Jane Finch Community Action Grants – Canada

Deadline: 27-Sep-2024

Applications are now open for the Jane Finch Community Action Grants.

The Jane Finch neighbourhood stands on the brink of transformation and opportunity. In recent years, residents, community partners and other stakeholders have collaboratively developed frameworks and plans to guide this change and capitalize on emerging opportunities, all aimed at fostering stronger and more equitable communities.

The Jane Finch Community Action Grants (CAG) are intended to support neighbourhood-focused initiatives that advance key community-informed priorities and actions identified in local plans focused on the Jane Finch neighbourhood, such as the Jane Finch Community Development Plan (CDP). Successful CAG initiatives will:

• Support resident, grassroots groups, agencies, and local partners to take action and drive progress against community identified priorities.
• Increase social cohesion, ensuring that key priority populations (Black, Indigenous residents, youth, etc.) are able to contribute to creating equitable communities.
• Foster and strengthen relationships between residents, partners, and other stakeholders (i.e. government, funders, anchor institutions like hospitals, universities, etc).
• Mobilize resources and collaborative action to effectively action local priorities.

Focus Areas

• Round 1 of the CAG: Resident/Grassroots Groups stream will support initiatives in Jane Finch with outcomes focused on improving one of the following:
  • Employment and economic benefits
  • Food justice and sovereignty
  • Community safety and well-being
  • Vibrant Spaces
  • Anti-displacement

Funding Streams

• Community Action Grants will support residents, grassroots groups, agencies, and other local partners to drive progress on local plans. There will be two rounds of funding calls launched between 2024 and 2026. In the current Round 1, there will be two streams of funding available.
  • Resident Stream – Intended to support resident-led projects occurring within a 1–6-month timeframe. Available grants in this stream would range between $5,000 – $20,000 per project.
  • Agency Collaborative Stream – Intended to support projects led by a local agency or collaborative occurring within a 18-month timeframe. Available grants in this stream would range from $25,000 to $75,000 per project.

Eligible Projects

• Employment and Economic Benefits 
  • Eligible projects under this priority should focus on one or more of the following project objectives:
    • Increasing local hiring, education and training opportunities (including through workforce development pipelines)
    • Employment focused collective impact initiatives/research
    • Strengthening of local workforce development models
    • Forming new employment social enterprises and building opportunities for social procurement
    • Leveraging partnerships with business associations and stakeholders to grow diverse economic development opportunities
    • Strengthening community benefits that include access to training programs and hiring pathways
    • Evaluation efforts related to employment, economic development
• Food Justice 
  • Eligible projects under this priority should focus on one or more of the and Sovereignty following project objectives:
    • Increasing availability of programs related to, but not limited to, composting, meal access, culturally relevant cooking, community gardening or urban agriculture
    • Increasing educational programs and workshops on topics that enable community to advance food justice and food sovereignty
    • Increasing access to community markets and shared garden spaces.
    • Supporting advocacy regarding food justice, sovereignty, and nutritious affordable food access
• Community Safety and Well-Being 
  • Eligible projects under this priority should focus on one or more of the following project objectives:
    • Increasing education on topics such as conflict resolution, violence prevention, violence intervention, and mental health supports for those involved in, or impacted by violent incidents
    • Increasing mentorship opportunities locally for young people impacted by or involved in violence
    • Increasing culturally competent trainings related to indicators of community violence and pathways to non-violence
    • Creating collaborations that address mental health concerns related to safety
    • Developing employment and training supports directly targeting populations most impacted by violence
    • Increasing safety-focused collective impact initiatives and research
• Vibrant Spaces 
  • Eligible projects under this priority should focus on one or more of the following project objectives:
    • Increasing local festivals through expanded access to community outdoor space.
    • Increasing education or workshops to strengthen links to local arts opportunities and connections to broader training/education opportunities.
    • Enabling community-owned, stewarded and managed-spaces
    • Documenting and measuring local place-keepinq efforts
• Anti-Displacement 
  • Eligible projects under this priority should focus on one or more of the following project objectives:
    • Intentionally including landowners to increase community engagement and input at all stages of development
    • Increasing community engagement activities that focus on preservation of gathering spaces, murals, etc.
    • Leveraging opportunities to prioritize access to existing and new non-profit affordable housing
    • Conducting research, feasibility studies and/or building capacity to establish community-based models that support community and public ownership or management of lands (e.g. community land trusts)
    • Increasing education related to tenant rights, and support for tenant led groups, eviction prevention, and creation of tenant unions.

Eligibility Criteria

• Resident Stream
  • This targeted application is available to resident/grassroots groups that meet the following criteria:
    • Group must operate in Jane Finch (within the geographic areas of Black Creek and Glenfield  Jane Heights’).
    • Grassroots groups that do not have registered charity status with the Canada Revenue Agency are eligible to apply in this grant stream
    • Project duration must be within the allowable timeframe of up to 6 months. • Project activities must focus on Jane Finch.
    • Project must have at least 5 resident leaders submitting as a group, with two of those identified as primary leads. All resident applicants are expected to live at different addresses and not be related.
    • Project primary leads must meet the following eligibility criteria:
      • Live in the Jane Finch neighbourhood
      • Employees of local agencies who live in the community can apply for a project in the resident/grassroots groups stream, however, it must be unrelated to their paid role as an employee of a local agency.
      • Be willing to work with Jane/Finch Centre as the UWGT identified trustee organization for the project and abide by relevant policies set out by the trustee in relation to fund disbursement, training opportunities, and reporting
    • Project must seek to deliver on one (1) of the Grant Focus Areas. (Note: Projects focusing on solely meeting immediate essential needs of individuals or families in the neighbourhood are oat eligible).
    • A resident can only be listed as the ‘primary lead’ on one application.
• Agency Collaborative Stream
  • This application is open to service providers and organizations engaged in broader collaboration in the community, and meet the following criteria:
    • Project lead agency must meet the following eligibility criteria:
      • Is a registered charitable organization, or an incorporated non-profit organization for a minimum of 2 years
      • Must operate in Jane Finch (within the geographic areas of Black Creek  and Glenfield Jane Heights.)
      • Have financial statements for at least one year that have been audited by a licensed public accountant, or be trusteed by a registered charity that has financial statements for at least one year that have been audited by a licensed public accountant
      • For charities with annual revenue of less than $100,000, have a review engagement for at least one fiscal year, conducted by a licensed public accountant
    • Groups and organizations not meeting the above organizational criteria may be part of a collaborative application of an eligible project lead agency.
    • Project duration must be within the allowable timeframe of up to 18 months. Projects that are likely to require annual program funding in the future will not be prioritized.
    • Project may be part of a broader initiative but must include activities in Jane Finch.
    • Project must have letter(s) of support from collaborative partners, if applying as a collaborative.
    • Project must seek to deliver on one (1) of the Grant Focus Areas. (Note: Projects focusing on solely meeting immediate essential needs of individuals or families in the neighbourhood are not eligible).
    • Only one (1) application per project lead agency is eligible to be approved in Round 1. However, an organization can be reflected on multiple applications as partners, as appropriate.
  • Project lead agencies that are incorporated non-profit organizations in Canada or the Province of Ontario, but are not registered charities must also meet the following additional criteria and demonstrate it in the application:
    • Provide services to people living in, or at risk of, poverty
    • Provide social or community services as a primary mandate
    • Have a bank account in the name of the organization
    • Have documented segregation of duties protocol
    • Have a conflict-of-interest policy

For more information, visit United Way Greater Toronto.