Funding: Career Focus Local and Regional Projects – Develop Your Application

Section 1A – Organization Identification

ESDC uses the information you provide in this section to establish your organization’s identity.

Question 1 – Legal Name

Please provide the legal name of your organization. This is the name associated with your registration with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). This must be an exact match to what was captured when your organization registered with CRA. If there is a discrepancy between these two sets of information, the Department will be unable to validate your application. This could also be the name that appears on funding cheques.

Question 2 – Operating (Common) Name (if different from legal name)

Please provide the operating (or common) name of your organization if it is different from the legal name.

Question 3 – Business or Registration Number

Please provide your 15-digit CRA business number or, for registered charities and not-for-profit organizations, your registration number.

Example: 123456789 AB 1234

For more information, please visit the CRA website.

Question 4 - Organization Type

Your answer to this question must be one of the following:

• Not-for-Profit
• Private
• Public

Question 5 – Organization Category

Please select the appropriate category from the following:

Not-for-Profit

• Aboriginal Not-for-Profit Groups
• Associations of Workers and/or Employers
• International Non-governmental Organizations
• Local community, charitable, voluntary organizations
• Non-governmental Organizations with a focus to encourage employment
• National Non-governmental Organizations
• Not-for-Profit Band Councils
• Provincial Non-governmental Organizations
• Sector Councils
• Unions

Private

• Banks
• Businesses, bodies incorporated or unincorporated
• Indian Band Corporations (profit basis)
• International Sector
• Private Band Councils
• Private Universities and Colleges
• For-profit

Public

• Contributions to Provinces and Territories
• International Government Organizations
• Municipal Governments and Agencies
• Provincial Governments and Agencies
• Public Degree-Granting Colleges
• Public Degree-Granting Universities
• Public Community Colleges and vocational schools
• Public Health
• School Board/Other Educational Institution not classified elsewhere
• Territorial Governments

Question 6 – Year Established

Please indicate the year your organization was established.

Questions 7 – 11 – Organization Address

Please indicate the address of your organization.

Only project activities that take place in Canada will be eligible for funding.

Questions 12 – 13 – Telephone and Fax

Please indicate the telephone and fax number of the organization.

Question 14 – E-Mail Address

Please indicate the e-mail address of the organization.

Questions 15 – 19 - Mailing Address

Please indicate the mailing address if different from your organization’s address.

Questions 20 – 21 – Telephone and Fax

Please indicate the telephone and fax number if different from your organization’s address.

Question 22 – Organization’s Mandate

Please describe the primary work of your organization, including your mission, mandate and objectives.

Section 1B – Organization Contact

Please provide a main contact for the purposes of communicating with your organization about this project. This could be a project manager or coordinator, an executive director or someone else. Typically, the person responsible for the project is identified here.

Question 23 – Given Name

Please provide the name of the person in your organization who will be ESDC’s main contact for the project.

Question 24 – Position Title

Please provide the title of the organization contact identified in Question 23.

Example: Executive Director

Question 25 – Preferred Language of Communication

Please indicate the preferred language of the organization’s main contact for both written and spoken communication.

• EN indicates English
• FR indicates French

Question 26 – Organization Contact - Address

Please indicate whether the address for the Organization Contact is the same address as the Organization Address or the Organization Mailing Address given in Section 1A. If different, please indicate in the box.

Questions 27- 31 – Contact Address

If you selected “Different” in Question 26, please provide the address for the Organization Contact here.

Questions 32- 33 -Telephone and Fax

Please indicate the telephone and fax numbers of the Organization Contact.

Question 34 – E-Mail Address

Please indicate the e-mail address of the Organization Contact.

Section 1C – Organizational Capacity

ESDC uses the information provided in this section to help assess the organization’s capacity to manage a project.

Question 35 – How many employees does your organization currently have?

Please indicate the number of people employed in your organization. The number of employees must be a whole number.

Question 36 – Has your organization undergone any important transformations in the past two years?

Important transformations refers to events such as a change in leadership in the board of directors or at the executive level, an important reduction, increase or turn-over in staff, a merger with or split from another organization, a change in mandate or main activities, etc.

If you answer yes, please provide a description of the changes.

Question 37 – Please describe how your Organization has the experience and expertise to carry out the proposed project activities? If applicable, please include any past experience(s) with ESDC and the results of the project(s).

Please provide a description of your organization’s experience and expertise in administering projects. This information will help ESDC to assess the extent to which your organization is capable of undertaking the proposed project activities and achieving the expected results. You may wish to highlight related past achievements in addition to describing current expertise and activities or projects.

