Youth Innovations Scale Grant – Canada

Deadline: 17-Apr-2024

Are you a youth-led grassroots group or a youth-adult partnership with over two years of experience delivering a community project? Apply for a Youth Innovations Scale grant to:

• Enhance your existing project to create a deeper impact, or
• Expand your project to reach more youth

Youth Opportunities Fund (YOF) prioritizes grassroots groups that are looking to address the experiences of Indigenous and/ or Black youth who continue to face systemic barriers and oppression.

In addition to prioritizing Black and Indigenous grassroots groups, YOF prioritizes investing in projects that positively impact youth with the following intersecting lived experiences or identities:

• Youth in conflict or at risk of being in conflict with the law
• Youth in care or leaving care
• Youth at-risk of dropping out or have dropped out
• Youth living with disabilities and/or special needs between the ages of 12 to 29
• Two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and/or questioning, intersex, asexual (2SLGBTQIA+) youth

Funding Information

• Maximum $150,000

Duration

• Minimum 2 years, Maximum 3 years

Priority Outcome

• Empowering girls and young women to lead, including women’s economic empowerment initiatives
• Supporting Indigenous, Black, and/or newcomer youth to enter the labour market and transition to sustainable career pathways
• Supporting youth in and/or leaving care and/or involved in the justice system to navigate and access resources for wellbeing
  • Note: For this outcome, core group members can be up to 35 years of age
• Addressing racism and its impacts on youth in urban, rural and/or Northern communities
• Creating safe spaces for Indigenous and/or Black youth to build strong community and cultural connections

Eligible Projects

• Scale grants can help your group enhance or expand your own successful project. Two types of projects qualify for a Scale grant. Choose the one that most closely aligns with your group’s project.
  • Enhance the quality of youth experiences to deepen the impact of a current project
    • This is a project your group has already been successfully delivering core activities for at least two years and has had a positive impact on the youth you serve. Throughout the delivery of your project, you have developed a program model with positive results, and you can sustain the program as a result of your group’s track record and continued engagement with youth and the community. Now, your group wants to make the project even better to increase impact on youth.
    • This project type also includes adding new program components, such as modifying and/or making refinements to your existing model.
    • Choose this project type if:
      • This is a project your group currently delivers and/or has delivered for at least two years
      • Your group has strong evidence of the project’s success and impact that aligns with one of the Priority Outcomes associated with this grant
  • Expand a current project to impact more youth
    • Your group has already been successfully delivering core activities through this project for at least two years and has had a positive impact on the youth you serve. Throughout the delivery of your project, you have developed a program model with positive results, and you can sustain the program as a result of your group’s track record and continued engagement with youth alongside the community. Now your group wants to reach more young people and expand the impact of your project.
    • Expanding an existing successful project should also include aiming to increase the number of young people who can access your program. For example, you could add more locations or hours to expand program delivery and increase access for youth beneficiaries.
    • Choose this project type if:
      • This is a project your group currently delivers and/or has delivered for at least two years
      • Your group has strong evidence of the project’s success and impact that aligns with one of the Priority Outcomes associated with this grant

Eligibility Criteria

• Eligible Groups
  • A grassroots group that is not registered as a charity or as an incorporated not-for-profit.
    • The work of a youth-led grassroots group or youth-adult partnership is community-led and community-inspired. Grassroots group means that core group members share identities and lived experiences with the young people who will benefit from the project.
    • If you are a grassroots group from a First Nation, you are eligible to apply. Your group cannot have more than 50% of its members as part of the band office or band council.
  • An organization incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation without share capital in a Canadian jurisdiction. 
    • This includes a Chartered Community Council, operating under the Métis Nation of Ontario, or Inuit communities that are registered as not-for-profit corporations without share capital in Canada.
    • The organization is required to have independently managed revenues of $50,000 or less in either of the last two years.
    • Board members and day-to-day management must also meet youth-led group and youth adult-partnership definitions.
  • Note
    • Groups can only apply for one Youth Opportunities Fund grant at a time.
    • If your group has an active Youth Opportunities Fund grant, you can only apply for funding if you are in the last year of your active grant.
• Group Requirements
  • Groups need to meet the following requirements to be eligible for funding.
    • Reflect communities served
      • Core group members (including board members, where applicable) reflect the identities and experiences of the youth they are working with and for.
      • The proposed project will benefit young people between 12-25, and/or 12-29 for youth living with special needs and/or disabilities, mental health needs and/or addictions.
      • The group serves youth over 12 years of age as its primary mandate.
    • Core group
      • The group has at least three core group members.
      • More than 50% of core group members are at arm’s length relationship to each other.  An ‘arm’s length’ relationship means board members and group members are not married or related to each other, do not work as business partners or are otherwise in a relationship where interests may be compromised.
      • Youth must make up more than 50% of the core group.
      • The group is based in Ontario and the work will benefit youth in Ontario.
      • The group exists independently of a larger organization (other not-for-profit), charitable organization or municipality, university, school, religious institution and/or hospital.
      • The group agrees to work with an Organizational Mentor and has autonomy to choose their Organizational Mentor, design the project, identify group members, and plan for the future.
    • Leadership structure
      • There are two types of eligible leadership structures:
        • A youth-led group
          • Has all individuals aged 29 or under at the governance and/ decision-making level
          • Has youth, 12 to 29 years old, managing the project (from planning to implementation and evaluation)
        • A youth-adult partnership
          • This is a group that has young people as its primary audience and where youth and adults share power. This looks like:
          • Shared responsibility for decision-making about the project and the group
          • Shared responsibility for planning and delivery of activities and the budget
          • Shared responsibility for planning for the future of the project and the group
        • Note: Adult groups with all or most members up to the age of 35 can apply if they are looking to advance the following YOF Priority Outcome: Supporting youth in and/or leaving care and/or involved in the justice system to navigate and access resources for wellbeing.

Ineligible

• The following are not eligible to apply:
  • Registered charities
  • Religious entities established for the observation of religious beliefs, including, but not limited to, churches, temples, mosques and synagogues
  • Municipalities
  • Groups composed of all team members ages 30 years or older (all-adult groups)
  • Groups/projects of an existing organization (not-for-profit or for-profit)
  • Groups specifically designed to serve young people through committees or clubs of institutions, including municipalities, universities, schools, and hospitals
  • For-profit organizations and businesses
  • Individuals

For more information, visit OTF.