SPRE Resources
Explore below for our respository of resources for social purpose real estate (SPRE) projects. Please note that many of these resources are external content that we have compiled.
The following resources are informational resources and toolkits which will provide an overview of key steps before and after purchasing real estate for your non-profit organization. These resources will be most helpful to you if you need assistance determining your organization’s needs and trajectory, more information about accurately projecting operational and occupancy budgets, borrowing capacity, and key information about the property acquisition process.
- A Developer’s Guide to Passive House Buildings – “Passive House is a way of designing buildings to achieve exceptional energy efficiency and superior thermal comfort.” (Source: Passivehouse Canada)
- A Step-by-Step Guide to Developing Affordable Housing (Source: Sustainable Housing Initiative & Alberta Rural Development Network)
- Action Plan for Toronto’s Culture Sector by City of Toronto
- Affordable Housing Development Navigator Project (from the Public Good Society of Dartmouth – Nova Scotia)
- Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts – Resources about CLTs
- CMHC Resources
- Community Developer’s Toolkit (Source: New Commons Development)
- Community Investment Trust (CIT): Resources on how this financial model works (US-based organization)
- Energy management resources for buildings (Government of Canada)
- Excel and PDF Templates for building and leasing space, real estate readiness, finance and strategy, and budgeting (Source: Community Vision). Disclaimer: this website includes tax forms for US-based organizations that may not be relevant for Canadian organizations.
- Hiring & Working with Development Consultants (Source: BC Nonprofit Housing Association)
- Inclusive Community Engagement Toolkit (Source: Capire)
- Preparing a Pro-Forma
- ARGUS Developer: This software provides a free-trial with a pro forma template to work with
- Pro-forma checklist source: CHC Quality Supportive Housing
- TAF’s Retrofit Accelerator
- TOzoning: noteworthy land use planning decisions by Toronto City Council
- Organizational Readiness Checklist
- Roadmap for Pre-Development Fund
SPRE 101:
- SPRE 101: Introduction to Social Purpose Real Estate
- Planning for Success: Municipal and Community Approval
- Routes to Acquisition: Securing the Right Location
- Business Modeling: Understanding Costs and Revenues
- Funding Your Project: Accessing and Leveraging Financing
- Vision to Reality: Concept Development & Design
How to Put Affordable in the Missing Middle:
The following resources are opportunities and funds from governmental institutions and municipalities to assist with social-purpose real estate initiatives.
National
- CMHC Funding Programs
- Provincial Affordable Housing Programs
- Build Canada Homes (Ongoing applications)
- Canada Cultural Spaces Fund (receives applications on an ongoing basis)
- Directory of Energy Efficiency Programs for Homes
- Green Municipal Fund
Alberta
- Active Communities Initiative
- Affordable Housing Partnership Program
- Indigenous Housing Capital Program
British Columbia
- BC Builds
- Northern Development: funding programs
- BC Housing Funding Programs
Manitoba
- Housing Starts Here
- Efficiency Manitoba
- Winnipeg, MN: Housing programs
New Brunswick
Newfoundland & Labrador
Nova Scotia
- Community Housing Acquisition Program
- Affordable Housing Development Program
- Community Housing Operating Support Program
- Land for Housing Program
- Student Housing Development Program
- Housing Programs
Ontario
- Toronto, ON:
- Bracebridge, ON: Community Improvement Grants And Loans
- Brampton, ON: Multiple types of funding opportunities for Entrepreneurs in Brampton
- Cambridge, ON: Mixed Use Conversion and Restoration Grant Program
- Hamilton, ON: Ontario Renovates
- Kingston, ON: Affordable Housing Capital Investment Program
- Kitchener, ON: Affordable housing incentives
- Northumberland County: Affordable Housing Grant Program
- Ottawa:
- Oxford County, ON: New Multi-Unit Rental Stream
- Peel Region, ON: Peel Affordable Rental Incentives Program
- Simcoe County, ON: Secondary Suites Program
- Waterloo Region, ON: Incentives to Create Affordable Housing
Saskatchewan
- Community Partners
- Saskatoon, SK: Affordable Housing Incentives
- The following resources are non-public funding opportunities and organizations who partner with non-profit organizations and community partners to invest in social purpose real estate. You are encouraged to reach out to these organizations independently to seek opportunities.
