NEED TO KNOW

Come make history with us on Friday, January 23 at the City Hall rink! To celebrate the EFCL's 105th birthday, we are hosting a night of connection and old-fashioned fun as part of the Edmonton Arts Council's Ice Grooves lineup. 

Grab your skates and bring the whole family for 6pm. We’ll keep the cold at bay with warm drinks, crackling fire pits, a live DJ performance, and EFCL games. Come for the skating, and stay for the music and company.

It will be a wonderful opportunity to connect with fellow volunteers from every corner of the city and enjoy a time-honored CL tradition: coming together on the ice! If you'd like to come out, please RSVP on Eventbrite, so we know how much cake and hot chocolate to bring.

We can’t wait to see you there!

NOTICE ABOUT THE COMMUNITY LEAGUE OPERATING GRANT (CLOG)

Most Leagues have completed their current CLOG intake submissions, which close at the end of February, and qualify for funding in June, 2026.

We encourage you to come and chat about the changes to the CLOG calculation with the City's grant department, Neighborhood Services, and our EFCL Fund and Membership Administrator on January 29. It’s a new process for all of us and we’d love to hear your questions and ensure Leagues have all of the information they need.

Not sure when your CLOG is due or to how to check the status of your submission? Contact our Fund and Membership Administrator, Michael Parker, at michael.parker@efcl.org

The EFCL has been working with the City of Edmonton to advocate for Community Leagues becoming eligible for Municipal Climate Change Action Centre (MCCAC) funding opportunities.

The process allows for Community Leagues to access funding for energy audits, energy efficiency retrofits (from the Community Energy Conservation Program), and solar energy projects (Municipal Electricity Generation Program). 

Contact greenleagues@efcl.org if you are interested in learning more! The deadline for applications is March 31, 2026 and funding is allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Community Leagues have been turning underutilized, seasonal spaces like tennis courts into off-leash dog parks through the Community League Temporary Dog Park Program! These parks provide more than just exercise for pets- they serve as hubs for social connection and neighborhood safety.

Community Leagues (exclusively) are able to apply to designate a temporary dog park within fully enclosed spaces on licensed land or parkland. This space can be used as a public dog park and for private rentals.

Educational resources will be provided for an overview of how to best develop the off-leash space, and consider potential long-term improvements in view of accessibility.

If you are interested in having your Community League take part and are willing to help out, contact offleash@edmonton.ca to submit an application.

READY TO GO GREEN? CHECK OUT THE NEW GREEN LEAGUES WEBSITE!

Visit our newly designed platform to explore the full range of sustainability programs and environmental projects we offer to Community Leagues!

The EFCL Green Leagues program supports communities with all sustainability-related projects, from community hall energy efficiency upgrades to growing projects of all kinds. Leagues serve as platforms for change, demonstration hubs, and information centres in our communities.

PROGRAMMING AND EVENTS MEET-UP - BROUGHT TO YOU BY RIVER CITY EVENTS

FROM OUR PARTNERS

In support of the EFCL, Stanley Construction Ltd. is proud to donate its employees’ time to community projects. If your League facility or rink requires small repairs or fixes, Stanley would be delighted to come out to determine if the work is within their capabilities and take care of it for you!  

Projects that Stanley has completed for Leagues include:

• Building benches for rinks and changing rooms
• Repairing bench doors, hockey rink boards, and other rink infrastructure
• Cleaning rooms, disposing of old furniture and other items
• Executing small demolition projects
• Other odd, small jobs where required

All of Stanley Construction Ltd.’s operations are fully insured and covered for these types of small projects.

If any League is interested in participating and taking advantage of this initiative, they can contact Stanley Construction directly at (780) 455-0216 or email Alisa Colmer at acolmer@stanleyconstruction.ca

UPCOMING EVENTS

• January 22- Hall Rentals Quarterly Meet-up
• January 23- EFCL's 105th Birthday Bash
• January 27- SPICE Up Your Life: Simplified Solar for Community Leagues
• January 29- Ask Us Anything: The New CLOG Calculation 
• February 4- Where Did All the Volunteers Go? Part 1: League Visibility
• February 10 - Programming and Events Meet-up
• February 18- Generally on Top of Things: How to Plan Your League’s Next AGM

• Deadline: January 28, 2026

• Deadline: January 31, 2026

• Deadline: February 1, 2026

Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities 
Community Development Grants The Jumpstart Community Development Grants provide funding to organizations to deliver inclusive sport and recreation programs for children and youth from financially disadvantaged backgrounds and youth with disabilities.

• Deadline: February 6, 2026

Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program 
The Events Component of the Government of Canada’s Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program supports community-based public events that promote intercultural or interfaith understanding and celebrate community history or culture.

• Deadline: February 18, 2026

TELUS STORYHIVE Voices 
Produce your own 6+ episode video series about anything- from kids' content to outdoor adventures and everything in between, the sky is the limit on your creativity!

• Deadline: February 20, 2026

• Deadline: February 23, 2026

ASK AN ADVISOR

Sandra Johnston

Board Development Advisor 

A: Not only can the board play a role in identifying and vetting potential board members, the board should be taking on that role.  

Most Community League bylaws require an election of board members at the annual general meeting (AGM) with nominations coming from the meeting participants during the meeting.  League boards who do not have candidates identified for each position are opening the board to the risk that no one volunteers or that someone unsuitable volunteers. The League is then leaving their board to chance. 

At the same time, it is important that boards do not create barriers to joining the board. Some bylaws narrow the number of people who can run for the board or can run for executive positions so significantly that they suffer vacancies for years or create situations where volunteers feel they can never leave the board.  

Without any changes to current bylaws, League boards can establish Nominating Committees to do the work of understanding the skills, attributes and demographics needed on the board, advertising for new board members and identifying likely candidates from the membership list, event participants, or community at large. The committee then gathers information from the candidates and can meet with them to establish whether the League is a good fit for that potential board member and vice versa. In the advertisement for the AGM, people interested in being on the board can be encouraged to reach out to the nominating committee. The EFCL has developed some short and snappy position descriptions included in our AGM Planning Toolkit.  Many boards use a questionnaire to find out more about potential board members. 

The Nominating Committee then nominates candidates at the AGM, either individually or as a slate depending on the bylaws and neighbourhood sentiment. People who have not applied to the Nominating Committee can still be nominated and run for positions at the AGM because that’s democracy but the Board knows it has at least one qualified candidate for each open position. 

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