Questions and answers

What is the Commemoration Fund?

The Commemoration Fund is the Government of Canada’s response to the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Interim Report recommendation for the federal government to establish a Commemoration Fund.

The purpose of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Commemoration Fund is to support Indigenous organizations to work with families, survivors and/or communities to develop and implement commemoration initiatives to honour the lives and legacies of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and LGBTQ2S individuals.

What are the objectives of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Commemoration Fund call for proposals?

The objectives are to:

• Honour the lives and legacies of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and LGBTQ2S individuals; and,
• Increase awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and LGBTQ2S individuals.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligible organizations are legally constituted:

• Indigenous organizations; and,
• Indigenous governments, including band councils, tribal councils and self-government entities, and their agencies, and hamlets¹.

An Indigenous organization is defined as an incorporated organization that represents First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis interests and is controlled by members of the population it serves.

For more information on who can apply under this call for proposals, consult the Applicant Guide.

What is the maximum duration of a project?

All projects must end by March 31, 2021. Funded projects may be able to start as early as July 2019.

What types of activities are eligible?

Eligible activities may include, but are not limited to:

• Events that contribute to healing by acknowledging those who were murdered or went missing and bringing people together to share and support one another.
• Legacy items that leave a legacy or educate people about missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and LGBTQ2S individuals.
• Coordination and support of commemoration initiatives.
• Development and implementation of region-wide or nation-wide commemoration initiatives.

For more information on what types of activities are eligible under this call for proposals, consult the Applicant Guide.

What do communities involved in the project have to provide?

To indicate that families, survivors and/or communities were involved in the development of the application, or are supportive of the application, each of the communities involved in the project and listed in the application need to provide a letter of support in regards to the project.

Letters of support must explain how the families, survivors and/or communities are involved in the project and must include their contact information (i.e. name and telephone number).

If letters of support are missing, the application will be considered incomplete.

How are funding decisions made?

Applications will be reviewed in terms of both eligibility and assessment criteria. Once all applications have been assessed, an Indigenous external review committee will review applications. This committee will be comprised of Indigenous women nominated by the Department, provincial and territorial governments, the Indigenous Women’s Circle, families and survivors.

The Indigenous external review committee will provide advice on which projects should be recommended for consideration by the Minister for Women and Gender Equality.

For more information on the eligibility and assessment criteria for this call for proposals, consult the Applicant Guide.

Who will comprise the Indigenous external review committee?

The Department for Women and Gender Equality is seeking approximately 15 members for the Indigenous external review committee. The Department seeks a broad representation for membership, including First Nations, Inuit and Métis individuals from across the country.

The Indigenous external review committee is an opportunity for those affected, including survivors, family members, artists, and grassroots advocates, to be actively involved in support of the Commemoration Fund. Ideally, members will have roots and connections in their communities, an understanding of the national tragedy of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and experience with project funding.

If you wish to serve as part of the Indigenous external review committee, or wish to nominate someone, please contact the Department's office in your region.

When will organizations be informed of the decision made regarding applications?

The Department anticipates communicating decisions made regarding applications starting in July 2019.

How many projects does the Department plan on funding?

The number of funded projects will depend on the number, assessment, and scope of applications received.

The Department reserves the right to consider factors such as geographic and population group representation in the distribution of funding.

Are there other funding opportunities at the Department for Women and Gender Equality?

Organizations are invited to periodically check for funding opportunities and to follow the Department on social media: Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.