On this page

• Program objectives
• Funding priorities
• Glossary

Program and stream objectives

• Create, promote, and facilitate access to volunteer service opportunities that are meaningful to youth, including Indigenous youth and under-served youth, or both
• Give youth opportunities to gain the knowledge, skills, tools and supports they need to successfully complete their projects (for example, provide non-financial incentives)
• Support youth in designing and implementing youth-led projects that address a community need

Funding priorities

We may give priority to:

• organizations that meet the diversity-related prioritization criteria. In other words, organizations that confirm:
  • they serve one or both of the following:
    • Indigenous populations (First Nations, Inuit, Métis citizens, Non-affiliated Indigenous persons)
    • under-served populations (Black and racialized populations, 2SLGBTQI+ populations, persons with disabilities, people from Official Language Minority Communities) and
  • at least 50% of their leadership, and if applicable, at least 50% of their governance bodies, is from at least one of the above-mentioned populations that they confirmed they serve
    • Leadership refers to executive management positions (director, and above)
    • Governance refers to Board of Director seats (governance bodies)
• organizations that are youth-led
  • At least 50% of their leadership and if applicable, at least 50% of their governance bodies are youth between 15 and 30 years of age
    • Leadership refers to executive management positions (director, and above)
    • Governance refers to Board of Director seats (governance bodies)
• organizations that aim to pay out a high percentage of their requested total funding amount directly to youth in the form of micro-grants
  • A high percentage is where the organization aims to pay 70% of their requested total funding amount directly to youth in the form of micro-grants
  • The remaining 30% would go towards other eligible costs such as overhead costs (normally up to 10%), participant and project costs. Please refer to the list of eligible costs
• projects that, together, provide geographic coverage across provinces and territories

Glossary

Here is a list of key terms used within this application guide.

Capacity:

Demonstrating that the organization has the support (experience, skills, knowledge) to ensure successful delivery of the project.

• For running an intake: Soliciting project proposals from qualified applicants
• For conducting a selection process: Reviewing submissions and selecting candidates for the purpose of managing and providing payments to participants or clients in a safe and secure way and ensuring funds are properly distributed
• For managing and disbursing funds: Managing the delivery and redistribution of organizational funding

Co-creation:

Co-creation refers to youth being directly involved in the development of youth-led projects. The organization is expected to support the youth-led project by disbursing micro-grants and providing the participating youth with the necessary tools and supports needed to successfully implement and complete their projects. Refer to Application Guide for complete list of eligible participant costs and supports.

Community need:

Gaps in supports or services available for community members.

Concrete:

This means that the project’s expected results are clear and based on its actual activities.

Diversity-related prioritization criteria:

Under all program streams, we may give priority to organizations that confirm:

• they serve one or both of the following:
  • Indigenous populations (First Nations, Inuit, Métis citizens, Non-affiliated Indigenous persons)
  • under-served populations (Black and racialized populations, 2SLGBTQI+ populations, persons with disabilities, and people from Official Language Minority Communities)
  • Note: Although included in the definition of under-served youth, the prioritization criteria doesn’t include newcomer, rural and remote and low-income household populations
• at least 50% of their leadership, and if applicable, at least 50% of their governance bodies is from at least one of the above-mentioned populations that they confirmed they serve
  • Leadership refers to executive management positions (director, and above)
  • Governance refers to Board of Director seats (governance bodies)

Eligible participants:

In order to be eligible, participants must be:

• Canadian citizens, permanent residents or persons who have received refugee status in Canada
• at least 15 years of age and no older than 30 years of age at the time their micro-grant project begins

Note that participants are volunteers who are individuals who give their time, energy, and skills for public benefit. They do this by choice and aren’t paid in exchange. This differs from paid employees and unpaid interns. Paid employees receive money for the work they do. Unpaid interns take part in the workplace to gain experience meant to help develop their career prospects.

Feasible:

This means that you’re able to finish all your project’s activities within the proposed duration.

Fiscal year:

A fiscal year is a 12-month period that starts from April 1 to March 31. For example, the fiscal year 2024 to 2025 will begin on April 1, 2024 and end on March 31, 2025.

Honoraria:

A payment of some kind that an organization gives to a person in return for a service where a fee isn’t traditionally required. The organization pays this at its discretion. Note that program participants aren’t eligible for honoraria. 

Indigenous youth:

Refers to youth who self-identify as First Nations, Inuit (Inuk), Métis citizens, Non-affiliated Indigenous persons (youth can be status or non-status).

Mandatory Employment Related Costs (MERCs):

Refers to payments that the Employer is required by law to make for their employees including, but not restricted to, those required for:

• Employment Insurance premiums
• Canada or Quebec Pension Plan contributions
• Vacation pay
• Workers’ Compensation Premiums or equivalent liability insurance (if applicable)
• Health Services Fund
• Quebec Parental Insurance premiums
• Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail in Quebec
• Health and Post-Secondary Education Tax in Newfoundland and Labrador
• Health and Post-secondary Education Levy in Manitoba
• Employer Health Tax where applicable

Measurable:

This means that you’re able to measure your project’s expected results.

