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National Funding Opportunities
Support for Canadian School Music Programs
MusiCounts: Band Aid Program
MusiCounts celebrates musical excellence and puts musical instruments into the hands of kids who need them the most. The Band Aid Program provides musical instruments and equipment to curricular or extracurricular school music programs to ensure their continued success and sustained growth. Instruments provided are awarded in allotments between $5,000 and $15,000. The Program is open to elementary, junior high, secondary, and separate school music programs in Canada operating within a government board of education. Applications close on November 14, 2019. Visit the MusiCounts website to review the FAQs and start an online application in English or French.
Funding Combats Hunger Across Canada
Maple Leaf Centre for Action on Food Security: Feed Opportunity Fund
The Maple Leaf Centre for Action on Food Security seeks to advance food security in Canada. The Centre’s Feed Opportunity Fund supports organizations engaged in testing and expanding innovative approaches to advance food security, with a focus on affordability, accessibility, building individual and community capacity, expanding knowledge and evaluating impact through research, and fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing. Supported projects should work towards at least one of the following outcomes: consistent availability of nutritious and affordable food, the ability to physically access nutritious and affordable food in a convenient and dignified manner, the ability to afford nutritious food, basic food literacy, basic financial literacy and the ability to influence one’s own financial well-being, and the absence of social stigma associated with food assistance. Types of grants include Project Grants and Learning Grants. Registered charities and qualified donees are eligible to apply. Letters of intent must be received by November 22, 2019. Visit the Centre’s website to review the funding guidelines and learn more about each grant type.
Grants Enhance Health and Promote Science Education
AstraZeneca Canada Corporate Giving Program
AstraZeneca Canada’s Corporate Giving Program seeks to improve the health and quality of life of Canadians. The company supports projects and initiatives that improve healthcare in the company's local communities, promote science education and skills among young people, support chronic disease prevention programs for adolescents, or are connected to the giving and volunteer activities of company employees. Within these focus areas, funding interests include health education, public health, chronic disease prevention and management, medical research, science education, and addressing unmet health needs in underserved populations. Grants, sponsorships, and in-kind donations are provided. Applications are accepted and reviewed on a continuous basis. Visit the company’s website to start an online application.
Amateur Sports Initiatives Supported
Daryl K. Seaman Canadian Hockey Fund
The Daryl K. Seaman Canadian Hockey Fund, administered by the Calgary Foundation, makes grants to support all aspects of amateur ice hockey in Canada on a nationwide basis. In addition to amateur ice hockey, support is provided for activities that encourage young people to learn about, enjoy, and play amateur sports of all kinds, as well as initiatives that increase equal access and promote participation in community-based amateur sports. Qualified donees are eligible to apply. Grant requests must be submitted by November 12 of each year. Please contact Grants Staff for guidance prior to completing a grant request. Visit the Calgary Foundation’s website to download the funding guidelines.
Regional Funding Opportunities
New Brunswick Conservation Programs Funded
New Brunswick Wildlife Trust Fund
The New Brunswick Wildlife Trust Fund aims to further wildlife conservation in the province of New Brunswick. The Fund provides grants for a range of programs for the enhancement of New Brunswick’s wildlife, fish, and their habitats. Program areas include Fisheries Development, Wildlife Development, Trapping, Biodiversity Conservation, and Conservation Education. The annual application deadlines are May 1 and December 1. Visit the Fund’s website to review the guidelines for each program and start an online application.
Support for Social Justice Initiatives in British Columbia Schools
British Columbia Teachers’ Federation
The British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF) is the union of professionals representing 43,000 public school teachers in the province of British Columbia. BCTF is currently offering grants through the following programs: The Ed May Social Responsibility Fund assists teachers in developing and implementing violence-prevention, antiracist, multicultural, gender-equity, global, environmental, or peace resources. Social Justice Initiatives Grants fund social justice projects that have an ongoing and systemic impact on teachers and students across the province and in their community. Local Social Justice Grants provide seed money for activities or projects that will bring about systemic change for social justice in schools, districts, or communities in British Columbia. The deadline to apply for the Ed May Social Responsibility Fund is November 21, 2019. Applications for Social Justice Initiatives Grants are due by December 2, 2019. BCTF is accepting applications for Local Social Justice Grants through April 10, 2020, with grants awarded on a first come, first served basis. Details on each program are available on the BCTF website.
Grants Benefit Quebec Organizations and Women Entrepreneurs
J. Armand Bombardier Foundation
The J. Armand Bombardier Foundation supports organizations and projects that make an innovative and sustainable contribution to the development of individuals and communities. The Foundation accepts applications from registered charities across Canada, with the majority of support focused on Quebec. Grants are provided in the following sectors: arts and culture, education, health, and community support. Intent forms for these grants may be submitted at any time. In addition, the Foundation offers Excellence Grants for the Next Generation of Women Entrepreneurs. Through this program, three grants of $10,000 are awarded annually to women entrepreneurs in Quebec working in the cultural and creative field, the processing and manufacturing field, and the technological innovation field. Applications for the Excellence Grants for the Next Generation of Women Entrepreneurs are due by December 1, 2019. Visit the Foundation’s website to learn more about their sectors of intervention and review the criteria for the Next Generation of Women Entrepreneurs program.
