CEF Appeals Process

Applications are not eligible to the appeals Funding if any of the below conditions are true:

• Application was not submitted during the original CEF intake period.
• Application received appeals funding in the immediately preceding year, or twice in a five-year time span (beginning with the 2024 appeals process).
• Applicants who received A ratings are not eligible to appeal, as they have received the best possible outcome for their application through the CEF recommendation process.
• Applicants cannot appeal for more than their original current year CEF request.
• Applicants are also bound by the existing Program Area and Stream maximums.
• Applications for prior year CEF outcomes are not eligible.
• Applications appealing the outcome of the Multi-Year Funding Program (MYF) are not eligible.
• Incomplete and late appeal applications will not be accepted. A complete application does not guarantee a successful appeal.

Applicants with any outstanding City Enrichment Fund Final Reports, other outstanding material, and arrears will have any approved appeals funding held.

• Late applications will not be accepted.
• Appeal applications must be submitted by the original organization/applicant for the original proposed program.
• Appeals applications must be submitted through the grant portal. Please ensure that the application is “Submitted”.

• Appeals will not change the original rating received by an application through the CEF Adjudication process.
• This appeals process is not intended to address global, national, or provincial issues beyond our control, including the cancellation of any other funding programs/sources, natural disasters, pandemics, or other force majeure.
• This appeals process does not affect an application’s new vs. returning status for future CEF applications and does not imply any ongoing commitment.
• The appeals commitment will work within a funding envelope of $50,000 and makes no guarantee of successful appeals receiving either the entirety of their original funding request or of their appeal request amount.
• Appeals funding will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Funding recommendations may or may not be consistently applied across approved appellants.
• If an applicant applied to an appeals funding process in the prior year, and were successful, they are not eligible to apply again in the immediate subsequent year or receive appeals funding more than twice per five-year timespan. The objective of appeals funding is to provide an opportunity for support when extenuating circumstances have existed, circumstances occurring for greater than a one-year period, or with frequency are no longer considered extenuating.

A funding agreement (contract) is required from all applicants receiving funding from the City of Hamilton. Funding Agreements are signed and submitted through DocuSign.

• Successful applicants will receive a funding agreement included with their notification letter.
• The form must be filled out, signed, and returned to the Grant Coordinator for funding to be processed.
• Funding will not be released without the receipt of a signed agreement.
• City Enrichment Fund agreements may be submitted at any time after notifications, but no later than November 1st annually.
• The agreement form outlines the terms and conditions of funding.

Upon City Council approval and the receipt of the signed City Enrichment Fund funding agreement, the following payment plan will apply:

Recipients of appeals funding are required to report back on this funding, as part of their CEF Final Report. All policies around the use of funds, payment schedule and requirements of the broader CEF program continue to be applicable.

• Reporting requirements and forms will be distributed by program managers.
• Grant recipients must submit a report and demonstrate that grant funds were spent on programming and/or services as described in the application.

Final Reports may include the following information:

• Financial information with actual program costs
• Statistics
• Program summary
• Results of measurable outcomes
• Summary of City Enrichment Fund acknowledgment

All final reports must be submitted for audit purposes and before subsequent grant applications can be approved. Non-Returning applicants will be required to submit a complete final report for audit purposes. Failure to submit a final report may result in the return of funds.

• No, appeals will be evaluated based on eligibility and described circumstances.  
• Evaluations will be completed by three CEF Program Managers. A passing Appeals score is required and consists of 3/3 in eligibility and 2/3 in extenuating circumstances. To receive a passing score for extenuating circumstances it is not enough to explain that information was missing from the initial application, applicants must explain that there were circumstances beyond their control which contributed to their need for Appeal consideration.

• Maybe, the total budget for the appeals process is $50,000 annually. The allocation of the funds is based on the total number of passing appeals applications received and available appeal budget. 
• There is no requirement for the full Appeals budget to be allocated each year.

All appeal allocations will be made following the intake period closing on July 11th. Applicants can expect to receive results in August.

No, if an application received appeals funding in 2024, they are not eligible to apply in 2025, as Appeals funding is designed to support groups with extenuating circumstances, not ongoing operational concerns. Please review the handbook for full eligibility criteria.