CREation Funding Program: Experiential Learning Stream (Canada)

Deadline: 31-Aug-23

The Canadian Roots Exchange (CREation) is providing grants under the Experiential Learning Stream to support Indigenous youth-led projects, groups and non-profits.

Every year, the Indigenous Youth Advisory Circle selects emerging needs streams based on gaps they are seeing in community and hearing about from their peers. Experiential Learning is the process of learning by doing.

It is an approach that emphasizes learning through direct experience, reflection, and active engagement. It involves hands-on, practical activities that allow youth participants to acquire knowledge, develop skills, and gain insights by engaging in real-world situations and encouraging youth to actively participate, experiment, and interact with their environment.

Project Focus Areas

Successful projects will fall within the following areas:

Being on the Land
- Projects will provide youth groups opportunities for land-based programming and learning. This can include hunting camps, learning traditional language on the land, connecting with plant and animal relatives, accessing traditional ceremonial practices and physical activities like canoeing/kayaking and rock-climbing).
Bringing Community Together
- Projects will focus on brining youth and community together, through programming, gatherings, community events, feasts, etc.
Improving Youth Spaces
- Projects that enable youth to cultivate spaces that encompass a feeling of home. This includes activities like painting, renovations, plumbing, etc. Eligible projects in this category will only include community spaces (as an example, a youth drop in).
Learning about Different Communities
- Projects will focus on youth going to other communities and/or cities. Projects can either be exchanges (where youth from two different communities have opportunities to learn together) or about giving one group opportunities to explore and learn in a different community. Travel costs are eligible in this category.
Reclaiming Traditional Practices
- Projects will provide youth access to traditional practices so that they can build skills to revitalize and reclaim these practices in community. Examples of traditional practices could include: traditional tattooing, throat singing, drumming groups, birth work, etc.
Skill Building
- Projects will focus on opportunities for youth to learn skills that will increase their capacity and resources. This could include life skills programming (such as cooking), experiential employment programs (such as mentorship programs or placements) and/or other opportunities that will give youth space to learn new skills and increase their capacity.

Funding Stream Priorities

There is a priority in this stream to support:

Indigenous grassroots groups and collectives
Groups that have experience running programming and projects, but are looking to scale to a new level or try something new
Projects that have an appropriate in scale and scope for the funding provided (i.e. engagement numbers and frequency make sense for the funding requested)
Projects that are multi-dimensional (i.e. are doing more than just one thing, and are looking to improve wellness overall)

Funding Information

The Experiential Learning Stream will provide funding of up to $20,000.

Eligibility Criteria

Funding in this stream will prioritize funding grassroots youth groups consisting of a minimum of 3 Indigenous youth.
Please note: for the purpose of this program CRE defines Indigenous as status and non-status First Nation, Inuit, and Métis peoples in Canada, living both on and off reserve.
Eligible groups and projects include:
- Unincorporated/grassroots youth groups and collectives
- Incorporated youth groups with an organizational budget of less than $750,000
- Youth Councils