- Alterna Savings
- Avenue living
- Assiniboine Credit Union (Manitoba)
- BKR Capital: Black Innovation Fund
- Enbridge: Home Renovation Savings
- Catherine Donnelly Foundation grants (Civic Engagement for Social Change and Environment streams with a deadline of June 3, 2025)
- Community Bonds Overview by Capacity Build Consulting
- Community Housing Transformation Centre
- Foundation for Black Communities: Black Ideas Grant
- Grant Connect
- Housing Investment Corporation
- Jubilee Fund (Manitoba)
- New Commons Development: New Market Funds
- Tapestry: Community Bonds
- TD Ready Commitment
- Vancity: SPRE Financing
- The following resources are public opportunities and funds to assist with social purpose real estate initiatives.
- Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund by Face Coalition
- Community Futures Canada
- Futurepreneur
- Local Projects Grant by Community Housing Transformation Centre
- Magna Community Fund
- Ontario Trillium Foundation (multiple grants)
- Capital Grant
- Ourboro: Co-Ownership
- Toronto Atmospheric Fund
The following resources are examples of Canadian shared spaces, practices in affordable housing, and examples of best practices that currently exist in Canada.
- BC Housing Research Center
- BC Society of Transition Houses: Women-Centred Housing Design
- Christie Refugee Welcome Centre: Building Board By-In (Panel Video)
- Creative Mixed-Use Case Studies
- Future Cities Canada (Case studies in report): How to leverage underutilized municipality-controlled real estate to create vibrant communities
- Indwell Lakeshore Lofts
- Red Door Shelter: Creative Mixed-Use project
- Rwandan Canadian Healing Centre: Affordable Housing for African Canadians
- SKETCH: Project Home, Community Bond Campaign
- Somali Centre for Culture & Recreation
- St. Clare’s Multifaith Housing: Partnerships & lessons learned
- Tamil Community Centre (example of a project timeline & predevelopment milestones)
The following reports help to define social purpose real estate as a concept and illustrate the importance of this infrastructure.
- Advancing the Right to Housing In Toronto from University of Toronto’s School of Cities
- A crisis in commercial real estate, a crisis in housing: two problems, one solution from Globe & Mail (author: David Clement)
- Building Capacity, Sharing Values: Shared Spaces & Social Purpose Real Estate from Tides Canada (author: LoriAnn Girvan)
- Canada: Social Purpose Real Estate Projects from Mondaq (authors: Melissa Timbres; Kristina L. Roberts)
- Engagement and activism in community land ownership: The emergence of community land trusts in London and Toronto (author: Susannah Bunce)
- “Homes not shelters”: co-productions of home in financialized social housing for women in Vancouver, Canada (author: Samantha Thompson)
- Inhibited Growth: Examining Public Investment Gaps in Black Infrastructure Needs from SCCR & Infrastructure Institute
- Making Space for Culture from City of Toronto
- Social Purpose Real Estate Study of Metro Vancouver from City Spaces
- The effects of cohousing model on people’s health and wellbeing: a scoping review (authors: Juli Carrere and others)
The following is a list of Social Purpose Real Estate training programs in Canada, mainly in Ontario.
- ArtsBuild Ontario Creative Spaces Training Series
- CADHO
- Chartered Institute of Housing Canada: Delivered through the Housing Academy online for each of our qualifications
- Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada
- First National Housing Professional Program
- Housing Policy Fundamentals by Simon Fraser University Continuing Studies
- Housing Professionals Mentorship Program
- Housing Services Corp (HSC): Online courses for End of Mortgage and Operating Agreements (EMO/A) (New cohort in September 2024)
- McMaster University Continuing Studies
- New Simplified Administration of RGI
- Rural Homelessness Webinars/Community of Practice by National Alliance to end Rural and Remote Homelessness
- Self-guided training on homelessness by Homelessness Learning Hub
- Skills Exchange for Good by Volunteer Canada | Benevoles Canada
- The Real Estate Development Institute of Canada (REDI Canada)
- Workshop & training on housing rights by Canadian Centre for Housing Rights
The following is a list of resources related to land acquisition for Social Purpose Real Estate projects.
The following is a list of Not-for-profit Development Managers who are knowledgeable about Social Purpose Real Estate.
- Cahdco
- Ellis Don Community Builders
- Kindred Works
- New Commons Development
- Raising the Roof
- SHS Consulting
- St. Clare’s
- Trinity Centres Foundation
Note: This is not a comprehensive list of developers operating in the country. The Infrastructure Institute advises all organizations to select a partner that works best for their project