WISE Program to advance Gender Equity in Sport- Canada
Deadline: 8 November 2019
The Canadian Association For the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) has announced WISE Fund that is designed to inspire innovative initiatives and to build capacity for gender equity within organizations and support them to expand quality opportunities for girls and women to participate and lead in sport.
CAAWS is committed to equitably distributing grants to initiatives that reflect the diversity of girls and women in Canada. Some of these considerations include geography, language of program delivery, and socio-economic status, race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation, and/or ability of direct program beneficiaries.
Funding Information
This year, with the support of Sport Canada, CAAWS will be awarding 30 grants valued at $2,500 each!
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible Applicants:
- Sport organizations (NSOs, MSOs, PSOs, clubs)
- Community organizations
- University/college sport programs
- Schools
- Non-profit organizations
- Organizations who have previously received a grant can apply again
- New and existing initiatives that:
- Help keep girls and women participating in sport throughout their lives
- Increase the leadership capacity of girls and women through sport
- Enhance an organization’s capacity for gender equity
- Expenses directly related to the initiative activities, including:
- Compensation for human resources directly related to initiative activities (i.e. salaries, facilitator honoraria, etc.)
- Venue costs
- Direct marketing and communications costs to promote the initiative
- Travel costs related to carrying out the initiative
- Equipment directly related to carrying out the initiative
- Participant training/registration fees
Who is Ineligible?
- Individual applicants
- New and existing initiatives that:
- Funding for CAAWS services
- Multiple grant applications requesting funding for the same initiative
- Use of funds
- Prize monies/awards
- Retroactive initiative costs incurred before March 2020
- Liquor and alcohol costs
- Insurance costs
Other Requirements
Organizations must demonstrate the following through their application and proposed initiative:
- Alignment with the recommendations in their resource Actively Engaging Women and Girls: Addressing the Psycho-Social Factors
- Alignment with anti-abuse, harassment, and discrimination practices
- A commitment to fostering a safe and inclusive environment (i.e. compliance with the Responsible Coaching Movement, use of waivers, targeted recruitment of underrepresented groups, etc.)
Expectations of Grant Recipients
Their grant recipients are part of an ambitious nation-wide community working to advance women and girls in sport.
Recipients will be supported by CAAWS to complete a follow-up report and document their initiatives through photos, testimonials, and social media posts. They’ll also be part of a vibrant community of practice and will share their successes with CAAWS and other grant recipients.
Grant recipients will be required to:
- Sign a funding agreement;
- Spend grant funding between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021;
- Complete a financial report indicating how funds were used;
- Acknowledge CAAWS in the delivery of the initiative (recognition guidelines will be provided)\
Evaluation Process
- Once your application is submitted you will receive a notification receipt within 48 hours.
- All applications will be evaluated by a Review Committee and a shortlist will be selected.
- 30 grant recipients will be chosen by a Selection Committee.
- Selected grant recipients will be notified in late February or early March of 2020.
*Due to a high volume of applications, feedback will not be provided to those who are not selected.
Applications will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- A clear problem statement is provided.
- The objectives of the initiative are clearly described (i.e. SMART goals).
- The initiative is innovative.
- The initiative was designed with best practices for girls/women’s programming in mind.
- The initiative addresses safety and inclusion.
- Use of funds is described in detail and rationale is provided.
- The description of the initiative includes a sustainability plan and / or consideration is given to long-term impacts on participants.
Tips for Successful Applications
- Be creative. Think outside the box!
- Tell us what makes this initiative unique. Every community has their own set of obstacles – tell us why your initiative is an important solution to advancing gender equity.
- Use SMART goals to describe what your objectives (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound).
- Don’t just tell us how you are going to spend the money – explain why it’s important.
- i.e. If you are sending money on a piece of equipment, explain why that equipment is important and how this relates to your goals for the initiative.
- Think about what happens after the funded initiative is over. What will the participants/community be left with? Do you plan to run this initiative again? If so, how?
How to Apply
All applications must be submitted through the online application portal.
For more information, please visit https://www.caaws.ca/grants-and-recognition/wise-fund/application-process-2/