Capacity Grants Program in Canada

Deadline: 1-May-23

The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation is accepting applications for the Capacity Grants to provide support and funding for organizations to strengthen their capability and capacity to design and deliver conservation or restoration projects.

Organizations often face challenges in identifying and initiating actions to benefit fish, wildlife, and habitat.

Capacity grants assist with the first steps in identifying, exploring, and undertaking actions to solve a local conservation challenge.

In support of their strategic plan, their grant will emphasize the following:

• Caribou habitat restoration or conservation projects taking place in current caribou herd ranges.
• Climate change adaptation, mitigation, and cumulative effects on fish, wildlife, and their habitats.
• Indigenous community-led fish, wildlife, and habitats restoration and conservation.
• Broad and diverse participation in HCTF programs and projects.

Goals of Grant

• Advances conservation planning (assessing capacity). Coordinate and conduct preliminary planning to address a conservation issue or challenge in the community a feasibility study.
• Engages organizations and communities (developing capacity) to engage in and implement actions to achieve a shared conservation goal(s).
• Developing skills and abilities (building capabilities) of communities to undertake field-based conservation work through specialized training or knowledge sharing to conduct on-the-ground conservation or stewardship programs

Funding Information

• The grant offers up to $25,000.

Eligible Activities

• Eligible activities and items this grant supports:
  • Advances conservation or restoration planning (assessing capacity)
    • Pilot projects, surveys, test field methods, scoping or feasibility studies including desk-top research, mapping, literature review, discussions with regional and or biology experts, Indigenous knowledge systems and methodologies, and best practices review.
  • Strengthening organizational and community (developing capacity)
    • Partnerships or networking meetings, planning workshops; focus groups; sharing knowledge, collecting community input.
    • Field equipment needed to undertake planning or preliminary field-work, with a maximum request of up to $10K.
  • Developing skills and abilities (building capabilities)
    • Hiring a consultant, short-term salary or facilitation fees to lead or do planning, training and advising including honoraria or salary for field-based mentors, trainers, advisors.
    • Specialized training courses such as guardians or keepers training (e.g., Streamkeepers, Wetlandkeepers etc.); technical and scientific application training (e.g., GPS, mapping, data, testing equipment); sampling and surveying techniques, monitoring and cameras, remote sensing or vegetation monitoring, or for development of a conservation leader(s) in Indigenous communities by supporting post-secondary training (1 or 2 year certificate/diploma).

Sample Projects

• Feasibility study to pilot stream mapping on a small scale to determine if it can be expanded to the entire watershed.
• Conducting a desktop mapping exercise to identify sites for potential road restoration and ground truthing.
• Developing the goals and approach for a new Guardian program.
• Holding meetings with potential partners to identify the expertise and sampling design needed to assess local Mule deer numbers.
• Hiring a consultant biologist or regional expert to help map out key restoration objectives for caribou habitat enhancement and engage with community members on overall goals and objectives.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applications must be made by an individual with the lead organization. The Project Lead is the individual with the authority and ability to administer the grant and fulfill the obligations to conduct the grant activities, deliver value for money, manage risk and financial controls while fulfilling other the terms and conditions of the grant.
• Grant Requirements:
  • Grant completion – within 2 years of approval.
  • 80% of grant will be issued up front and 20% once completed and final summary of work is submitted.

Ineligible Items

• Administration costs such as office space, admin fees, furniture and office equipment and supplies.
• Standard Safety and survival training, smalloperator training or certifications e.g., boat, atv, firearms, chainsaw, etc.
• Purchase of vehicles, boats, atv’s, quads, trailers, skidoos, building infrastructure, computers, phones, or cameras.
• Salaries for employees including government.
• Costs for legal fees or lobbying activities.
• Media production and communications.
• Purchase of land, tenure, lease, or licenses.

For more information, visit Capacity Grants.