Funding Summary:
Creation is a multi-level funding program that will support strengths-based, community-focused and youth-led projects taking place in communities across Canada. Grassroots and incorporated youth groups/collectives are eligible to apply for funding to support community programs and projects while receiving innovative mentorship, training and capacity-building opportunities. Projects must be led by 3+ Indigenous youth (ages 15-29) who are meaningfully involved in project guidance, planning, implementation and/or evaluation.
$25,000 will be provided to projects/groups that seek to create impactful community change and increase the wellness, resiliency and engagement of Indigenous youth.
The Land and Food Sovereignty Funding Stream aims to increase opportunities to participate in land-based programming, learn about food and medicines and engage with knowledge keepers. Projects in this stream need to be Indigenous-led and youth-focused, although community-focused and intergenerational activities can be run. The intention of launching this program in Fall 2022 is so that the grant can support a full-year project in 2023 that covers a full growing season, and provide opportunities for multi-seasonal opportunities to engage with and on the land.
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 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)
Project Focus Areas:
Successful projects will fall within the following areas:
- Community Gardens and Food Knowledge Programming
- Projects that focus on increasing access to foods, knowledge about traditional and healthy foods and building skills around planting, growing and harvesting. Projects in this focus area can include: community gardens, initiatives to start family gardens, workshops about cooking, harvesting and preserving etc
- Digital Land Connections
- Projects will support youth to access food and land teachings in the digital space. This can include online social media campaigns, videos, digital workshops, etc. Projects can be focused on sharing knowledge, but also on preserving knowledge from Elders and Knowledge Keepers.
- Land-based Camps and Programming
- Projects will engage youth in participating in programming on the land. These can include overnight camps or workshop series. Projects will work to increase the youth’s connection to the land and knowledge of food and land teachings. Projects in this focus area can include: medicine walks, ceremonies, foraging activities, water-based projects (such as water walks), recreational land-based recreation activities (e.g., canoeing), language camps, traditional hunting and fishing and other activities.
- Sustainable Food Systems
- Projects will focus on revitalizing traditional food systems, including increasing the knowledge of the community around preservation and re-emergence. The project can include activities such as improving soil health, mapping territory to identify risk factors (such as chemical runoff, and invasive species), learning the stories of food, planting projects, and protecting water ecosystems (wild rice revitalization, etc.).
Eligibility:
Creation will prioritize funding grassroots youth groups consisting of a minimum of 3 Indigenous youth.
Please note: for the purpose of this program IYR 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
- Small, incorporated youth groups (note: IYR defines a small organization as groups that have 1-8 full-time employees and an operating budget of less than $500,000)
- Youth Councils
Ineligible groups and projects:
- Individuals
- Projects that are not youth-led (or where the majority of the leadership is 30+)
- Non-Indigenous organizations
- Projects taking place outside of Canada
- For-profit corporations and businesses
Ineligible Expenses:
IYR will NOT fund projects that are political in nature, or that involve distributing substances (i.e. alcohol, nontraditional tobacco, marijuana, illicit substances, etc) and any activity outside of Canada (i.e travel, accommodations, food, etc)
Review Process:
Applications will be reviewed by a Community Grants Committee that includes Advisory Circle members, community members, Indigenous youth and other knowledge carriers. All members will have experience running programs and initiatives, overseeing projects and offering community support. 100% of the review committee will be Indigenous, and a minimum of 75% will be youth.
Capacity Building:
All funded groups will be required to take part in online training/skills development workshops on managing, facilitating, evaluating, and reporting on programs. There will be orientation sessions for all new grantees. All grantees will be assigned a IYR staff member and will have individual meetings with this staff member throughout the project.
Reporting and Evaluation:
Grantees will be asked to report twice on their projects.
Midterm Check-In (6 months into the project): Grantees will complete a short report and meet digitally with a Creation staff to talk through challenges and successes. Grantees will share updates on budget spending, completed activities and youth reach.
Final Report (2 months after project completion): Grantees will submit a final report (including a narrative report, the budget report, participant tracking sheet, program hour tracking sheet, etc) Grantees will receive a copy of the final report within the first month of their project start date.
Grantees will have to collect data as a part of their reporting.
Financial Oversight and Trusteeship:
Successful applicants over age 18 do not require an external funding administrator/trustee and, if successful, will receive the grant funds directly.
Successful applicants aged 15-17 will require a local non-profit or trusted community member over age 18 to serve as their grant trustee. This trustee may be someone the applicants are already familiar with or IYR can support in connecting them with a willing organization or community member as well as with creating a trustee agreement that ensures youth will be supported.
Release of Funds:
IYR does not issue cheques. Funding will be sent to grantees via a Plooto bank transfer/direct deposit. Grantees will receive funds within two weeks of submitting a signed funding agreement.
Timelines:
| Stages | Timeline |
| Applications Open | November 1, 2023 |
| Application Deadline | November 30, 2023 |
| Decisions Released | January 31, 2024 |
| Project Start Date | February 1, 2024 |
| Midterm Check-in | June 3 – 17, 2024 |
| Project End Date | November 30, 2024 |
| Final Report Due | January 31, 2025 |
