Prepare to apply

What is your organization's legal name? The legal name is usually:

• the name on your registration with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) or provincial/territorial equivalent, or
• the name used on funding cheques, bank accounts, etc.

What is the operating (or common) name of your organization (if it differs from the legal name)?

Please include full name rather than an acronym.

State the year your organization was established.

Please consult Who Can Apply for eligibility criteria. Choose 1 of the following:

• Not-for-profit

Not-for-profit organizations are established for purposes other than financial gain for their members. They primarily receive provincial/federal funding (supplemented by fundraising and fees). They often rely on volunteers to deliver programs and are often governed by a Board of Directors or a Committee. These organizations include:

• Community, charitable or voluntary organizations, including faith-based organizations (for example, churches, synagogues, temples, mosques)
• Associations of workers or employers as well as professional and industrial organizations
• Indigenous not-for-profit organizations
• Non-governmental organizations
• Unions Sector councils
• Not-for-profit Band Councils

• Public sector

All companies and agencies under the jurisdiction of the Government of Canada are classified as public sector employers. For the purposes of certain statutes, various agencies, such as school boards and hospitals, are considered part of the public sector. They are often referred to as parapublic organizations. Public sector employers can be large or small. They often have numerous employees and are governed by Public Policy mandates.

Public sector employers include:

• Public community colleges and vocational schools
• Public health, including public hospitals, nursing homes, senior citizen homes, rehabilitation homes
• Public degree-granting universities and colleges
• Municipal governments and agencies, including regional legislative bodies and departments
• School boards and elementary and secondary institutions

When a public sector employer uses a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) registered charity business number, it does not change the organization's designation to a not-for-profit.

• Private sector

Private organizations are established to generate a profit or to provide an economic advantage to their proprietors, members or shareholders. They primarily operate through company profits but can be supplemented by Provincial/Federal government funding. These organizations are privately owned and are independently managed. Note that volunteers may deliver some programs and a Board of Directors may govern the business.

Private sector employers include:

• bodies, incorporated or unincorporated, including partnerships and sole proprietorships
• financial Institutions
• business, incorporated or unincorporated bodies, which include:
  • Indian Band corporations
  • private Band Councils
  • private universities or colleges

For this CFP's eligibility criteria consult: Who Can Apply . Enter the most appropriate category from the list below based on what you chose in Question 4.

• Not-for-profit sector includes, but is not limited to:
  • Indigenous not-for-profit groups
  • Local community, charitable, voluntary organizations
  • National non-governmental organizations
  • Provincial non-governmental organizations
  • Not-for-profit Band Councils
• Indigenous organizations include, but is not limited to:
  • Band council
  • Tribal council
  • Self-government entity

Note: Applicants from the below organizations must demonstrate partnership with 1 or more disability organization(s) in their application.

These partners must have a leadership role in the overall project design and delivery of activities.

Letters of support from implicated partners must be provided at the time of agreement.

• Provincial/territorial entities include, but are not limited to (check note below):
  • Educational institutions: school boards, colleges and universities
  • Health and social services institutions: hospitals, community health centres, community centres
  • Municipalities: towns, cities or municipal government departments and agencies
• Public sector includes, but is not limited to (check note below):
  • Public degree school boards / school districts
  • Municipal public health
  • Municipal governments and agencies
  • Public community colleges and vocational schools
  • Public degree-granting universities
  • Public degree-granting colleges

For each unique 9-digit CRA business or registration number, organizations may only submit one application under this Call for Proposals (CFP).

In the event that multiple applications with the same 9-digit CRA business or registration number are submitted, ESDC will only review the first application received.

If you are not already a registered Grants and Contributions Online Services (GCOS) user, you will be required to provide a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) document showing your valid business number. This document must be no more than 2 years old.