This section should include a description of:

• previous experience in delivering youth-related projects funded by ESDC/Service Canada and by other federal departments, municipal, provincial, or territorial governments (include department, responsible project officer, project name, date length, funding, proposed targets and outcomes); and
• previous Career Focus projects.

If you are applying for funding from other areas of ESDC/Service Canada and/or other government departments under the Youth Employment Strategy, please indicate: the name of the government department, the amount of funding requested and/or approved, the number of participants and how the activities differ from the ones requested in the proposal for funding under ESDC/Service Canada.

Question 38 – Does your organization owe any amounts to the Government of Canada?

If yes, please indicate the amounts owing in the spaces provided. See the following example:

Example:

Answering "yes" to this question will not invalidate your application. However, you must provide details as to the type of debt owed and the arrangements that have been made for repayment.

Question 39 – Is a payment plan in place?

Please indicate whether or not payment arrangements have been made.

Section 2A – Project Identification

Question 40 – Project Title

Please provide a brief, descriptive Project Title.

Questions 41 and 42 – Planned Project Start and End Dates

Please indicate the planned start and end dates of your project.

Please note that activities cannot begin before your project is approved and an agreement has been signed by both the recipient and ESDC.

You should not assume any commitment on the part of ESDC until funding has been approved and a formal agreement has been signed by a representative of ESDC. ESDC will notify you in writing of the outcome of the review of your application.

The maximum duration of a Career Focus agreement is 3 years.

Section 2B – Project Description

ESDC uses the information you provide in this section as part of the assessment in determining whether or not your proposed project is eligible for funding.

Question 43 - Project Objectives

Please outline the objectives of your project.

Project objectives should (but are not limited to):

• be consistent with the funding program’s objectives;
• identify a specific outcome(s) that the project is designed to accomplish (e.g. increase knowledge or skills);
• ensure that these outcome(s) are measurable;
• identify who will benefit from the project; (eg. Official Language Minority Community); and,
• show how meeting the project objectives will help to achieve the identified outcomes.

Project Objectives - provide a clear and measurable description of:

• project objectives, activities, goals and measurable milestones;
• expected outcomes, including how project activities will benefit the community and assist participants in acquiring employability skills, finding employment, becoming self-employed, or returning to school;
• targets for the number of youth completing the project and the number of participants achieving the results listed above; and,
• other positive outcomes related to proposed activities.

Question 44 - Project Activities

Please describe the proposed project activities.

Project activities are the steps that will be taken to meet the objectives of the project. Activities should be specific, measurable, realistic and relevant to the project objectives and demonstrate how the project outcome(s) will be achieved.

Your project should be broken down into various steps (milestones) that reliably show your expected progress and plans to complete the project on time and within budget.

Please include details about how the project will be delivered. For example, will there be third-party agreements, or will the organization deliver all aspects of the project?

There should be a clear link between the project activities and the project costs outlined in the project budget. The information you provide here will have a significant bearing on the assessment of your project and of your organization’s ability to undertake the project successfully.

Proposed Activities - are key components of the proposal and should be clearly defined. To be eligible for Career Focus funding, proposed projects must involve a minimum of 8 youth participants.

Participant information should describe the:

• participants' recruitment method, (i.e. through interviews and/or information sessions, referrals from youth serving agencies, and other community organizations);
• basis for selection of participants (i.e. eligibility criteria, interests, commitment, education and/or readiness for participation in a project);
• participants targeted;
• means by which participants' eligibility will be verified; and
• fields or sectors in which participants will conduct their work experience.

Question 45 - Expected Results of the Project

Please summarize the expected results of your project. The expected results of the project must be clearly linked to the project objectives. They must also be specific, concrete and measurable.

Expected results should be listed under the following Career Focus key performance indicators:

• the targeted number of participants to be served;
• the targeted number of participants who will become employed; and,
• the targeted number of participants who will return to school or stay in school.

Example:

This project will have 20 participants and of these 20 participants:

• 15 will have found employment
• 3 will have returned to school
• 2 will neither be employed nor return to school

Important - Under Career Focus, ESDC/Service Canada has established a minimum success rate of 80% of participants being employed or returning to advanced studies upon completion of their work experience, with an expectation that the majority of successful participants will find employment.

Section 2C – Project Details

Question 46 – Does the project include results measurement indicators?

Please describe how you will meet and track the expected results of the project.

Having a clear strategy to measure results is the best way to ensure that you know how your project is progressing towards meeting the expected results. ESDC uses the information you provide in this section to assess the quality of your application and your capacity to demonstrate results.

