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Special Funding Opportunities
Current funding opportunities for COVID-19 and Ukraine are available to the public on our website.
National Funding Opportunities
Adult Education, Environment, and Housing Initiatives Funded
Catherine Donnelly Foundation
The Catherine Donnelly Foundation is committed to transforming the lives of those in underinvested communities in Canada. The Foundation provides support in the areas of adult education, environment, and housing. In the area of adult education, support is provided to organizations that use adult education processes that promote justice and equity for new Canadians, especially refugees and migrant workers, Indigenous peoples, and other marginalized or excluded populations. Environment support includes efforts that catalyze public support and advocacy for fast and deep-reaching systemic climate change solutions, paired with a rapid shift toward green consumption and behavioral patterns at the level of the individual. In the area of housing, the Foundation supports projects that address homelessness and the lack of affordable housing through research, policy development, communication initiatives, capacity building, and advocacy within the sector. The next deadline for letters of inquiry is August 4, 2022. Visit the Foundation's website to download the application guidelines.
Grants for Commemorations and Gatherings Honoring Canadian Residential School Survivors
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation: Na-mi-quai-ni-mak Community Support Fund
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation's Na-mi-quai-ni-mak Community Support Fund provides small grants of up to $10,000 to Indigenous communities, survivor organizations, and registered nonprofit organizations for community-based healing and remembrance honoring residential school survivors in Canada. The Fund will support communities in pursuing the activities they feel are best, including, but not limited to, community-led healing gatherings; ceremonial activities, such as memorial feasts, giveaways, etc.; memorial or commemorative markers, including healing gardens, murals, carvings, plaques, etc.; and the maintenance of burial sites. Projects should have demonstrated inclusion of residential school survivors in the planning and execution of the commemoration or gathering. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Visit the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation website to access the application form and guidelines.
Funding Available for Canadian Documentary Films
Hot Docs: Film Funds
Hot Docs is dedicated to advancing and celebrating the art of documentary. Through its Film Funds, Hot Docs provides documentary makers with development, production, and completion grants, as well as professional development opportunities. Applications are currently being accepted through the following programs: The Hot Docs-Slaight Family Fund supports filmmakers telling engaging, high-quality stories that embrace music artists in all their forms and that demonstrate Canadian music's role in the world. The Fund also welcomes international music stories told through the lens of Canadian filmmakers. Grants ranging from $15,000 to $60,000 are provided, along with creative and professional development support. The Hot Docs Ted Rogers Fund provides production grants of up to $20,000 to Canadian documentary filmmakers. In order to be eligible, applicants must be a corporation unaffiliated with any licensed network or programming undertaking. The deadline to apply for both of these programs is July 27, 2022. Visit the Hot Docs website to learn more about these and other Film Funds programs.
Support for Conservation Efforts in Canada and the U.S.
Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's Outdoor Fund
The Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's Outdoor Fund supports conservation efforts in North America. Support is provided to programs and initiatives aimed at conserving wildlife and habitat, connecting new audiences to the outdoors, advocating for access and sportsmen's rights, and supporting military and veterans. Initiatives must be national in scope or be located near a retail Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's, or Tracker Boat Center. Types of support include project support, event sponsorships, general operating support, and capital grants. In Canada, eligible applicants include registered charities, provincially registered nonprofit organizations, and municipalities and public institutions. Applications are accepted throughout the year. The online application form is available on the Bass Pro Shops website.
Regional Funding Opportunities
Funding Targets Mental Health and Autism in the Tri-Cities Area of British Columbia
Laurel Foundation
The Laurel Foundation works to support the betterment of people's mental health within the Tri-Cities area of the Lower Mainland in British Columbia. The Foundation's areas of funding focus include 1) mental wellness, including initiatives that promote mental wellness in the everyday world, in the classroom, at work, and in the community; and 2) autism spectrum, including program development and research for persons with autism spectrum disorder, with a focus on improving their quality of life. Funding supports research, pilot programs, and innovative service delivery models. Applications are accepted throughout the year. Visit the Foundation's website to download the application form or complete the online grant application.
Giving Program Benefits Saskatchewan Communities
SaskWater Community Investment Program
SaskWater's Community Investment Program supports Saskatchewan communities by providing sponsorships of cash or in-kind contributions and donations of cash or promotional items. The company's areas of interest include partnership, community enhancement, environment and sustainability, and First Nations and diversity. Support may be provided to provincial activities, customer communities, potential SaskWater customer communities, or to organizations located in communities where SaskWater employees live and work. There is no deadline to apply. Visit the SaskWater website to complete the online application form.
Grants Foster Cohesion in the Calgary Area
Calgary Foundation: Neighbour Grants
The Calgary Foundation supports community projects in the Calgary area. The Foundation's Neighbour Grants program provides funding of up to $7,500 to help people build their sense of inclusive belonging in their own neighborhoods and communities. Support is provided for projects that build gathering spaces, engage people in creative ways to address concerns, foster a sense of pride and presence, give people the chance to get involved in community life, and plan and guide neighborhood and community development. Projects must take place in Calgary and area, including Calgary; Banff; the municipal districts of Bighorn and Kananaskis; the counties of Foothills, Rocky View, and Wheatland; and the nations of Kainai, Piikani, Siksika, Stoney Nakoda, and Tsuut'ina. Registered charities and other qualified donees are eligible to apply. The upcoming application deadlines are August 10 and September 13, 2022. Visit the Foundation's website to download the Neighbour Grants guidelines.
