Funding
Click the buttons below to go directly to your desired page, or scroll down to view or download the funding handbook.
How Funding Works Learn about how funding works.
Deadlines All the dates you need to know for using allocated home education funding.
Policy Read our funding policy and receipt submission requirements.
Claiming Funding Learn how to properly complete the Expense Form and claim a refund.
Expense Form Go directly to the Expense Form. Click here for the printable version.
Submit Receipts Submit your Expense Form and receipts online.
Purchase Orders How to use Purchase Orders (direct billing) for select vendors.
EFT Application Apply for Electronic Funds Transfer for direct deposit of refunds.
Transfer Unclaimed Funds How to designate unclaimed funding to our school rather than having it go back to AB Education.
Questions? Contact: wisdomfinance@gilbertineinstitute.com or 780-741-2113
Funding is available for each student in the amount of $901. This is available via refund or direct purchase, with half available beginning in fall, and the second half in spring. Submissions are accepted throughout the school year, collected on the last business day of each month and paid six weeks from that date.
Read more for some frequently asked questions and answers about funding.
FUNDING POLICY and Receipt Submission Requirements
Be sure to read the Gilbertine Institute Funding Policy carefully to help you avoid errors.
The most current edition of AB Education's Standards for Home Ed Reimbursement may be found here.
With questions about the Funding Policy please contact wisdomfinance@gilbertineinstitute.com or 780-741-2113
Funding may be claimed in two ways: via Purchase Order (direct billing to vendor) or by receipt refund.
In order to claim educational funding via receipt refund, complete the Resource Expense Form as per the instructions, and either submit it using our online receipt submitter, or mail them to us.Your Education Program Plan must be approved in order to unlock funding.
For ease and simplicity, we process submissions monthly. Receipts sent on or before the last business day of each month will be reimbursed by EFT on the last business day of the following month, with the exception of the May 31 deadline. The final payment is an 6 week turn-around (mid-July), as so many families wait until that deadline to submit claims. Receipts may be sent in at any point during the year. Take care when completing your claim; exceptionally organized and accurate claims will recieve priority treatment!
Before you begin:
- You may mail claims to us or use our digital receipt submitter. If mailing, we do recommend that you make a copy of the Expense Form and receipts in case your originals are lost in the mail.
- Receipts must be for expenses that you incurred for the home education of your children. Allowable and non-allowable expenses are listed in our Funding Policy. If the educational nature of your purchase is not self-evident, please attach a written explanation of how the purchase fits into your education program plan. Receipts may be up to two years old at the time we reimburse them.
- Please carefully follow the instructions included with the form.
Click here for the Resource Expense Claim Form (PDF). Save it to your computer, and ensure that you open it in Adobe. Please follow the instructions on page 1 carefully, as failure to do so will delay a refund. The form will automatically calculate totals for you. Once completed and signed, print it to accompany your submission. If you would rather complete the form by hand, please download and print this version.
Download the file to your computer, open it with Adobe Reader, fill it in, print and sign it, and send it into the WISDOM office with your original receipts, or use our online submitter. NOTE: This file will not work properly when it is opened in a web browser or the Preview app on macOS.
Mail your claim to: WISDOM Home Schooling, Box 78, Derwent, AB T0B 1C0.
EFT Application Apply for Electronic Funds Transfer for direct deposit of refunds. Please ensure that we have this form before the end of September. Refunds are transmitted electronically. If we do not have this form until after a submission deadline, you will not receive a refund until the next payment date, or at the end of the school year via cheque.
If you do not claim funding after the second year, it will expire. You have the choice of whether it will go back to Alberta Education, or whether you allocate it to us to continue to support home schoolers. Click here for information.
Questions? Email us at wisdomfinance@gilbertineinstitute.com
Apply for Electronic Funds Transfer for direct deposit of refunds.
You may complete this form digitally and email it to us. To do so, download the file to your computer, open it with Adobe Reader, complete and return to us via email to wisdomeft@gilbertineinstitute.com. NOTE: This file may not work properly if it is opened in a web browser or the Mac preview program.
If we do not have an EFT application on file for you, you will receive one refund cheque at the last refund date of the year.
Schedule of our funding year (subject to change):
August 31 - Education Program Plan Submission Deadline
Your Education Program Plan must be approved by your facilitator prior to the release of funding. You may send receipts to us at any time. Please ensure that your facilitator has your EPP before August 31 if possible, in order to expedite the approval process. Funding is not available until the plan is approved, and approval may take time.
September 18 - Use Purchase Orders (for up to half of your annual funding, 2nd half available for PO use in January. PO use ends mid-May.)
If you choose to use Purchase Order numbers (POs) before the funding deadline, you agree to pay for the purchase yourself if you change schools before September 29*. POs are only available to those who have an approved plan. (If you submit your plan on the deadline, it will not be approved immediately, so if you intend to use POs in September, please submit your plan as soon as possible.)
September 29*
Enroll with us before this date to be eligible for funding. This includes the approval of your program plan.
September 30* - EFT form submission deadline
Want to claim a refund? We need your EFT Form before we can refund you via direct deposit.
September 30* - Receipt Submission Deadline
Receipts submitted before the last day of the month will be processed to receive up to the first 50% refund on the last business day of October. Refunds will be direct deposited, so please be sure you've completed and returned your EFT Form to us. Failure to do so will delay your refund. Funding is only available to those with approved EPPs.
