs
• public policy courses or programs

Grants are usually awarded in amounts of less than $2,500 to cover the tuition or registration costs of leadership courses or programs. Courses or programs must be offered by a non-profit entity or a publicly funded post-secondary institution. Leadership bursaries cover course or program tuition costs, not travel, accommodation or incidental expenses.

Application Process

Please submit applications to the Foundation at least three weeks in advance of the course start date to provide sufficient time for a review of your request. If the application is received after the registration deadline, or if you have already registered for the course, the bursary will not be awarded.

For more information and to submit an application, go here.

*AECEA makes every effort to ensure this information is up to date. Please consult original documentation/website to confirm accuracy*

Scholarships Canada is a website that helps students search for scholarships to attend school (field of study: early childhood).

Whole Kids Foundation

Whole Kids Foundation provides an Extended Learning Garden Grant program that provides grants grant to non-profits or charity children's programming organizations.

Garden Grant Program

Our Garden Grant program provides a $3,000 monetary grant to support a new or existing edible educational garden located at either a K-12 school or a non-profit organization (Registered Charity) that serves children in the K-12 grade range.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for this grant, the school or organization must meet the below criteria:

• Be a charter or public school including tribally controlled and Bureau of Indian Education schools, non-profit private school, or a non-profit organization or tribal entity that serves children in the K-12 age range
• Engage at least 10 children on a regular basis
• Be growing edible plants in your garden

For previous Whole Kids Foundation Garden Grant recipients: eligible to re-apply if you received your previous grant funds in 2020 or earlier and have completed the required follow-up documentation.

Process

For information and application process, click here.

Bee Grants

The Bee Grants allows for K-12 schools or non-profit organizations that serve any grades K-12 to start a new or enhance an existing bee program hosting live bees on their campus.

Grant Options

• Monetary Grant: $1,500 monetary grant
• Equipment Grant: Indoor Observation Hive
• Equipment Grant: Traditional Langstroth Hive

For previous Whole Kids Foundation Bee Grant recipients: A $500 monetary grant intended to boost or support existing educational bee programs. and completed the required Progress Report. Live bees are not required to apply for this grant.

Process

For information and application process, click here.