Acceptable alternatives - If you do not have a CRA business number or a charity or not-for-profit registration number, you may also use your Registraire des Enterprises du Québec (REQ) number or federal corporation number with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, or you can provide 1 of the following documents:

• if incorporated:
  • a copy of letters of patents
  • articles of incorporation
  • certificate of incorporation
  • memorandum of association
  • your organization's rules, by-laws, or constitution
• If not incorporated, provide:
  • a copy of your rules
  • by-laws
  • council resolutions
  • constitution, or
  • any other documents to validate the integrity of the applicant information

State the primary address of your organization. The primary address is usually the head or main office. Give a complete address in a format recognized by Canada Post. Consult the Canada Post website for information.

State "yes" or "no" to the question of whether your mailing address is the same as the primary address. If you answer "no", state the mailing address of your organization.

In 500 words or less, describe the main activities of your organization. Please explain your mandate and how your organization supports persons with disabilities.

Who is the main contact person for the proposed project? Provide the contact information for the person who will be ESDC's primary contact person in respect to your application for funding.

This person must be available for questions during the review process.

Should the contact details change after your application submission, you must notify the Department in writing as soon as possible.

Note that this email address will be used for all correspondence.

If the main contact cannot be reached, who else can we contact? Provide the person's full name, telephone number where we can reach them during business hours and their email address. The secondary contact's information should be different from the main contact person.

This person must be available for questions during the review process.

Note that this email address will be used for all correspondence when we cannot reach the primary contact.

If "Yes", complete the fields for each amount owing. Your application will not be rejected for this reason or make it ineligible. Your organization must provide details as to the type of debt and the arrangements you have for repayment.

If you have a payment plan in place to repay the debt, check "Yes" under Question 19, otherwise check 'No'. You could be asked to provide the current arrangements for repayment during the assessment of your application.

Give a short title that describes your project. The title must be a maximum of 64 characters. Do not use "National AccessAbility Week", or your organization's name.

State the planned start and end dates of your project. The start date should be February 1, 2027, and the end date should be February 1, 2030. Project proposals that are outside of this date range will be screened out.

Please note that your project will be required to cover activities to be implemented for National AccessAbility Week 2027, 2028 and NAAW 2029.

You will be notified in writing on the status of your application. You cannot begin any of the proposed activities or incur any expenses until your project is approved. Approval requires both you and the Department to sign a Funding Agreement. Do not assume any commitment until the signing of the Funding Agreement. If you purchase anything for the project after the approval but before the signing of the Agreement, the amount may not be reimbursed, and your project may no longer be eligible.

Please provide the amount of funding you are requesting from ESDC for your project.

This amount must be up to $180,000 over 3 years or $360,000 over 3 years. Project proposals that request more than the maximum amount of funding of $360,000 will be screened out.

Please note that if your project proposal is requesting funding over $180,000 and up to $360,000, you will need to meet additional project eligibility requirements. Consult Part 4 - Questions 33 to 36 below.

Describe your project. Please explain in your response:

• the need for your project in the disability community
• the expected result
• the targeted groups
• the partnerships your organization has secured to support the project, including disability organizations, diverse groups from within the disability community and multi-sectoral partnerships
• your plans to scale your project*
• any other relevant information related to the delivery and success of your project

*Note: To be eligible for funding, projects need to include plans that explain how they intend to scale their project so that it can grow over the years, and their activities can reach more people and increase their impact.

Note: If you are requesting over $180,000 and up to $360,000, please complete the additional questions in Part 4 - Questions 33 to 36.

Describe how the project will meet the objectives, outcomes and priorities of the call for proposals. Please explain in your response:

• how your project will meet the objectives
• how your project will meet the outcomes
• how your project will include people with disabilities in planning and delivery
• how your project will support NAAW activities within underrepresented communities (e.g., Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs), 2SLGBTQIA+, Indigenous (First Nations, Métis and Inuit), equity-deserving communities including persons with disabilities, Black and other visible minority groups)
• how your project will align with key priority areas of the Accessible Canada Act and its regulations
• how your project will support Official Languages
• how your project will support the use of accessible and inclusive services

Please note that your project objectives must be more specific than the overall goals. Both the objectives and outcomes should be S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound).

