LGBTQ2 projects fund call for proposals: Eligibility

2. Eligibility

To apply, you must meet all the following eligibility criteria.

Applicants and funding

All applicants must be legally constituted not-for-profit Canadian organizations that work primarily or entirely with LGBTQ2 communities. To show this you must provide your mandate and describe your organization’s experience.  

In exceptional circumstances, and where no such organization that works primarily or entirely with LGBTQ2 communities exist in a given region, community or population, an exception may be granted to the above. Please send an email to Call for Proposals Enquiries to confirm an exception prior to applying.

For these projects, the maximum amounts (total per project) are:

• Up to $200,000 in total for projects with a local reach. Project activities cover at least one community, such as a town, city, or regional municipality.
• Up to $400,000 in total for projects with a regional, provincial or territorial reach. Project activities cover parts of a province or territory, an entire province or territory, or a few adjacent provinces or territories. Projects that cover one of Canada’s three largest municipalities would qualify as regional: Greater Toronto, Greater Montreal and Greater Vancouver area.
• Up to $600,000 in total for projects with a pan-Canadian reach. Project activities must have impact in at least four WAGE regions and be carried out in both official languages (both official languages not required for Indigenous organizations). 

There are often extra costs of living and travelling in northern or remote areas. So, you may apply for an extra 25% for activities in these areas (see question Activity location type for definitions).

Duration

Projects should aim to start no earlier than late fall 2022 and must end by March 31, 2024.

Eligible Activities

Before starting an application, we encourage you to take the free online course: Introduction to Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus).

GBA Plus is a process used to assess how diverse people may experience policies and programs. The “plus” in GBA Plus shows that GBA goes beyond sex and gender differences. We all have many identity factors that intersect to make us who we are. It also considers many other identity factors like ethnicity and age.

The activities must align with the call for proposals’ objective.

Examples of eligible project activities include

• Change legislation, policies and practices that discriminate against LGBTQ2 people.
• Work with professionals and service-providers to identify and remove barriers for LGBTQ2 clients. For example:
  • make changes so it is easier to access services
  • find ways to better work with LGBTQ2 clients and meet their needs
  • provide education opportunities to change negative assumptions and attitudes about LGBTQ2 clients
• Reduce the negative impact on LGBTQ2 clients from discriminatory and harmful practices, like conversion therapy. Work with faith leaders to end anti-LGBTQ2 discrimination and harmful practices.

• Plan and use community-based approaches to remove intersectional barriers to equality for LGBTQ2 communities. This includes LGBTQ2 people who are Indigenous, Black, racialized, seniors, youth, low income, who live with a disability or are members of an official language minority community. It also includes those who live in rural, remote and northern communities.

  For example, projects can deal with:

  • anti-racism in LGBTQ2 communities
  • anti-LGBTQ2 discrimination in different cultural or geographic communities
  • a specific need or inequality faced by an intersectional LGBTQ2 community.
• Find ways to increase LGBTQ2 representation in political, civic, public and private sectors
• Plan and test tools and workshops used:
  • by LGBTQ2 people to learn about and access spaces or services (for example, how-to guides and interactive tools)
  • by LGBTQ2 people to help navigate systems (for example, seeking health care or employment)
  • by non-LGBTQ2 people to remove barriers for LGBTQ2 people.
• Improve reconciliation and distinction-based approaches for Two-Spirit and Indigenous LGBTQ2 people.
• Collaborate with other existing groups or equality-seeking organizations to extend the reach or impact of a project (Note: this does not include establishing new formalized networks of LGBTQ2 organizations e.g., “The national LGBTQ2 Career Counsellor Network” as this would be considered capacity building.)
• Adapt a successful project used by another organization, community, province, territory or country. The project must include at least one activity listed above.

Note: Activities to support the project being culturally appropriate are eligible.

Note: Advocacy may be an eligible activity only if it is part of a larger project; advocacy is not eligible as a standalone activity or as the main objective of a project.

Note: Research may be an eligible activity only if it is part of a larger project, if it can be demonstrated that the research is necessary to achieve the aims of the project and can be completed within the timeframe of the project; research is not eligible as a standalone activity or as the main objective of a project.

Priorities will be given to proposals which

• address barriers to equality for underrepresented LGBTQ2 people. This includes LGBTQ2 people who are Indigenous, Black and racialized, seniors, youth, low income, live with a disability, or are members of an official language minority community. It also includes those who live in a rural, remote and/or northern community.
• address any other gap, such as geography, as deemed by the Department

Ineligible activities

Activities that are not eligible include those that:

• take place outside of Canada
• deal with issues in other countries
• build your organization’s capacity. For example:
  • How your organization makes decisions
    • Develop a mission and mandate
    • Establish bylaws and policies
  • How your organization makes plans
    • Develop and implement a strategic plan
    • Develop and implement a succession plan
  • How your organization manages money
    • Learn how to write funding proposals
    • Secure funding from many sources, for example:
      • Develop and implement a funding partnership with the private sector
  • How your organization manages people
    • Develop and put in place strategies to attract and keep the right people
  • How your organization gauges impact
    • Put in place processes and systems to improve how you measure performance and risk
  • How your organization is built
    • Incorporate your organization
• delivers services or programs like personal support, health and wellness workshops, and career help. To be clear:
  • you cannot create new services or programs
  • you cannot expand existing services or programs
• create unfair advantage or profit
• have to do with construction and renovation
• have to do with the purchase, lease, or long-term rental of real property
• are religious or politically partisan in nature

Costs

The Department will only fund eligible costs. Eligible costs are those that are necessary to support the purpose of the project. They must only be incurred after the signature of the agreement. Read the Guidelines on Eligible Expenditures for Funding Programs for more information.

Total government funding for the project must not exceed 100% of eligible costs. This includes federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal funds for the same goal.  Otherwise, we will adjust the level of funding and seek reimbursement if necessary.

There are two categories of eligible costs:

• Direct costs: expenses related to the delivery of the project linked to specific activities
• Administrative costs: expenses incurred to manage and support the project

The Department will determine the final value of funding. It will remove costs that are not eligible, not necessary, or outside the range of the project.

Eligible costs

The Department will fund as many projects as possible to have a greater impact, but funding is limited. As such, please only request eligible costs that are necessary to deliver the project. For this call for proposals, eligible costs include:

Direct costs (necessary to deliver the project)

• Travel costs within Canada: Travel costs must not exceed the rates for civil servants in the National Joint Council Travel Directive. This includes the Travel Directive for Kilometric Rates and Meals Allowances.
• Salaries and benefits for staff related to project delivery
• Honoraria and professional fees, including those paid to Indigenous Elders for their services during the project
• Materials and supplies
• Facilities used for project activities
• Translation
• Training related to the project
• Publicity and promotion
• Other costs such as refreshments or meals served during key project activities

Administrative costs (to manage and support the project)

• Project oversight
• Project staff office space
• Telephones
• Computer equipment
• IT maintenance
• Accounting

Administrative costs can only add up to 20% of the total funding requested from the Department.

Ineligible costs

Ineligible costs include

• General operating costs for the organization that are not related to this project such as:
  • regular telephone
  • rent
  • utilities
  • property taxes
  • equipment for staff
  • insurance that is not required for this project
  • audits that are not required for this project
• Capital costs, such as land, buildings, or vehicles, except for computer equipment such as desktops, portables, and small peripherals required to carry out the project
• Salaries, allowances, and benefits for directors of a board or other governance body
• Budget deficits, debt reduction, organizational reserves, or endowment funds
• Costs added to a project over the estimated project value to cover unexpected costs
• Costs incurred before a funding decision is made
• Further distribution of funds