COVID-19 Social Sector Information & Resources

In cooperation with the City of Calgary, United Way of Calgary and Area has compiled the below resources to provide timely and accurate information to guide the social sector response. If you’re an individual requiring support please refer to this page.  

Pandemic & Crisis Response

For social sector organizations involved in the local pandemic and crisis response and recovery efforts to navigate the changing situation and access the latest supports, resources and information.

Alberta has implemented public health orders to provide guidance to businesses and workplaces to protect Albertans’ health and limit the spread of COVID-19.

Please refer to your local, provincial, and federal websites (above) for the latest public health prevention and mitigation measures and regulations as they may change daily.

New updates:

Resources:

This summary resource created by Vibrant Communities Calgary is meant to help keep Calgarians safe and well. It has been translated into multiple languages for use in diverse multilingual settings serving vulnerable populations.

Click the button to find available translations of this and other public health resources.

COVID-19 Information Sheet for Calgarians

CORE Alberta is a digital platform that connects Alberta’s community-based seniors serving sector (CBSS).

The platform provides information, resources, funding and training opportunities with the aim of improving coordination, building capacity, and developing one cohesive voice across seniors serving organizations, collaborations and communities of practice with the common purpose of supporting healthy aging initiatives. Its current focus is on the COVID-19 response.

The Calgary Local Immigrant Partnership (CLIP) has shared a multilingual food security page that is now live and shares pertinent information gathered from various organizations about food security. The resources are available in 16 languages, and all PDFs are downloadable to share with your networks.

This pandemic is a very stressful event for individuals and communities and for those continuing to serve vulnerable populations you may see an increase in need for psychosocial, addictions and mental health supports during this time. (Also see the Supporting workplace wellness and employee mental health during the pandemic section below as well as our Support for Individuals page for more mental health supports.)

If you or your organization are providing direct psychosocial support to individuals impacted by the pandemic, or are providing virtual assistance to individuals that may be quarantined, in self-isolation, or practicing physical distancing in order to prevent the spread of the virus, you may wish to learn about how Psychological First Aid training could help.

Psychological First Aid for a Pandemic - Online Training What is Psychological First Aid? Psychosocial Disaster Network Virtual Hub Psychosocial Capacity Building

As we come together to face this global pandemic, we are all experiencing collective trauma.

The TIC (trauma informed care) Collective has come together to create a toolkit to help individuals and organizations better understand and manage trauma and stress and allow us to better support each other.

The purpose of this toolkit is to give a better understanding of what trauma is, how trauma affects the thoughts, actions and behaviours of people affected by it and give an understanding that we can come together in solidarity and hope.

Get the toolkit here:

The Government of Canada is working closely with partners to ensure Canadians have access to the information, resources and supplies they need to stay safe and healthy in response to COVID-19.

The Government of Canada launched a new web hub to bring together available resources for organizations buying and selling personal protective equipment (PPE). As organizations re-open for business, they need reliable information on how to buy and sell the necessary supplies required to keep themselves and others safe.

The Supply Hub connects Canadian organizations from coast to coast to coast with federal, provincial, territorial and other resources and information about PPE, including consumer guidance. Buyers will find PPE supplier lists, in addition to guidance to help plan their PPE purchases. As Public Services and Procurement Canada continues to engage with our partners and advisory groups, the hub will evolve to include additional resources.

The Government of Alberta has provided guidance on the involvement of volunteers during the pandemic:

Information for non-health volunteers

In partnership with the Government of Alberta, Propellus is making it easier to promote your urgent volunteer opportunities and connect with potential volunteers. With VolunteerConnector (now AlbertaCaresConnector), volunteers can quickly search using a “COVID-19” tag to find current volunteer opportunities. To support your organizing efforts, premium features are now free during the pandemic. (Use the free upgrade code “COVID19”). If you need any help or have any questions, please email info@volunteerconnector.org.

If your organization is in need of translation or interpretation support to communicate with your newcomer clients, customers, or community members, click here for a list of multilingual resources and immigrant-serving agencies offering free translation and interpretation during this crisis.

AHS has provided COVID-19 resources available in the following languages:

As many services in Alberta change rapidly in response to COVID-19, 211 is working continuously to ensure all of the community resources within the InformAlberta/211 database remain up to date, including any changes to service delivery as a result of COVID-19. During this crisis, 211 Alberta will provide information on emerging and changing services using a Google document, which can be rapidly updated seven days a week by 211’s Community Resource Database team. Visit ab.211.ca and click COVID-19 Resources for Albertans for access. Please provide updates for your organization when your services or hours have changed due to COVID-19. Update the community resource database team at communityresourcedatabase@distresscentre.com.

Financial Assistance

Whether you are searching for wage subsidy information, financial and employment resources for clients, grants or emergency benefits, we have compiled a comprehensive list of financial assistance resources to help navigate the economic and financial circumstances of the COVID-19 response.

United Way Centraide Canada (UWCC) and United Way Greater Toronto have sponsored the development of an online tool created by Prosper Canada to help vulnerable Canadians navigate the multitude of emergency benefits and financial relief available to them.

Financial Relief Navigator

Due to funding limitations, all applications for the COVID-19 Community Response Fund are now closed.

