CFAs: IndigenousYouthRise Support Fund Grant (Canada)

There are many different projects that you can organize for your community with examples such as:

• Art based workshops & gatherings (beading, drumming, painting, weaving, carving, poetry, music, etc.)
• Concerts, talent shows or performances
• Educational seminars/webinars (medicines, mental health, cultural teachings, language, Indigenous youth perspectives, etc.)
• Storytelling, video projects or podcasts
• Care packages
• Community games, challenges & contests (social media, charades, scavenger hunts, IQ games, Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, jigging, powwow, virtual sports, etc.)
• Indigenous youth advocacy (roundtables on specific issues, panel discussions, etc.)
• Skill and knowledge development training or courses (leadership, mental health training, masterclasses, etc.)

Funding Information

• The #IndigenousYouthRise Support Fund provides Indigenous youth with funding up to $2000 so that they are able to start a project to support Indigenous youth or communities.

Eligible Cost

• Examples of Eligible Expenses:
  • Project materials needed, such as: beads, art supplies, wood, traditional materials, etc.
  • Honorariums, gifts, and offerings for people who are sharing their skills and expertise like elders, presenters, trainers, and traditional knowledge holders (hunters, craftspeople, etc)
  • Care package items (essential items, traditional items, self-care items, etc.)
  • Promotion and advertising of the project
  • Small door prizes and other incentives for youth and participants, such as swag items, gifts or grocery cards
  • Video conference subscriptions costs for trainings and knowledge development.

Ineligible Cost

• Ineligible Expenses:
  • Purchase of alcohol, marijuana and other illicit substances
  • Accommodation, lodging, and travel expenses related to the event. Examples are hotels/Airbnb for presenters/attendees, for both organizers and participants, gas, vehicle rentals, plane tickets, and per diem
  • Political projects or religious projects (note: they don’t consider Indigenous ceremonies to be “religious”)
  • Scholarships
  • Ongoing projects, or a project that already took place
  • Individual projects
  • Purchase of desktops, laptops, video cameras, and personal items in general etc. (this includes anything the organizer of the event is keeping for themselves)
  • Debt repayment of any type
  • Payment using grant funds cannot go toward staff salaries, admin work, any payment directly for the applicant, co-applicant, the applicant’s employees, or family members (this includes honorariums). They also encourage offering door prizes rather than giving cash directly to youth.
  • To aid or promote for-profit business ventures.

Eligibility Criteria

• Any Indigenous youth between the ages of 13 and 30 years of age are eligible to apply.
• Youth under the age of 20 will need a helper who is over the age of 20 (parent, sibling, relative, or community member) that will share the responsibility of:
  • Ensuring that the money is spent correctly;
  • Providing proof that the event happened;
  • Submitting a project summary
• If you are 20 years old or older, they do not require you to have a helper, however you will be responsible for the same 3 things.

Requirement

• Projects need to be Indigenous youth-led, start to finish!
• All local, community, provincial/territorial and federal public health policies must be followed – be safe!
• Projects cannot be for individuals – they must involve and support groups of youth, at least 5 or more (or even the whole community) to come together or support mental health in some way. Examples of individual projects are: Podcasts, paying for personal lessons, paying for personal items, etc.
• Individuals/Schools/Communities/Groups can apply for ONE grant at a time. Once you finish your project, you are welcome to apply again for a new project, but your reports and receipts must be submitted from previous projects first. You can also apply to do your original project again!
• Once you finish your project, you are welcome to apply again for a new project, but your reports and receipts must be submitted from previous projects first. You can also apply to do your original project again!
• You do not need a non-profit number or anything special to apply – you just need to show us you’re able to lead the project.
• If your project has been approved, you will need to sign an agreement & waiver with “We Matter”.
• If you’d like to answer the application questions through a video, or over the phone, they can arrange that.

For more information, visit We Matter.