Ecoprojects Community Fund

This fund aims to support local, community-led projects that will make a tangible contribution to the priority areas of the Environmental Policy and Strategy:

• Biodiversity;
• Urban agriculture;
• Urban forestry;
• Land use planning;
• Infrastructure;
• Waste management;
• Financial resilience;
• Public safety.

As part of the Ecoproject Community Fund, the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion is offering a grant of up to $7,500 per project (including taxes), subject to the availability of funds. Applications to the Ecoproject Community Fund can be submitted by either a sole citizen, a group of citizens, a non-profit organization or an institution. Maximum of one application per year.

Deadlines

2026
Project submission period	January 1st to February 28
Unveiling of selected projects and payment of 1st instalment for 50% of approved grant amount	Mid-April
Planning and completion of projects	Starting on the date grant is awarded and until November 15
Filing of Project Completion Form, including proof of expenses	Before December 1 of the reference year
Payment of remaining 50% and project follow-up	Between December 1 and 23

 

Eligibility criterias

To be eligible for an Ecoprojects Community Fund grant, projects must meet the following criteria:

• Address at least one priority environmental issue identified in the Environmental Policy and Strategy.
• Have a positive impact on the community.
• Be carried out by a citizen, a citizens' group, a non-profit organization or a public institution;
• Be carried out in Vaudreuil-Dorion;
• Be carried out on land or in a building with the agreement of the owner(s);
• Be carried out with the support of the board of directors or management of the organization or institution (if applicable);
• Be carried out between the acceptance date and November 15 of the reference year in which the application was approved;
• Be non-profit;
• Be in compliance with municipal regulations (including obtaining a permit from the city, where applicable);
• For planting projects, provide a list of plants and a planting plan. The City reserves the right to refuse certain plant species.
• Submit eligible expenses to the Community Eco-Projects Fund.
• No project requiring the City's intervention or maintenance efforts will be eligible.

Furthermore, any request from a citizen, a group of citizens, a non-profit organization or a public institution will be automatically refused if, in the three previous years, a subsidy from the Ecoprojects Community Fund was granted to such an applicant for a previous project which was not completed within the deadlines prescribed by the City.

Eligible expenses

Only expenses defined as eligible by the Ecoproject Community Fund and that were incurred after the date on which the Municipal Council passed a resolution to award the grant can be reimbursed. More specifically, the following expenses are considered eligible:

• Professional fees, travel costs and daily allowances for contractors such as consultants, technicians or other specialists required for the project;
• Costs for materials, rental of equipment or space, and transportation related to the implementation of the project;
• Promotional fees.

The following expenses are not eligible:

• Operating fees of organizations involved in the project (if applicable);
• Salaries and benefits of project initiators;
• Fees related to fundraising, financing and market development campaigns;
• Expenses that do not comply with a certain law or by-law;
• Portion of the Quebec Sales Tax (QST) and Goods and Services Tax (GST) for which the applicant can obtain a credit or refund;
• Expenses not directly related to the project or unjustified expenses.

Application documents 

Requests should be sent to the Division environnement by email. 

• Application form (In French);
• Power of attorney or written agreement from the owner of the land where the project will be carried out (if applicable);
• Power of attorney or written agreement from the board of directors or immediate superiors (if applicable);
• City permit (if applicable);
• Plant list and planting plan (if applicable);
• Site plan for any project involving work (if applicable);
• Any other document required for project execution (study report, estimate, quotation, photos, etc.).

Any changes to the project during its implementation must be approved by the Environmental Division beforehand.

Communications obligations

The City of Vaudreuil-Dorion's support must be mentioned on all information, promotional and advertising documents. Publications mentioning the city must be approved in advance.

Project selection criteria

After the project submission period, eligible grant applications will be evaluated by the Ville de Vaudreuil-Dorion selection committee. Subject to available funds, the projects with the highest scores will be selected and presented to the municipal council for the grant to be awarded by resolution. A minimum score of 70 out of 100 is required to obtain the grant. Projects will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Environmental relevance;
• Benefits to the community;
• Soundness of the approach.

For more information on the evaluation of submitted projects, please consult the evaluation grid (in French).

Project completion documents

• Proof of expenses related to the project;
• Project Completion Form (in French);
• Photos or any other documents relating to the implementation of the project and the final result.

Payments

Payments will be made by cheque. The applicant responsible for the project will be the person to receive the cheque, whether in the case of a citizen, a non-profit organization or an institution. A first payment of 50% of the amount awarded will be paid once the project has been approved.

The final payment of 50% will be paid following receipt and validation of the end of project form and proof of expenditures by the Environment department. The City of Vaudreuil-Dorion reserves the right to modify the amount of the second payment (the remaining 50%) if proof of expenditures show non-eligible expenses or expenses where the amount is lower than the amount spent. If budget is exceeded, the second amount (remaining 50%) will remain the same as the initial estimated amount.

Projects that are not finalized by November 15 of the funding year will be deemed non-compliant and will therefore not be eligible for the second payment. Furthermore, this failure will deprive the applicant(s) of such a project from benefiting from subsidies from the Ecoprojects Community Fund, for the next 3 years.

The applicant must make a reimbursement to the City before December 23 of the funding year if the total amount of eligible expenses is less than the amount of the first payment indicated by the proof of expenses.

Examples of potential projects that could be considered eligible (without limitation)

• Creating gardens for pollinators;
• Creating urban food forests or tree planting in connected plots of land;
• Environment-themed workshops (e.g.: residual materials, zero waste, etc.);
• Organizing workshops dedicated to repairing defective appliances with a view to promoting zero waste in the community;
• Organizing a conference or event of an environmental nature;
• Environment clean-up;
• Financing an educational environment-themed program (e.g.: Cycliste Averti, Scol’ERE Carbon Bursary);
• Purchasing a community compost bin;
• Purchasing zero-waste equipment for an institution or organization;
• Implementing a bike-sharing system;
• Landscaping that helps reduce environmental pollution (e.g.: rain gardens);
• Restoration of natural environments and riparian buffers.

Information documents and forms

• Evaluation grid (In French) pdf

• Application form (In French) pdf

• Project completion form (In French) pdf