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.
Toolkits and Templates
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.
- Action Plan for Toronto’s Culture Sector by City of Toronto
- Excel and PDF Templates of 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.
- Disclaimer: this website includes tax forms for US-based organizations that may not be relevant for Canadian organizations.
- 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
- Inclusive Community Engagement Toolkit (Source: Capire)
- Community Developer’s Toolkit (Source: New Commons Development)
- Hiring & Working with Development Consultants (Source: BC Nonprofit Housing Association)
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:
Funding and Financing
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.
- New Commons Development: New Market Funds
- Tapestry: Community Bonds
- Community Bonds Overview by Capacity Build Consulting
- Alterna Savings
- Community Housing Transformation Centre
- Vancity: SPRE Financing
- BKR Capital: Black Innovation Fund
- Meridian: Long Term Investing
- Enbridge: Housing Efficiency Rebate
- Avenue living
- Community Financial Resiliency Program
The following resources are public opportunities and funds to assist with social purpose real estate initiatives.
- Toronto’s Open Door Affordable Housing Program (Application portal closed)
- Local Projects Grant by Community Housing Transformation Centre
- Toronto Atmospheric Fund
- Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund by Face Coalition
- Futurepreneur
- Greenbrain
- Ourboro: Co-Ownership
- Magna Community Fund (Application portal closed)
- Resilient Communities Fund (Application portal closed)
- Neighborhood Grants program
- Active Space
The following resources are opportunities and funds from governmental institutions and municipalities to assist with social purpose real estate initiatives. CMHC initiatives also provides an opportunity to connect your organization with industry partners.
- Canada Cultural Spaces Fund by the Government of Canada
- Social Finance Fund by the Government of Canada
- Green Investment Fund – Province of Ontario
- Seed Funding “CMHC Seed Funding (Application Portal Currently Open)”
- CMHC Affordable Housing Options
- National Housing Co-investment fund
- CMHC Affordable Housing Programs
- City of Toronto: Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition Program (MURA)(Applications for 2023 funding have closed. The next call for applications is expected to open in 2024.)
- Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit
- Investment Readiness Program by Canadian Women’s Organization
- 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
- Sustainable Affordable Housing Initiative by Green Municipal Fund (Updated 2022)
- Ontario Renovates by Homeowner Ontario
- City of Kingston: Affordable Housing Capital Investment Program
- City of Kitchener: Affordable housing incentives
- North Humberland County: Affordable Housing Grant Program
- Planning Network (P4P): Canada Ontario Housing Benefit
- Oxford County: New Multi-Unit Rental Stream
- City of Peterborough: Development Charges Program
- Simcoe County: Secondary Suites Program
- Region of Waterloo: Incentives to Create Affordable Housing
- Canada Revenue Agency: Multi-generational Home Renovation Tax Credit (MHRTC)
- Canada Greener Homes Grant
Case Studies and Examples
The following resources are examples of Canadian shared spaces, practices in affordable housing, and examples of best practices that currently exist in Canada.
- BC Society of Transition Houses: Women-Centred Housing Design
- BC Housing Research Center
- Indwell Lakeshore Lofts
- Rwandan Canadian Healing Centre: Affordable Housing for African Canadians
- Somali Centre for Culture & Recreation
- Red Door Shelter: Creative Mixed-Use project
- St. Clare’s Multifaith Housing: Partnerships & lessons learned
- Future Cities Canada (Case studies in report): How to leverage underutilized municipality-controlled real estate to create vibrant communities
- Christie Refugee Welcome Centre: Building Board By-In (Panel Video)
- Tamil Community Centre (example of a project timeline & predevelopment milestones)
- Creative Mixed-Use Case Studies
- SKETCH: Project Home, Community Bond Campaign
The following reports help to define social purpose real estate as a concept and illustrate the importance of this infrastructure.
- Inhibited Growth: Examining Public Investment Gaps in Black Infrastructure Needs (Source: SCCR & Infrastructure Institute)
- Making Space for Culture (Source: City of Toronto)
- Social Purpose Real Estate Study of Metro Vancouver
- Building Capacity, Sharing Values: Shared Spaces & Social Purpose Real Estate (Source: TidesCanada, LoriAnn Girvan)
- 19 Engagement and activism in community land ownership: The
emergence of community land trusts in London and Toronto - A crisis in commercial real estate, a crisis in housing: two problems, one solution
- The effects of cohousing model on people’s health and wellbeing: a scoping review
- “Homes not shelters”: co-productions of home in financialized social housing for women in Vancouver, Canada
- Canada: Social Purpose Real Estate Projects
Training Programs and Resources
The following is a list of Social Purpose Real Estate training programs in Canada, mainly in Ontario.
- Arts Build Ontario Creative Spaces Training Series
- CADHO
- New Simplified Administration of RGI
- Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada
- Housing Professionals Mentorship Program
- Workshop & training on housing rights by Canadian Centre for Housing Rights
- Self-guided training on homelessness by Homelessness Learning Hub
- Chartered Institute of Housing Canada: Delivered through the Housing Academy online for each of our qualifications
- Rural Homelessness Webinars/Community of Practice by National Alliance to end Rural and Remote Homelessness
- First National Housing Professional Program
- Certificate of Canadian Housing Professional Learning by McMaster University Continuing Studies
- Housing Policy Fundamentals by Simon Fraser University Continuing Studies
- Skills Exchange for Good by Volunteer Canada | Benevoles Canada
- The Real Estate Development Institute of Canada (REDI Canada)
The following is a list of resources related to land acquisition for Social Purpose Real Estate projects.
- Nonprofit Lands Registry by Ontario Nonprofit Network
- Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition (MURA) by the City of Toronto (Applications for 2023 funding have closed).
The following is a list of Not-for-profit Development Managers who are knowledgeable about Social Purpose Real Estate.
- SHS Consulting
- Kindred Works
- Cahdco
- Ellis Don Community Builders
- Raising the Roof
- New Commons Development
- St. Clare’s
- Trinity Centres Foundation
Note: This is not a comprehensive list of developers operating in the province. The Infrastructure Institute advises all organizations to select a partner that works best for their project