Call for Proposals: Ontario’s Action Plan to end Gender-Based Violence in Canada

Deadline: 11-Oct-2024

Ontario has announced a call for proposals to help prevent and address gender-based violence and support survivors and their families.

As part of Ontario’s four-year cross-government action plan to prevent and address gender-based violence, they are investing in new community-based programs and services that respond to the needs of victims, survivors and their families and communities.

Priority Areas for Projects

Four priority areas have been identified under the CFP. Applicants must identify one or more of the CFP’s four priority areas that aligns with their project.
- Priority Area #1: Education & Awareness
  - Education and awareness initiatives aim to promote healthy attitudes and relationship skills and build capacity for professionals across sectors to help prevent violence before it occurs and prevent recurrence of violence.
  - Projects could include, but are not limited to:
    - Supporting Indigenous Communities
      - Projects led by Indigenous partners could include education and awareness about the impacts of colonization, residential schools, the 60s Scoop and their links to gender-based violence and Missing and Murdered Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ peoples in order to equip community members with the knowledge and tools to recognize and prevent violence.
    - Education of Boys and Men
      - Projects could include workshops, training and other education strategies designed for boys and men.
    - Cross-Sectoral Training
      - Projects could include targeted training for professionals across sectors to identify signs of GBV and provide a culturally and trauma-informed response and assistance in making referrals for help (e.g., child welfare, community services).
- Priority Area #2: Early Intervention & Prevention
  - Early intervention and prevention initiatives aim to promote the safety and well-being of individuals, children and families, foster positive parenting and healthy attachments, intervene early and prevent recurrence to provide trauma-informed supports and services.
  - Projects could include, but are not limited to:
    - Trauma and Culturally Informed Services
      - Projects could include early intervention supports that integrate gender-based violence and chidren’s services such as counseling supports and community liaisons that can bridge cultural gaps and ensure services are accessible and reduce risk of future violence.
    - Indigenous Holistic and Traditional Appraches Across the Healing Continuum
      - Projects could include teachings and traditional healing practices, medicines, ceremonies and land-based activities across the lifespan that are grounded in Indigenous knowledge and cultures. These approaches can strengthen community bonds and promote healing from trauma and violence. By addressing the root causes and impacts of GBV within cultural contexts, these initiatives can effectively prevent violence and support survivors in their recovery.
    - Supporting Safety at Home
      - Projects could include improving personal safety and security measures of survivors (e.g., safety planning, personal technology, locks), ongoing supports from service providers, and access to legal advice to help survivors obtain protective court orders (e.g., restraining orders and peace bonds).
- Priority Area #3: Community Planning & Service Integration
  - Community planning and service integration initiatives aim to strengthen community capacity to prevent and respond to gender-based violence and provide seamless support to survivors, those at risk and their families in their communities. Partnerships are mandatory for projects applying under this priority area in order to achieve successful service coordination and system integration.
  - Projects could include, but are not limited to:
    - Integrated Service Models
      - Projects could include the establishment or enhancement of an integrated service model in communities that brings together multiple service providers (e.g., health, social, counselling, and legal services) to offer coordinated, wraparound supports for survivors of GBV and their families.
      - Projects could include establishing an Indigenous-led integrated service model that incorporates traditional healing practices alongside other healthcare, counseling, and legal services. This model would provide culturally responsive supports to Indigenous survivors of GBV, including access to Elders, traditional ceremonies, and community-based healing circles.
    - Multi-Agency Response Models
      - Projects could include mobile multi-agency response teams that include social services, healthcare providers, law enforcement and legal advocates to handle high-risk cases, improve information sharing, safety plan coordination and collaboration across sectors (e.g., justice, violence against women, child welfare).
      - Projects could include mobile response units staffed by Indigenous healthcare providers, social workers, legal advocates, and community leaders to respond to high-risk GBV cases in Indigenous communities, ensuring services are culturally responsive and based in community knowledge.
- Priority Area #4: Economic Security & Financial Independence
  - Economic security initiatives aim to reduce vulnerability to gender-based violence by improving economic security and independence, as economic concerns are a key factor for being unable to prevent violence, leave a violent relationship, support recovery and safeguard family wellness.
  - Projects could include, but are not limited to:
    - Financial Empowerment
      - Projects could include providing GBV survivors with financial literacy training, financial counseling, access to credit services and supporting them in achieving financial independence and wellbeing.
    - Improving Recruitment, Retention and Success in Workplaces
      - Projects could include providing mentorship, networking and other promising practices that address barriers to economic security including their recruitment, retention and success in the workplace. By enhancing economic stability, these initiatives can prevent and reduce vulnerability to gender-based violence.
      - Projects by and for Indigenous communities could take a holistic approach to Indigenous women’s economic empowerment including an integrated system of supports that consider the context and reality of Indigenous peoples’ lives. This could include combining mentorship from Indigenous leaders based on traditional knowledge and cultural teachings, employment skills training and support for navigating workplace challenges and specialized wraparound supports. These projects could also include partnerships and collaborations with employers committed to providing culturally inclusive and safe workplaces ensuring greater retention for Indigenous staff.
    - Addressing Workplace Harassment and Discrimination
      - Projects could include developing and delivering inclusive training and policies for staff and management to address gender-based violence in the workplace, such as sexual harassment and discrimination. Partnerships with community organizations to provide culturally responsive wraparound supports can further support the diverse needs of affected individuals.