Provide a description of how each participant's progress and achievements, and/or the overall success of the project will be measured, monitored and reported during and after the project.

Question 47 – Does the proposed project fit with your organization’s other activities?

Please describe how the project relates to the ongoing work of your organization. You may wish to highlight how past achievements and current activities and/or projects are related to your proposed project. This information helps ESDC to determine the extent to which your organization is able to undertake the proposed project and to achieve the expected results.

Question 48 – Will any of the project activities be delivered in a different location than where your organization is located?

Please indicate “Yes” or “No”. If “yes”, please list the main address first, followed by each additional location.

If there are more than five locations, please include in Appendix A.

Question 49 – Is your project designed to benefit or involve people in English or French-language minority communities? If yes, please provide an explanation and any details on whether consultations will take place with these communities?

ESDC is committed to enhancing the vitality of the English and French linguistic minorities in Canada by supporting and assisting their development and fostering the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society. Official Language Minority Communities are English-speaking communities established within the province of Quebec and French-speaking communities established outside the province of Quebec.

If your proposed project will involve official language minority communities, you should answer ‘Yes’ to this question and ensure that this is listed and described in your answer to Question 43 - Project Objectives.

Please also identify the linguistic profile of the beneficiaries targeted by the project, document any special needs of the official language minority community and indicate whether or not they were consulted. The related budgetary items can be identified in Part 3 of the Application.

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

Question 50 – Will any other organizations, networks, or partners be involved in carrying out the project?

Career Focus requires applicants to secure the involvement of other organizations, networks, or partners. Please describe the other group(s) or individual(s) as well as the role(s) and expertise they will bring to the project.

This information will help ESDC to assess the support base for your project.

Partner Information

This section should specify details concerning the:

• employers' participation and other partners (i.e. type of organization, location, experience dealing with the target group, etc.);
• proposed job descriptions outlining the roles and responsibilities of partners involved; and
• relationships between the various partners and the applicant, including monetary and/or in-kind contributions, and details concerning the specific involvement and relevant experience (if applicable) of each partner in the project.

Applicants and/or partners (including employers) must provide monetary and/or in-kind contributions that reflect a commitment to the success of the project. This funding could come from the private sector, not-for-profit organizations and/or other levels of government. In addition, private sector employers must make either a cash or in-kind contribution to the project.

For example, the following template could be used as a starting point:

Partnerships

The organization is supported by several community partners such as the XYZ Employment Centres, Operation Youth Placement and the Lower Mainland Youth Centre who will act as host employers by offering work experiences to youth participants.

Cash contributions

Local employers will cover approximately 50% of the participants’ wages (or more, depending on the hourly rate) and will cover all of the employment-related costs during the work experience, which will last for 24 weeks.

In-kind contributions

Organization ABC will deliver employability workshops and will organize employment-related activities throughout the project.

Question 51 – Does the proposed project address the Program’s priorities?

Please indicate “Yes” or “No”. If “yes”, please select all that apply.

Program Priorities:

• proposals which include work placements within the private sector;
• proposals which include work placements in high-demand fields such as science, technology, mathematics, engineering and the skilled trades; and,
• proposals which include work placements with small- to medium-size employers (defined as having fewer than 500 employees).

Question 52 – Does your project include activities that are listed in the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency’s (CEAA) Regulations Designating Physical Activities established under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012?

Please Note: Applicants need to verify if their proposed activities are listed under the above Act – Please visit the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency website to access the list of Regulations Designating Physical Activities.

Please indicate “Yes” or “No”.

• If the answer is NO, no Environmental Assessment will be required.
• If the answer is YES, then, as per the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, applicant must submit the project description electronically to the CEAA (see Preparing a Project Description) for further review. The CEAA will determine if an Environmental Assessment (EA) is required based on the project description.

Important: ESDC funding will be conditional upon receipt by ESDC of, as the case may be, CEAA confirmation that an EA is not required -or- a copy of the completed EA and confirmation that your organization is equipped to appropriately address the EA findings.

Section 3A – Anticipated Sources of Contribution

The Career Focus program requires applicants to seek a minimum of 20% of total project costs in cash and/or in-kind contributions for their proposed project from other sources of funding. Each program has a “stacking limit”, that is, a maximum permitted amount of combined funding from federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments for any one project or initiative. Contributions to the project cannot exceed 100% of eligible expenditures.

ESDC uses the information provided in this section to verify that your funding request conforms to any stacking limit or requirement for funding from other sources.

“Other sources of funding” includes any source of funding (including from your organization) other than the program to which you are applying for funding.

