General News and Announcements

September 3, 2010
Updated October 8, 2010

When the Canadian government announced a "matching funds" program for Haiti earthquake relief earlier this year, many United Church members probably thought that every dollar donated would result in two dollars for the relief efforts of the United Church and its partners. This was how the government's matching fund program worked for the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004/05. In the case of the Haiti crisis, however, the program was altered dramatically. Now, by "matching funds," the government really means that it is setting aside an equivalent amount of money to that raised by charities like the United Church, and that the government will determine to whom the funds are disbursed and for what. Charities are free to apply for a limited amount of the funds for Haiti relief, but in a manner placing them in direct competition with other charities.

Accessing the Canadian Government's Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund

In response to the United Church's Haiti Earthquake Appeal, launched in January 2010, United Church members generously contributed more than $3 million. More than half of this amount has already been put to work in support of Haitian communities affected by the earthquake. Some was shared directly with United Church partners in Haiti. Some was programmed through ACT Alliance. Please see United Church Haiti Appeal Funds at Work for additional details.

Federal government announcement of "matching funds" for Haiti

Shortly after the earthquake in Haiti, the federal government announced the creation of the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund (HERF). The government would allocate to HERF an amount equivalent to the total amount raised by registered Canadian charities like The United Church of Canada. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was tasked with administering the HERF.

Matching fund programs provide added incentive to Canadians to give generously to global neighbours experiencing urgent needs, so we welcome this type of response by the Canadian government in response to catastrophic situations. Canadian charities were required to submit to the government, by a specific date, a letter verifying that the funds they had raised had been donated by individual Canadians. The majority of donations received by the United Church were indeed matched by an equivalent government contribution to the HERF.

As usual, the government matched funds raised for Haiti relief for a specific time period only. Once the deadline was reached, the total matching pool was announced as $220 million. Of that amount, the government earmarked $110 million for multilateral efforts in Haiti, such as the United Nations World Food Programme, and the balance to its bilateral (government-to-government) aid program in Haiti and to institutions and Canadian charities like the United Church. In the end, a relatively small portion was made available to non-governmental organizations. For more information about the government's response to the Haiti emergency, please see Summary of Canada's Financial Contributions to Haiti in Response to the Earthquake and Haiti: Six Months Later on the CIDA website.

A matching fund program with a difference

When the government announced the HERF, many Canadians may have thought that the matching funds would automatically be available to the Canadian charity whose efforts had led to their generation. This was how the government's matching fund program worked for the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004/05. In the case of the Haiti crisis, however, the program was designed differently.

With the HERF (and now the Pakistan Floods Relief Fund), the funds generated through the fundraising efforts of Canadian charities are "matching funds" in a different sense. They are an equivalent of what the NGOs raised and are set aside as such. The difference in terminology is important. "Matching funds" may recall in the minds of Canadians their experience of how the Canadian government responded to the Indian Ocean tsunami. "Equivalent" funds means funds that are not automatically available to these same charities. Instead, Canadian charities were required to submit a plan to CIDA detailing how they would use funds from the HERF for relief work in Haiti. CIDA assessed the plans on a competitive basis, meaning that plans submitted by Canadian charities competed with plans submitted by other Canadian charities.

In the cases of Haiti and Pakistan, and in response to earlier emergencies, the United Church has worked with other Canadian churches in a coalition now called Canadian Churches in Action (CCA) to submit emergency response proposals for CIDA's consideration. The CCA consists of 10 member denominations that together represent 4.5 million Canadians (Adventist Development and Relief Agency, Canadian Baptist Ministries, Canadian Lutheran World Relief, Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, Emergency Relief & Development Overseas (Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada), Mennonite Central Committee Canada, Nazarene Compassionate Ministries Canada, Primate's World Relief and Development Fund (Anglican), Presbyterian World Service & Development, The United Church of Canada).

By working collaboratively, the CCA makes it much more administratively efficient for CIDA than if CIDA had to respond to 10 separate funding proposals. CCA also makes it possible for churches to pool their human and financial resources. Since first beginning to work together in 2005, following the Indian Ocean tsunami, CCA has been successful in accessing funds from CIDA on several occasions. CIDA's evaluations of these CCA initiatives have always been positive and CCA's work lauded.

Reasons for the shift in the matching funds program

The government altered its matching funds program following the Indian Ocean tsunami, apparently to ensure that funds are allocated only to organizations that have the capacity and accountability to program the funds in areas affected by disasters.

The United Church supports the need to observe the highest standards of accountability when disbursing public funds, as do other CCA members. We carefully take into account the capacity of organizations on the ground to implement programs efficiently and effectively. This is one of the key reasons why we choose to work with organizations like ACT Alliance. ACT is respected internationally for exercising the utmost care when entrusted with public monies and is keenly mindful of capacity related issues.

The United Church is therefore mystified by the government's seeming reluctance to fund CCA proposals. Churches are not alone, however. Proposals submitted by other Canadian charities have also been rejected.

How the United Church fared in accessing funds from the HERF

The CCA submitted two plans to CIDA to access funds from the HERF. One was a full proposal for temporary housing and other needs in Haiti. The other was a concept note (a precursor to a full proposal) for transitional housing.

Disappointingly, both plans were rejected. CIDA's stated reasons for the rejections have not been entirely clear. CCA proposals are always well-researched and well-written, and great care is taken to match needs on the ground with CIDA's funding criteria and program priorities.

In Future

The United Church, together with CCA members, will continue to engage with CIDA, and we hope to find renewed support for our disaster responses, building on our solid track record and offering efficiencies and strong accountability through our networks and partnerships. We continue to believe that the Canadian government and Canadian churches, as well as people and communities affected by disasters, benefit significantly when working together. Co-operation of this kind represents a clear win-win-win opportunity for all involved.

In the meantime, the United Church will continue to disburse the remainder of the $3 million in Haiti relief funds donated directly by its members, according to partner needs and capacities. We also will continue to explore options for a Canadian Foodgrains Bank initiative to address agriculture and food security needs in Haiti.