October 31* - Receipt Submission Deadline for Reimbursement
Receipts submitted before the last day of the month will be processed to receive up to the first 50% refund on the last business day of November.
November 30* - Receipt Submission Deadline for Reimbursement
Receipts submitted before the last day of the month will be processed to receive up to the first 50% refund on the last business day of December.
December 31* - Receipt Submission Deadline for Reimbursement
Receipts submitted before the last day of the month will be processed to receive up to the first 50% refund on the last business day of January.
January 13 - Begin to use Purchase Orders for the second 50% of funding (or the full amount if you have not yet accessed any).
January 31* - Receipt Submission Deadline for Reimbursement
Receipts submitted before the last day of the month will be processed to receive up to the first 50% refund on the last business day of February.
February 28* - Receipt Submission Deadline for Reimbursement
Receipts submitted before the last day of the month will be processed to receive up to the first 50% refund on the last business day of March.
March 31* - Receipt Submission Deadline for Reimbursement
Receipts submitted before the last day of the month will be processed to receive up to 100% of funding refund on the last business day of April.
April 30* - Receipt Submission Deadline for Reimbursement
Receipts submitted before the last day of the month will be processed to receive up to 100% of funding refund on the last business day of May.
May 31* - Purchase Order use closes for the year
Complete any purchase orders before this date. This means that you will need to begin the process with the vendor as early as possible in order to ensure the purchase order is finalized before the deadline.
May 31* - Receipt Submission Deadline for Reimbursement
Receipts submitted before May 31 will be processed to receive up to 100% of funding refund on July 15. Receipts received up to this date are eligible for refund for the second 50% of funding (as well as the first 50% if not yet claimed).
*or the last business day of the month
Notes: When sending us time-sensitive items in the mail, please be sure that your post office postmarks it on or before the deadline. It may be a good idea to send items in registered mail, if you are concerned about them getting lost. We recommend you copy anything you are going to send in the mail, because occasionally, receipts do get lost. Please do not send receipts with your facilitator.
Questions? Email wisdomfinance@gilbertineinstitute.com
WISDOM families with funding available may use a Purchase Order number to shop at specific vendors*. This purchase order is given to the vendor at the time of purchase, the vendor then bills your Gilbertine Institute funding account directly.
To view a current list of vendors working with WISDOM Purchase Orders, please click here. Vendors, if you would like to be added to our list, please email purchaseorders@gilbertineinstitute.com to get the necessary paperwork.
In 2023–2024, purchase orders are available from September 19 through May 31, as long as you have available funding.
Remember, your Educational Program Plan must be approved by your facilitator before your funds will be released, including for Purchase Orders. For program plan templates and samples, please click here. Complete POs before May 31. This means that you will need to begin the process with the vendor by May 31 in order to ensure the purchase order is finalized before the deadline.
How to use a Purchase Order Number
Each purchase order (PO) is for a particular vendor (store) for specific items. Because a purchase order is a “promise to pay” it can be issued only for resources approved by the AB Home Education Regulation. See our Funding Policy for details.
Using a Purchase Order Over the phone & In-Store:
IN-STORE
Preferred (if you know in advance what you intend to purchase):
- Call the vendor.
- Tell them you will be using a WISDOM purchase order.
- Give them the list of items that you will be purchasing, your name, and WISDOM’s contact information.
- They will tally your items and contact the WISDOM office with the list and total.
- WISDOM will give the vendor a PO number, and your order will be waiting for you to pick up.
- Go to the store, present your identification, and pick up your order.
- The vendor will bill The Gilbertine Institute (WISDOM) out of your available funding.
ONLINE
For select vendors who are geared toward home educators.
- Each vendor may be different.
- In the checkout process, there may be a box for "Purchase Order Number". Type WISDOM. Alternately, you may need to email the vendor and let them know the items you wish to purchase, and that you want to use a WISDOM PO.
- The vendor will send the invoice us.
- Once your items are approved, WISDOM will issue a PO to the vendor.
- Your transaction is complete, and the vendor will ship your items to you.
- The vendor will bill The Gilbertine Institute (WISDOM) out of your available funding.
You may also call us at the office to discuss how to use Purchase Orders at 780-741-2113.
*Vendors appear on our list because they have entered into an agreement with us to direct bill for their services or resources. This does not constitute our implicit approval of any or all services or resources they choose to make available in their stores.
The Home Education Grant supports educational choice for students and parents. For each home education student, the school authority is provided $1,802. Half of this is allocated to the school authority to support the home education student, and half ($901) is allocated to the parent or guardian as reimbursement for instructional materials and services that support the instructional program. At the end of a two year period, unclaimed funds are recovered by Alberta Education, unless parents transfer unclaimed funds to their school authority.
How it works:
- Submit receipts with a completed Expense Claim form. When you have submitted eligible receipts for at least 75% of the total funding available, you will receive the full $901.
- You have until May 31 to submit expense claims, or May 21 to claim funding using purchase orders (direct billing to vendors).
- Unclaimed funding from one year will be carried over to the next year. You have up to two years to access home education funding.
- At the end of the two year period, unclaimed funding will return to Alberta Education, or
- parents may transfer unclaimed and expiring funding to the WISDOM Home Schooling department of the Gilbertine Institute in order to provide educational supports and services (such as assisting unfunded families who join us throughout the year).
Submit the form below, and Finance will send a pre-filled Transfer of Unclaimed Funds form for you to sign:
Alternatively, you may fill out the request form yourself to transfer unclaimed funds to us.