Question 53 - Source Name

Please include the name of the organization that will contribute funds and/or in-kind contributions to this project. ESDC should be listed as the first source name and any other sources listed below.

Question 54 - Source Type

Use the following list to identify the type of anticipated funding partner:

• Crown Corporation
• Federal Department or Agency
• Foreign Governments
• Not-for-Profit
• Private Sector
• Provincial/Territorial Government
• Regional or Municipal Government
• Sponsor/Organization/Recipient
• Union
• Other (please specify)

Question 55 - Cash

Please include the amount of funding that will be provided.

Question 56 - In-kind ($ value)

In-kind contributions are non-monetary goods or services that may be contributed to the project by your organization or other organizations or partners for which your organization will not be requesting re-imbursement. In-kind support may include coaching/mentoring, donated equipment, services or facilities necessary for the proposed project that would otherwise have to be purchased.

To be considered valid, in-kind contributions should contribute to the success of the project, and their monetary equivalent estimated at fair market value.

Applicants and/or partners (including employers) must provide monetary and/or in-kind contributions that reflect a commitment to the success of the project. This funding could come from the private sector, not-for-profit organizations and/or other levels of government. In addition, private sector organizations are required to make cash and/ or in-kind contributions to the project.

Question 57 - Confirmed Cash and In-Kind

Cash and In-kind contributions should be committed to in writing by the contributing party. Please check (x) if this has been confirmed.

When applicable, and if possible, written confirmation of partner involvement should be submitted prior to signing a contribution agreement.

Section 3B – Project Budget

ESDC uses the information provided in this section to assess the overall cost of the proposed project, as well as the general nature of the expenditures to be covered by all anticipated sources of funding.

Please find in Appendix B the Budget Detail Template which must be included as part of the application.

Question 58 – Cost Categories

Please summarize your project budget according to the Budget Detail Template attached in Appendix B.

Key elements to consider in determining the project budget are: contributions from other sources, duration of the project, occupations, prevailing wage rates and type of project activities. Please note that applicants must also detail monetary and/or in-kind contributions from other sources that reflect a commitment to the success of the project.

No costs are eligible as a contingency option. Costs must be foreseeable to be negotiated in the original agreement and will otherwise require a negotiation and amendment of the contribution agreement.

Eligible expenditures are the expenses considered necessary to support the purpose of the funding. The following list of items consists of possible expenditures if they are related to the project’s activities and eligible under the program.

Cost Categories

1. Administrative Costs

a) Administrative Costs

Means costs related to:

• audit fees;
• bank fees;
• basic telephone fees (including fax lines);
• contracting (if not contracted specifically to support the project), bookkeeping, janitorial services, Information Technology (IT), equipment maintenance services, security, translator, training fees, consultant fees, printing contracts fees(i.e. large job);
• equipment repair and maintenance (includes photocopy meter charges);
• insurance (fire, theft, liability);
• IT maintenance;
• legal fees;
• materials and office supplies (e.g. pens, pencils, paper, envelopes, cleaning supplies, subscriptions);
• monthly internet fees;
• management and administrative staff wages not working on outcome of projects including Mandatory Employment Related Costs (MERCs), Employment Insurance (EI), Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Quebec Pension Plan (QPP), vacation pay and benefits;
• operational printing contracted externally (business cards, letterhead, ad hoc unanticipated print jobs, minor updates and/or printing of organizational or program brochures, etc.);
• other non-participant-based costs (e.g. water where public water is not safe for drinking, staff and volunteer recognition);
• postage and courier fees;
• professional development for management and administrative staff - amount to cover basic training needs as per organization’s existing policies and employment related requirements; and,
• staff and volunteer transportation (bus fare, taxi and parking required for delivery of project activities but not part of travel claims; does NOT include monthly parking fees nor bus pass).

2. Capital Costs

a) Facilities (if applicable)

Means cost of:

• construction or renovations;
• pre-development; and,
• purchasing land and/or buildings.

b) Capital Assets

Means any asset/expenditure requiring agreement of disposition, as per program-specific Terms and Conditions (Ts and Cs) and value. For example:

• computer;
• furniture; and,
• software.

