Eligibility
Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund (SAR NIF)

Who is eligible

Contributions may be provided to:

• Canadian not-for-profit and volunteer organizations
• Governments (provincial, territorial, regional, municipal or Indigenous)
• Canadian universities and educational institutions
• Indigenous organizations
• For-profit Canadian organizations, if the project and its intended outcome do not result in a profit for the organization

Who is not eligible

• Individuals
• Federal departments and agencies
• International organizations

Mandatory cost share

You must have a confirmed commitment of at least 5% of your project's total cost from sources other than Public Safety Canada before you apply for funding. These sources can be cash funding or in-kind contributions.

• An in-kind contribution is a donation of labour, facilities or equipment instead of cash when a dollar value can be assigned
  • Rebates, vouchers and discounts are NOT considered to be in-kind contributions
  • When listing search and rescue volunteer hours as an in-kind contribution, the value will be set at $25 per hour
• A cash contribution is any money received from sources other than Public Safety Canada

Letters of commitment

Each contribution towards the mandatory cost share must be confirmed with a letter of commitment from the source. Each letter must contain:

• Name of individual, group or organization
• Clear statement of the commitment
• The type of contribution being made (in-kind and/or cash contribution)
• The exact dollar amount of the value of the contribution being made, and
• Signature and date

Public Safety Canada's contribution to the total project cost cannot be more than 95%.

General requirements

To apply for Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund (SAR NIF) funding you must:

• Be an eligible recipient
• Submit a project that addresses at least one of the annual priorities
• Plan a project with a maximum duration of 36 months
• Start after November 1, 2026
• Complete the application form, including:
  • mandatory project budget template
  • mandatory project work plan template
  • list of equipment, materials and supplies, if any
• Reach out to a partner and provide SAR NIF partner letter(s) of support (if applicable)
• Provide letters of commitment for the minimum 5% from other funding sources
• Submit your application uploaded with all related documents by May 15, 2026, 12 noon Pacific Time

Considerations for your project

Limitations on equipment funding

It is common for groups to request funding for equipment. SAR NIF funding cannot be used to purchase equipment like vessels, vehicles or buildings.

Equipment such as radios, GPS devices, and "command post"-type trailers are considered basic requirements for a search and rescue organization and do not qualify as "improvements".

To be eligible, your application must show how the equipment will help improve collaboration with other agencies or use new technologies to make search and rescue operations better.

If your organization needs essential equipment, look for support from local, provincial, territorial, or federal government departments through your national association.

Local, regional and national scope

SAR NIF is a federal program to improve Canada's national search and rescue system. The focus is on projects that support or scale to a national level. Regional projects may also be funded, if they involve partners or organizations from different jurisdictions.

Projects that focus on establishing local core capacity or capability will not be funded. Organizations that want to build or fund new capacity within a local community should ask for support from their local and/or provincial or territorial government.

Be sure to engage with your SAR NIF partner before submitting your application.

Profit and cost-recovery

SAR NIF is not meant to provide start-up funding to sell new products or services in order to profit from the search and rescue community.

You may include cost recovery and user fees as part of your sustainability plan, but you must clearly explain them in the sustainability section of your application.

Any plan to profit beyond recovering costs is not allowed.

If the project's aim is to turn it into a commercial activity after the end date, it is ineligible for SAR NIF funding.

Research projects

SAR NIF can support search and rescue related research by recognized academic institutions or other groups.

You must focus on one of the identified priorities and ideally reach out to a SAR NIF partner to discuss your intended project.

You must provide a plan for how you will share your research results with the broader SAR community, including how your results would improve search and rescue response or prevention.

Any expected ongoing or future costs of maintaining your findings or providing access to your research after the project is completed must be included in your sustainability plan.

Participation of Indigenous communities

Indigenous communities are eligible to apply for SAR NIF.

SAR NIF is meant to improve regional and national level search and rescue capacity. Proposals that only build local capacity are not eligible for funding.

Indigenous communities are encouraged to work with other Indigenous communities, other search and rescue partners, emergency management or first responders in order to submit project proposals that improve regional search and rescue.

Drone and Remotely Piloted Aircraft System Technology

SAR NIF funding has been provided to support the development of drone or Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) technology, training protocols and more in the past.

The national SAR volunteer associations have collaborated with other associations, like the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, to develop advice, guidance, and support for drone technologies in SAR tool kits.

SAR NIF will not fund projects that repeat efforts that have been done successfully.

If your organization is interested in funding the purchase of a drone or RPAS technology, you should reach out to the organizations involved in past drone projects to ask how your organization can learn from their experience.

List of previously approved projects

SAR NIF projects must be new initiatives. Please consult the list of previously approved projects to make sure you are proposing a new idea or concept.