All applications for the Emergency Community Support Fund are now closed.

  • The COVID-19 Urgent Needs web page connects local charities with Calgarians who want to help financially.
  • The Pandemic Recovery Program will provide grants to diverse charitable organizations throughout the relief, recovery and resilience phases of the COVID-19 crisis.

Answer some simple personal questions on this Government of Canada site to find out about your eligibility for financial help. More benefits are being added regularly.

Find Financial Help

Momentum has launched three new helplines to help Calgarians who are suddenly without work, struggling small-business owners, or those looking for employment. These financial, business and employment helplines and coaching services are free and open to the public, Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Connect to Momentum’s community helpline or coaching services.

Enough for All’s weekly e-newsletter includes information for tenants, landlords as well as an Information Sheet for Employees, Renters, and Utility Customers in Alberta.

Other Non-Profit Resources

Resources to support the broader non-profit sector to cope with operational, communications, workforce, financial and business continuity planning in the face of massive sector disruption and change.

Developed by Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Ontario Division, in partnership with Mental Health Works and BounceBack Ontario, Return to the workplace: A psychological toolkit for heading back to work aims to serve employees and employers across a variety of sectors. This toolkit provides guidance on how to support the mental health of individuals as they plan safe transitions back into their workplaces and to help employers as they develop policies and procedures for supporting staff returning to the work environment. For employees, anxiety about returning to the previous ways of working and engaging with others is natural and expected.

This toolkit aims to support employees currently working from home and struggling with thoughts about returning to the workplace. It contains information about the common emotions people may be feeling as they think about returning to their workplace and guides readers through coping strategies. To learn more visit the CMHA Ontario website.

View toolkit

The City of Calgary recommends all partner organizations review and develop business continuity programs within the context of COVID-19. Please see the Maintaining business during an infectious disease outbreak document for a business continuity checklist specific to infectious disease outbreaks. This checklist and business continuity planning can be customized for the size of your organization.

These resources were developed as part of the collaborative Integrated Non-Profit Business Continuity Project from June 2018 to September 2019. The project included workshops and one on one support from Business Continuity consultants. A toolkit with resources specifically for non-profits including plans, guides and templates was designed to be part of a broader program however given the COVID-19 pandemic they are posted here as an additional resource to support your organization.

Access toolkit

#Here4YYC Calgary Chamber Business Resources include daily webinars, stories, blog posts and information to help your organization navigate and lead during this time of uncertainty.

CCVO Capacity Building Webinars cover topics of interest to nonprofit professionals and leaders, and will include presentations on public policy, leadership, human resources, and technology – all at no cost. See newly released webinar topics related to nonprofit leadership during COVID-19.

During this time of uncertainty for employers, there are many questions to consider with respect to human resources. CCVO’s Human Resources Community of Practice (HR Exchange) brings together engaged HR professionals to collaborate and build relationships, share resources, experiences, as well as create new knowledge or practices.

Join the HR Exchange Group

Employees may be experiencing a high degree of uncertainty, worry, anxiety, and stress about the health and safety of their loved ones, and how COVID-19 may disrupt their work and personal lives.

Many other organizations have put together helpful resource lists for the broader local, provincial, and national non-profit community, which include further information to help your organization and the communities they serve during these times. See below for a list of some of these resources from our peer organizations.

  • CCVO COVID-19 Resource for Non-Profits: Fundraising, Human Resources, Communications and more
  • Calgary Foundation COVID-19 Resources: Funding, Crisis Communications, Non-Profit Workplace Preparedness
  • Navigator’s Government COVID-19 Updates: Daily government updates and a comprehensive searchable listing of COVID-19 resources.
  • Calgary Chamber: Human Resources, Crisis Communications, Business Continuity, Financial Supports, Webinars
  • IntegralOrg COVID-19 Resources for Non-Profits and Charities: Advocacy, Workplace Preparedness, Remote Work, Employee and Employer Resources, Fundraising, Crisis Communications, News Releases
  • Alberta Nonprofit Network COVID-19 Resources for Non-Profits: Government Programs & Extensions, Social Services Support & Funding, Sector Advocacy Efforts, Resources for Talking to Funders
  • Imagine Canada COVID-19 and the Canadian Nonprofit Sector: Sector Advocacy, Fundraising Resources, Sector Relief Measures
  • Volunteer Canada COVID-19 and Volunteer Involving Organizations: Strategies Related to Volunteer Engagement, Corporate Community Engagement, and Continuity Planning
  • Charity Village COVID-19 Resources from Canadian Nonprofit Umbrella Groups: list of non-profit resource pages

It is our priority to be a source of reliable and timely communication for the social sector as well as the broader Calgary community as the COVID-19 situation unfolds; for more timely updates, announcements, and information *, please also consider following United Way of Calgary and Area on social media.

Tell us about your resource needs and suggestions

As you think about your organization’s needs during the COVID-19 crisis, what additional information or resources might help you feel better equipped?

If you have any questions or require further information – please contact us below.
Contact us

* Please note that we have made our best effort to vet and review all resources and links shared above but as we are linking to external sites United Way cannot ensure the ongoing quality and reliability of links. We will do our best to review content daily as required.

Elijah BeaverCOVID-19 Information & Resources for the Social Sector