Micro-grant:

A one-time cash payment (up to $5,000) that an organization redistributes to youth to support the implementation of youth-led projects to address a community need. Please note that a micro-grant can be for a single youth who may recruit other youth into their project if they choose, or for a single youth-led project wherein a number of youth are grouped together by the recipient organization to achieve an objective. In all cases, the project must be conceived by the youth and delivered solely by the youth.

Non-Financial Incentives:

Items and activities to attract and keep youth in volunteer service opportunities. For example, this may be certificates of completion, bus passes, access to internet, networking opportunities, etc.

Outcomes:

The short-term and medium-term changes that you expect the project to deliver. You can link more than one outcome to a goal. They answer the questions: “How do we know the project is a success?” and “How do the activities improve conditions for the target group?”

Outputs:

Direct products or services that your project produces to create the desired outcomes. Several activities could contribute to one output. They answer the question: “What will the project produce?”

Participant costs and supports:

Mentoring/coaching supports, alumni activities and funding participant costs and supports such as:

• living expenses
• equipment or services that enable virtual service opportunities
• mentorship
• dependent care
• transportation
• accommodation
• meals
• mental health supports
• career development supports
• specialized services or referrals to appropriate resources
• arrangements or equipment for persons with disabilities

Note that participant living expenses must have a direct link to the project objectives and activities. Living expenses must be due to participation in an intervention. They must also be reasonable and at fair market value. Living expenses aren’t to replace or act as an employment or income support.

Service themes:

Under the Canada Service Corps (CSC) program, the 6 service themes are:

• Reconciliation
• Building an inclusive Canada
• Preserving the environment
• Promoting civic and democratic engagement
• Strengthening youth resilience
• Potential new themes that are youth-identified

Skills:

Skills can include but aren’t limited to communication, collaboration, leadership, adaptability, creativity, and problem solving.

Under-served youth:

Refers to:

• black and racialized youth: Youth who self-identify as Black, East Asian/East Asian descent, Middle Eastern and/or North African descent, South Asian/South Asian descent, Southeast Asian/Southeast Asian descent, Latino/Latina/Latinx, Mixed , or as part of another racialized population
• youth with disabilities: Youth who self-identify as having a disability, which includes agility, hearing, mental health, developmental, intellectual, visual, motor skills, speaking, and learning
• 2SLGBTQI+ youth: Youth who self-identify as 2-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, or as part of sexual and gender diverse communities who use additional terminologies.
• newcomer youth: A recent immigrant who has lived in Canada less than 60 months (5 years), or a person on whom refugee status has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
• youth from Official Language Minority Communities (OLMC): An official-language minority youth is either a French-speaker living outside of Quebec, where English is predominant, or an English-speaker living in Quebec, where French is predominant. The government, in its Official Languages Act of 1988, committed to “enhancing the vitality of the English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada”
  • A list of communities is available
• youth living in rural or remote areas: Youth residing in a rural or remote location:
  • rural areas are defined by Statistics Canada’s Census of Population. The current definition for a rural area is a settlement with fewer than 1,000 people and with a population density below 400 inhabitants per square kilometre
    • rural areas include all territory lying outside population centres.
  • Remote areas are defined by Statistics Canada as being located in a “no metropolitan influenced zone” which includes census subdivisions (CSD) in provinces where none of the CSD resident employed labour force (excluding the category of no fixed workplace address) commute to work in any census metropolitan areas (CMA) or census agglomerations (CA).
    • It also includes CSD from the previous census with fewer than 40 persons in their resident employed labour force
    • The Territories are also considered remote areas even though they aren’t included in the above definition
• Youth from low-income households: Youth who indicate that they reside in a low-income cut-off (LICO) household, or identified their source of income as one of the following:
  • Crown Ward extended care and maintenance
  • Dependent of Employment Insurance or welfare assistance (in other words, Social Assistance, Income Supports, and Income Assistance).

Volunteer service opportunities:

This is a general term that CSC uses to include micro-grant projects and volunteer service placements that address community needs and promote lasting civic engagement.

Youth:

CSC defines youth as individuals between the ages of 15 and 30, except for the Service Placements National and Service Placements Regional streams whereby a youth can include an individual between the ages of 12 and 30.

Youth-led organizations:

Organizations in which at least 50% of their leadership and if applicable, at least 50% of their governance bodies are youth between 15 and 30 years of age. Under all program streams, we may give priority to organizations that are youth-led.

Youth-led projects: 

Projects whose design and implementation are led by youth. These youth-led projects are funded by a micro-grant which is disbursed by an organization who also supports the implementation of the project.