Explain how you will track the progress of your project. Provide details on how you will measure success, for example, identify who is benefiting from the project.

Note: If you are requesting over $180,000 and up to $360,000, please consult the additional questions in Part 4 - Questions 33 to 36.

Project activities must go beyond your organization's normal activities. This program does not fund an organization's core, existing or ongoing activities.

Project activities are the steps that you will take to meet the objectives of the project. Activities should be S.M.A.R.T.: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Include details about all the planned activities for National AccessAbility Week 2027, 2028 and 2029. Refer to the list of eligible activities in Who Can Apply for more information.

The activities should show how you would achieve the project outcome (s).The following can help guide you on how to fill out the project activities and timelines table in the application:

• activities should be listed in bullet point form and organized in chronological stages
• starting each bullet with a verb should help keep activities clear and concise
• if any partners are involved, specify which activities will be carried out by the partner(s) and which will be carried out by your organization
• if any of the activities involve participants, include a brief description of how participants will be involved and for what specific purpose, and
• if any of the activities involve research, include a brief outline of the methods, processes or strategies that will be used, created or established (for example marketing strategy, research or survey)

State where your project activities will be taking place. Will they be at the organization's main address and/or at a different location? If you answered 'yes' to a different location, include the physical address for every other location.

ESDC is committed to enhance the vitality of the English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada. We support and assist their development and foster the full recognition and use of both English and French languages in Canadian society.

Official language minority communities (OLMCs) are:

• English-speaking communities established within the province of Québec, and
• French-speaking communities established outside the province of Québec

If your proposed project involves OLMCs, you should answer "Yes" to this question. Complete the question following the instructions in the application.

Answering "No" to this question will not invalidate your application.

Select "Yes" or "No"

If "yes", select the specific target group(s) that apply(ies) to your project. Select all that apply(ies).

For example:

• Indigenous Peoples
• persons with disabilities
• low-income communities
• members of 2SLGBTQIA+

List each activity that you described in Question 26 and its associated cost. Costs must be reasonable, eligible and support project activities. Please ensure you consult the list of eligible costs when preparing your budget.

Note, to be eligible you must also complete the Budget Detail Template form.

Complete the question following the instructions in the application.

Leveraging (project cost sharing) is not necessary under this call for proposals. If you are getting a cash contribution from another source, tell us how much.

Donations (in-kind) are goods or services that people or organizations give your organization for free. Your organization or other organizations or partners can donate. Donations include equipment, services, or labour that you receive free.

To be eligible as a donation:

• your organization must justify the need for donation for the project to succeed
• the organization who gives the donation also gives you a document showing its commitment

ESDC will recognize in-kind contributions only if we can estimate what your organization would pay for the contribution.

Provide more details about your project's budget if needed. Please note that for projects requesting more than $180,000 and up to $360,000, please consult questions 33-36 below.

Note: To be eligible, you must also complete the Budget Detail Template form as noted above.

For all projects: describe your plans to scale the project so it can grow over the years and the activities you plan to reach more people and increase the project's impact.

If you are requesting more than $180,000 and up to $360,000, your project must have regional or national scope (delivered in more than 1 province or territory). Please explain how your project will meet this requirement.

Note: Indigenous organizations are exempt from this eligibility requirement.

If you are requesting more than $180,000 and up to $360,000, your project must include one or more partnerships with diverse groups within the disability community.

Please describe your partners. Include details about the role(s) of each partner and how they will contribute to the success of your project. You should also describe their role(s) in each activity in which they will collaborate with you. You must include a letter(s) of support from your partner(s) at the time of agreement.

Note: Indigenous organizations are exempt from this eligibility requirement.

This question is asked for statistical purposes ONLY. Your answer will not impact your funding request.