Funding Information

The ministry is dedicating approximately $100 million over three years to innovative, evidence-based projects that meet local and community-based needs.
While actual costs will be determined and negotiated with each successful applicant, proposed budgets must be a minimum of $100,000 and under $5,000,000 over three years. Recommended amounts of funding available for different sizes of projects are as follows (illustrative examples have been provided to help applicants determine scaling):
- Small: $100,000 – $250,000 over three years
  - For example: Education and awareness campaigns; parenting classes; financial literacy workshops.
- Medium: $250,000 – $750,000 over three years
  - For example: GBV prevention and intervention training for professionals in other sectors; mentorship program to support women’s recruitment, retention and promotion in the workplace.
- Large: $750,000 – $5,000,000 over three years
  - For example: Community hub that integrates multi-service providers under one roof.

Projects

Successful proposals will include innovative, evidence-based projects that:
- support people who are most vulnerable to experiencing gender-based violence
- support survivors of gender-based violence and their families
- address the root causes of gender-based violence
Your proposal must identify one or more priority populations that their project is designed to target.

Priority Populations

All applicants must identify one or more priority population(s) that their project is designed to target.
Priority populations may include, but are not limited to:
- Indigenous communities and populations
- Rural and remote communities
- Black and other racialized populations
- Newcomers and immigrants
- 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals
- Women with disabilities
- Francophone women
- Families and children involved with the child welfare system
- Youth
Applications to reduce gender-based violence, including through engaging men and boys to promote healthy relationships and change attitudes, are also encouraged.
Applicants may identify another priority population and provide supporting evidence to demonstrate how their project will address GBV-related needs and risks for the selected priority population(s).

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must be a legal entity, including an organization that is incorporated under the laws of Ontario or Canada, First Nations, and Indigenous organizations (Métis, urban Indigenous, Inuit).
To be eligible for funding, an incorporated organization must have been incorporated for a minimum of one year, must be in good standing with the government (if already funded) and indicate preparedness to become funded.
Individuals and non-legal entities are not eligible to apply, but such entities may be identified by the applicant as a partner.
Applicants must have the presence and reputation necessary to provide quality programs and services to communities and vulnerable people.
- Note: Applicants will be required to attest that they are and will remain in compliance with all laws and requirements related to their legal status, including those related to charitable registration, if applicable.
- Further, successful applicants will be required to attest to their intent to enter into a Transfer Payment Agreement with Ontario, with requirements related to matters including governance, communication activities, and reporting requirements.
Applications must be submitted by a single applicant, even if they have identified partners undertaking or co-leading the project. Applicants with existing networks and referral relationships are encouraged to leverage those connections for their project proposal. Any partnership must include at least one eligible member (the “lead applicant”). The lead applicant, if successful, will be the signatory to the funding agreement with the province and will be solely responsible to the province for fulfilling all obligations set out in the government funding agreement. If funded, the lead applicant will be responsible for entering into any contracts or other arrangements necessary to ensure its partners fulfill their roles in carrying out the project.
Applicants may submit more than one application for distinct projects. If multiple applications are submitted, it must be clear how applications are distinct from each other, linkages between the projects and the roles and responsibilities within the organization (and partners, where applicable) for each project.
Applicants do not have to be an Ontario-based entity. However, project beneficiaries must be limited to Ontarians. Activities outside of Ontario are not eligible.

For more information, visit Ontario.