3. Direct Costs

a) Staff Wages

Means wages, MERCs and benefits paid to or on behalf of staff working directly on the project. MERCs mean Mandatory Employment-Related Costs and include Employment Insurance Premiums, Canada Pension Plan / Quebec Pension Plan contributions, vacation pay, etc. Benefits means payments an employer is required to make by virtue of company policy or a collective agreement such as contributions to a group pension plan.

b) Participant Costs

Means participant wages and Mandatory Employment-Related Costs (MERCs), Completion bonuses, and other employment-related benefit costs (Workers Compensation Board, medical care, dental, pension, etc.) where warranted by current organizational Human Resources policies and/or provincial/territorial labour standards

General project participant costs:

• adaptive-technology set-up;
• dependent care;
• disability-related incremental costs (i.e. additional per diems for fees for assistance provided, etc.);
• disability-related supports (attendant care, note takers, sign language interpreters);
• emergency assistance (financial assistance provided to a participant to cover accommodation, food, laundry, telephone calls);
• living expenses;
• materials and supplies, books and testing materials to be used by/for participants;
• participation and completion recognition;
• professional fees related to participants – sub-contracting (e.g. vocational assessments, needs assessments, guest speakers, etc.);
• travel, transportation; and,
• tuition fees.

c) Project Costs

Means costs related to:

• advertising (newspaper ads, website ads, flyers, etc.);
• conference attendance fees;
• conference fees (meeting room rental, guest speakers, etc.);
• equipment lease, rental or purchase (including computers, fax machines, etc.); Computer software (with a value that is less than the amount identified in the funding agreement under the disposition of capital assets clause or without lease to own);
• furniture (with a value that is less than the amount identified in the funding agreement under the disposition of capital assets clause);
• goods and services tax (GST) / Harmonized sales tax (HST) / Provincial sales tax (PST);
• hospitality;
• materials and office supplies (e.g. pens, pencils, paper, envelopes, cleaning supplies, subscriptions);
• memberships fees (professional and organizational), affiliation fees and business licenses and permits;
• professional fees related to project activities;
• reference materials (books, periodicals, subscriptions, etc., which cannot be easily traced/tracked back to usage by project participants);
• rent, lease (including applicant owned premises), repairs and leasehold improvements;
• signage;
• significant project costs associated with the following types of expenditures (i.e. one-time, non-recurring, non-standard/non-basic amounts over and above the regular, day-to-day operational costs):
  • telephone (installation and extraordinary costs related to telephones and/or fax lines required over and above regular operating requirements);
  • postage fees (significant costs associated with project activities, which increase expected costs of postage beyond normal operating requirements);
  • internet (web page design, etc.) and other IT requirements (significant costs associated with project activities, which increase expected internet related costs beyond normal operating requirements);
  • printing fees (significant costs associated with project activities, which increase expected printing costs beyond normal operating requirements);
  • contracting (if contracted specifically to support the project) (e.g. bookkeeping, janitorial services, Information Technology (IT), equipment maintenance services, security, audit costs, legal fees, translator, training);
• staff disability supports (duty to accommodate);
• staff training for disability-related issues (e.g. sign language training);
• utilities; and,
• support to individuals (paid through contribution recipients).

Ineligible Costs:

• costs associated with fundraising activities;
• Canada Revenue Agency or payroll penalties;
• parking tickets;
• fines or penalties;
• entertainment costs;
• depreciation on fixed assets;
• board membership fees;
• capital costs for the construction of a building (other than minor repairs or renovations) or the purchase of land or buildings;
• purchase of motor vehicles;
• legal fees and court awards for inappropriate dismissal or other inappropriate/illegal activity;
• membership fees for privates clubs, etc. (golf clubs, gyms, etc.) unless part of existing (non-monetary) employment benefits package;
• staff salary bonuses if not originally negotiated into agreement;
• purchase of alcoholic beverages;
• purchase of any illegal substances;
• mentor and/or coach wages;
• unreasonable gifts or unreasonable payments for recognition; and,
• other costs ineligible as per program Terms and Conditions.

Applicants shall not request the payment of any charge or fee from participants for their participation in the project.

If the proposal involves subcontracting the Budget Detail Template must include a rationale and describe the process to select the sub-contractors. If applicants intend to contract or subcontract for a value of $25,000, they must demonstrate that the costs represent fair market value. Failure to comply with ESDC requirements may result in these expenditures being ineligible for reimbursement. In the situation where a contract for goods and services is below the $25,000 threshold, the principles of accountability, fairness, best value for money must still be conformed to.

When completing questions 58-61 on the Application please provide budget totals for categories 1, 2 and 3.

Any detail or additional information regarding the proposed budget that does not fit on the Budget Detail Template (Appendix B) can be included in Question 64.

Question 59 – 61 – ESDC/ Other - Cash/ Other - In-kind

Please provide the total planned expenditures.

“Other” includes funding from another source. Not ESDC.