Support for Projects Celebrating Manitoba's Francophone Community
Francofonds
Francofonds is the foundation of the francophone community in Manitoba. Francofonds provides grants for projects that celebrate the francophone community in Manitoba, including those that promote French language and culture, meet the needs of Manitoba's francophone community, and provide economic, social, or cultural benefit to Manitoba's francophone community. Registered charities and francophone authors, artists, and composers are eligible to apply. Community organizations and groups that do not have a charitable number may have a registered charity sponsor their project. The application deadline is September 15, 2022. Visit the Francofonds website to download the applicant guide and application form for nonprofit organizations or individuals. (Information is only available in French on the Francofonds website.)
Government Funding Opportunities
Program Promotes Employment for Individuals With Disabilities in Canada
Employment and Social Development Canada
The Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities funds projects that support individuals, employers, and others that work to support disability inclusion and accessibility in employment. Support is provided for national or regional projects that promote an inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, address both new and longstanding labor market barriers for persons with disabilities, and embrace innovative programming in support of persons with disabilities who are most underserved or further from the labor market. The deadline to apply is July 22, 2022.
Grants Bolster Security for Ontario Organizations at Risk of Hate Crimes
Government of Ontario
The Ontario Grant to Support Anti-Hate Security Measures for Faith-Based and Cultural Organizations is a $15 million, attestation-based grant that will provide funds to faith-based and cultural organizations to increase safety and security measures. Eligible applicants must host regular gatherings of religious, spiritual, or cultural significance, and hosting these gatherings must be a primary activity of the applicant. Applications will be accepted until August 31, 2022.
PathFinder: Featured Resource
A library of quality resources designed to help you develop your career path as a grants professional
We’re Here to Clear the Air on What Trust-Based Philanthropy Is and What It Isn’t
There has been a lot of debate around the issue of trust-based philanthropy. A recent article published in Alliance magazine attempts to provide clarity. Written by grantmakers and co-founders of the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, the article "We're Here to Clear the Air on What Trust-Based Philanthropy Is and What It Isn't" defines the different aspects of trust-based philanthropy and argues that this approach works as a strategy to address unequal power dynamics between grantmakers and nonprofits.
Upcoming Online Education Trainings
Live Webinars
Unless otherwise noted, all Online Education Trainings are webinars,
are 90 minutes in duration, and are scheduled to begin at 2 PM Eastern Time.
FREE: What Nonprofits Need to Know About Smart Tech
Learn what's needed to reinvent work and achieve transformative impact with an ethical and human-centered approach to adopting smart tech. During this webinar, Beth Kanter and Allison Fine will provide an overview of what smart tech is and does, inspiring use-cases, and why it is important for nonprofits to integrate it carefully into their organizations. They will offer a framework for successfully using smart tech that includes staying human-centered, preparing your people and organization for implementing smart tech, and staying knowledgeable and reflective, and will also share tips for broad stakeholder engagement, including senior leadership, in the planning and implementation of smart tech. This webinar will provide an overview of The Smart Nonprofit, inspiring nonprofit use-cases for program delivery, fundraising, and the back office; the steps for assessing the responsible and ethical use of smart tech and implementing it well within your organization; and information on how to engage a wide group of stakeholders in the implementation of smart tech. The webinar will be held on Tuesday, July 12, 2022.
Exploring Social Entrepreneurship
This webinar will give participants an introduction to the concept of social enterprise and how to employ business principles to make social change. Mindy Muller, President/CEO of Community Development Professionals, LLC, will discuss using social enterprise to raise funds within nonprofits, as for-profit businesses, and how to create a business to employ the hardest-to-serve residents of a community. This training is appropriate for people interested in launching a mission-driven business, nonprofits considering raising money through social enterprise, or others interested in learning more about applying business principles in mission-driven work. Participants will have the opportunity to develop working knowledge of concepts of social enterprise and entrepreneurship; learn various business structures of social enterprise; and explore how to increase organizational impact through deployment of social enterprise constructs. The webinar will be held on Wednesday, July 13, 2022.
Proposal Writing 101
If you are new to proposal writing, this webinar is for you! During this 90-minute webinar, Alice Ruhnke, President of GrantStation, will teach you how to use a Program Planning Framework to plan your grant applications so they tell a strong, consistent story. As we go through the Framework, each section of a typical grant application will be highlighted with information on what funders are looking for and tips on how to write that section. By the time the webinar is over, you will understand what funders are looking for in grant applications, be able to decipher confusing grant-related terminology, have a usable system to connect all the pieces of an application together, and have strategies to infuse your organization's strengths in your proposal to make it strong and competitive. The webinar will be held on Thursday, July 21, 2022.
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Editor: Diana Holder
Contributing Writer: Ashlyn Simmons