News
Request for Proposals
June 2025
Blended Finance Products
Despite growing interest in impact investing, many high-potential social and environmental solutions remain underfunded due to perceived risk, lack of track record or uncertain financial returns. Traditional capital providers often deem these initiatives too risky to support, even when there is a clear line of sight to revenue generation, cost savings and multi-stakeholder value creation.
Blended finance offers a pathway to unlock this capital by using catalytic sources such as public or philanthropic funding to de-risk investments and crowd in commercial capital. In Canada, this pathway has been mostly theoretical. The Canadian market has few examples of fully operationalized, investable blended finance products that have successfully mobilized diverse forms of capital towards systemic impact.
We are seeking to support the operationalization of blended finance investment products that address critical social or environmental challenges in Canada. Our goal is to help proponents advance an “almost ready” concept or strategy into a viable, investable vehicle capable of attracting multiple streams of capital and scaling impact. We see this support as strategic activation capital, aimed at unlocking larger resources and demonstrating a possible pathway to further partnerships and/or market-wide learnings.
By doing so, we aim to build on the “case study” of what is possible in the Canadian context and catalyze a new wave of blended finance solutions capable of addressing large-scale challenges with market-aligned approaches.
- Call for proposals is now closed
- Selection of successful proposal expected in August 2025
- The RFP
FAQs
Below are answers to some questions the team has been receiving.
Can I apply for the total funding of $150,000?
No, the $150,000 will be split between two organizations. We suggest applicants submit budgets in the $60–75,000 range.
What is the difference between RCP’s different funding?
CRC (Conditional Repayable Capital) is our investment fund, used to make repayable investments under the SFF mandate. NRC (Non-Repayable Capital) supports grants for Capacity Development and Sector-Wide Support; it’s non-repayable and specifically for strengthening social finance intermediaries (SFIs) across Canada.
What additional support can RCP provide?
In addition to the non-repayable capital contribution under the RFP, RCP also provides in-kind support. RCP works with each recipient to identify areas of support where RCP can contribute and, in the past, has provided additional resources, templates, advising and network introduction.
Can I include this funding in my BF product’s capital stack?
No. This NRC funding is for enabling the development of your blended finance product—not for use as concessionary capital within the stack.
Can unsuccessful applicants from previous RFPs submit applications?
Yes, they can. We would encourage previous applicants to address our feedback if they want to reapply.
How do I know if I am early vs late stage?
Indicators of a late-stage investment product can include: completion of a pilot, a strong investment thesis with a defined capital stack, and investor soundboarding. If assumptions around the size, investor mix, and capital stack need more validation, it is probably early-stage.
Is there an ideal blended finance structure from the perspective of RCP?
No, we are open to any structure that de-risks an investment opportunity.
Can nonprofits apply?
Yes, the status of the existing organization is not a screening factor for us. Pleas refer to the RFP for details on eligibility.
Are there geographical preferences?
We’re looking to fund pooled strategies with a Canada focus.
What costs can the funding be applied to?
We are flexible on the use of funds: the RFP outlines sample costs.
Does RCP invest directly into social purpose organizations (SPOs) or project-based financing?
Not at this time. We currently prioritizing pooled strategies and haven’t activated our direct investment pillar yet.
Does a $2M pooled strategy bring enough scale for RCP’s CRC?
No. For example, our typical community investment commitments have ranged between $3 and $4 million so $2M would be sub-scale for us.
Do I need to present my data room for this RFP?
No, since this is not a call for investment, we don’t require data room access; however, if one is available, it will be looked upon favourably.
Can emerging fund managers apply to this offering?
Yes as long as they fulfill the applicant qualifications.