Funds to Improve Child and Youth Mental Health in Nova Scotia
The Gordon Foundation for Children and Youth
The Gordon Foundation for Children and Youth funds initiatives that improve the mental and emotional health of children and youth in Nova Scotia. Grants of up to $3,000 are provided through the following programs: The Speakers Program sponsors speakers on topics that are relevant to the mental or emotional well-being of children and youth. Special Projects grants support initiatives that reflect and support the mental health and well-being of children and youth. Examples of previously funded projects include a sensory room for special needs children, a newsletter project for youth in care, theatrical productions, and school trips for urban students to visit rural communities. Individuals, schools, and organizations working with children and youth are eligible to apply. The remaining application deadline for this year is December 31, 2019. Application guidelines and forms are available on the Foundation’s website.
Government Funding Opportunities
Funds Expand Access to Opportunities and Justice
Canadian Heritage
The Anti-Racism Action Program supports initiatives that address barriers to employment, justice, and social participation among Indigenous Peoples, racialized communities, and religious minorities. Priority is given to projects that target online hate and promote digital literacy. The deadline to apply is December 17, 2019.
Grants Expose Canadian Audiences to International Artists
Canada Council for the Arts
Arts Across Canada fosters meaningful relationships and exchanges between artists and the Canadian public. The Foreign Artist Tours component of Arts Across Canada supports Canadian nonprofit arts organizations to circulate exhibitions or tour artists from around the world and provide new experiences to the Canadian public. Applications must be submitted by December 11, 2019.
PathFinder: Featured Resource
A library of quality resources designed to help you develop your career path as a grants professional.
A Fundraiser’s Perspective on How to Stand Out on #GivingTuesday
Giving Tuesday falls on December 3 this year. Is your organization ready? Blackbaud’s upcoming webinar, “A Fundraiser’s Perspective on How to Stand Out on #GivingTuesday,” teaches participants how to double their impact on Giving Tuesday by highlighting ways to motivate an organization’s community, and especially donors, to influence Giving Tuesday success. This informative webinar will be held on Tuesday, October 29, 2019.
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.
LIVE Workshop: Downloading Transactions from Your Bank into QuickBooks (NEW)
When it comes to streamlining your accounting process, utilizing the download feature in QuickBooks is a huge game changer and will literally cut the time you spend dealing with your books in half. We are very excited to have Gregg Bossen, a CPA specializing in nonprofits and president of QuickBooks Made Easy for Nonprofits, present this one of a kind and highly requested webinar. In this session, Gregg will cover how to connect your bank and credit card accounts to your QuickBooks; downloading of transactions for free; pointing downloaded transactions to accounts, programs, and grants; creating “rules” in QuickBooks so that the downloaded transactions are preassigned to the correct categories; matching downloaded transactions that have already been entered manually to avoid double entry; and matching downloaded deposits (bank accounts only) to existing items in QuickBooks. There will also be time for your questions. The webinar for people who use the DESKTOP version of QuickBooks will be held on Tuesday, October 15, 2019. The webinar for people who use the ONLINE version of QuickBooks will be held on Wednesday, October 16, 2019.
Writing a Powerful Case for Support
Choosing the right words is key if you want approval for your grant request, or to secure any financial contribution. Your case should define and describe WHY you do what you do, WHO you do it for, HOW your work is relevant, and WHAT IT TAKES financially to do it. A powerful, well-written case inspires action. Too often a case for support is dry, long-winded, written by committee, and rarely read after it is created. This high-energy, interactive webinar, presented by Lori Jacobwith, will shift how you craft a case for support. By the time this session is over, you will (1) understand what a case for support is and why it’s critical to craft before asking for money; (2) identify key words to include in your case for support; and (3) learn how to succinctly answer seven simple questions that must be answered in any case for support. This webinar is ideal for new and intermediate grantwriters. The webinar will be held on Thursday, October 17, 2019.
FREE Tour of the GrantStation Website
Join Jeremy Smith, Communications and Technology Director, and Sara Kennedy, Director of Online Education, for a quick tour of the GrantStation website. This tour will cover all of the features in GrantStation.com, including navigation, search interfaces, and charitable database search criteria. This tour will provide tips on the most effective way to use all of the valuable resources the website offers, including the extensive funder databases that can help you identify the grantmakers most likely to fund your programs or projects. By using GrantStation’s databases and resource tools, you can begin to develop a successful grantseeking strategy for the next 12 to 18 months. The webinar will be held on Tuesday, October 22, 2019.
GrantStation Announcements
The latest updates from GrantStation.
Funding Alerts
GrantStation shares database profiles of Local, National, Canadian, and International grantmakers with upcoming deadlines each week. Check out the current Funding Alerts for more grant opportunities!
GrantStation 20th Anniversary
GrantStation celebrates 20 years of service to the sector.
Comparing and Contrasting
by David Preis and Maria Machado
We are celebrating the 20th anniversary of GrantStation by interviewing some of our longstanding Members. Maria Machado at Shared Housing Center, Inc. of Dallas, TX, has been a Member since 2006, so I wanted to gain insights from her years in grantseeking. She shared her approach to government grants and talked about the value of comparing and contrasting your organization to others.
Information contained in the GrantStation Canadian Insider may not be
posted, reprinted, redistributed, or sold without permission.
Editor: Diana Holder
Contributing Writer: Ashlyn Simmons