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COMMUNITY GRANTS PROGRAM
Our Community Grants Program focuses on building community capacity in Niagara. We look for creative projects designed to encourage visioning, to respond to new ideas, to meet community opportunities and to support projects that assist organizations to fully develop their potential.
BUILDING COMMUNITY CAPACITY and COMMUNITY ASSETS
Each community boasts a unique combination of strengths, resources and talents upon which to build its future. These are “community assets” and can be institutional, organizational and/or individual assets. Capacity building refers to developing or acquiring assets - the skills, competencies, tools, processes, and resources - needed to improve the ability of organizations to achieve success.
GRANT MAKING PRIORITIES
Our Grants Program supports projects that recognize and build on our community’s assets by:
- Fostering cooperative, collaborative and innovative approaches to community issues
- Addressing an identifiable community need
- Involving members of the community to be served in the design and implementation of the program
- Showing evidence of sustainability (if appropriate to the project)
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
In order to be eligible to apply for a grant, an organization must:
- Be registered as a charity with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) – note that organizations operating under the auspices of a municipal government (i.e. some libraries, museums, galleries, committees of council) are eligible to apply through the municipality
- Provide local or regional services in Niagara
GRANTS AVAILABLE
The total funds available in the Foundation’s 2008 Community Grants Program are $58,000. The deadline is noon, Friday, August 22, 2008. Projects focusing on youth at risk will not be assessed in this round. They will be reviewed during the next round of applications.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Further information is available by calling the Foundation at 905-684-8688 or emailing to ncf@becon.org
CURRENT APPLICATION COMPETITION DEADLINE: NOON, August 22, 2008
All organizations must contact the foundation office to discuss their project
prior to submitting an application.
You will need to record the date of your discussion and the name of the person with whom you discussed your project on the application form.
WHAT IS MEANT BY BUILDING COMMUNITY CAPACITY
Building community capacity is about building more effective community organizations and institutions. This can be accomplished by:
- Strengthening people’s skills and abilities
- Being strategic as a community
- Making consistent progress toward the goals you set as a community
- Building new leadership
- Developing partnering opportunities
EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS WHICH BUILD COMMUNITY CAPACITY
This list shows some types of projects that build capacity.
- Training activities and professional development for staff or volunteers
- Bringing a sector together to examine new ways of working together
- Developing a new concept, process, program or procedure
- Equipment to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of an organization
- Organizing conferences or workshops
- Developing strategic plans or components therein
- Publications
PROPOSAL ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
All proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- How does the project build community capacity?
- How was the project need determined and what were the methods used to identify the need?
- Who/what are the community assets relevant to the project and how are they to be utilized?
- What is the capability of the applicant to undertake the project?
- How does the project demonstrate an innovative or creative approach to address the need?
- How will the success of the project be determined?
- How sustainable is the project (if applicable)?
- Has the applicant received funding in the past from the foundation?
- Who else is doing a similar program and how applicant’s program is different?
- How well does the proposal meet the grant making priorities (see page 1)?
WHAT THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION DOES NOT FUND
Grants are not available for:
- Core operating costs or capital building campaigns [we will fund equipment associated with a capital campaign]
- Dollar for dollar replacement of pre-existing operating funds
- Facility repairs
- Operating or capital deficits
- Activities of religious organizations that serve primarily their membership and/or their direct religious purposes
- Endowment funds
- Retroactive funding for any project expenses incurred prior to the Foundation’s decision date (November 22nd 2008)
- Annual fundraising drives for operating support
- Individuals
- Political activity as defined by Canada Customs and Revenue Agency’s publication on registering a charity
- Programs and services outside of Niagara
- Ordinarily applicants cannot apply for a concurrent grant unless they are part of a collaborative
Note: previously funded projects requiring further support will need to reapply in the next competition
GRANT APPLICATION
You may download the application form from our website in PDF format or in Microsoft Word format. Download the PDF document by clicking here or download the Microsoft Word document by clicking here.
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