Solicited Call under the Canada Service Corps – Accelerator Micro-grants Stream

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

On this page

• Application period
• Description of the funding
• Objective
• Organizations solicited for funding
• Eligibility
• Contact us

Application period Closed

Invited organizations can apply between February 8, 2022, to March 22, 2022, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET).

Projects are expected to begin in Fall 2022.

The Solicited Call for Proposals is a competitive process and not all applications for funding submitted under this CFP will be selected. Funding is limited and subject to ESDC’s yearly budget considerations and allocation of funds by Parliament.

The Government of Canada reserves the right to accept an application for funding in whole or in part. Incomplete applications may be screened out.

Description of the funding

The Canada Service Corps (CSC) supports a national movement to, build a culture of service in Canada.

It encourages youth between 15 and 30 years of age, to give back to their community through meaningful service, with unique opportunities to:

• practice leadership
• learn new skills
• grow personal and professional networks
• gain valuable life experience

Projects should focus on at least one of the following service themes:

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

The Accelerator Micro-grants Stream has a competitive solicited intake. Certain organizations are invited to submit a proposal, and applications will be screened for eligibility and assessed against the criteria outlined in this document. Not all organizations will receive funding.

Objective

The Accelerator Micro-grants Stream has a competitive solicited intake. The objective is to test accelerator micro-grant delivery with CSC alumni, i.e. youth who have already completed a service opportunity with CSC. Organizations in this stream will design and deliver accelerator micro-grants to motivate altruistic behavior, help remove barriers, including financial ones, and to enable service objectives. With the goal of fostering a culture of service in Canada, participants will apply to receive funds up to $5,000 per participant to remove barriers and to accelerate or incubate their pre-existing ideas for service and civic engagement.

Project proposals must describe:

• How they will promote their programming to CSC organizations and alumni
• Their plan to reach/enrol and support Indigenous and under-served youth to meet the target of 50% Indigenous and under-served youth per project
• How they will incubate youth-led projects and connect participants with key resources and supports (e.g. technical knowledge and support; relevant education/training; social enterprise development; not-for-profit management; etc.)
• How they will support CSC alumni in translating their ideas and projects into longer-term service initiatives within their communities
• How they will equip CSC alumni with transferable skills to position them to scale up their ideas (e.g. networking and communication skills)
• How they will manage the distribution of funds to youth to cover service project costs

Organizations solicited for funding

ESDC has determined that a competitive, solicited call for proposals is the most effective process. Organizations have been identified and invited to apply under this funding for based on their ability to develop and facilitate youth volunteer service opportunities for CSC alumni.

Eligibility

This section describes how your application will be screened to determine its eligibility. Your application must meet the eligibility criteria listed below to apply for this program. Otherwise, your application will be deemed ineligible.

Eligible Recipients

Eligible recipients are:

• Not-for-profit organizations
• For-profit organizations (provided that the nature and intent of the activity is non-commercial, not intended to generate profit, and supports program priorities and objectives)
• Research organizations and institutes
• Indigenous organizations (including band councils, tribal councils and self-government entities)
• Municipal, Provincial and Territorial^{Footnote 1} entities, which includes institutions, agencies and Crown Corporations, Public health and educational institutions (i.e., universities, colleges, CÉGEPs, school boards/school districts)

New leveraging requirement

As of April 1, 2023, recipients will be required to contribute a portion of the project funding from sources other than funds from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) towards their project. This is known as a leveraging requirement.

This means that ESDC’s contribution towards approved projects will be for a maximum of 75% of the total project’s cost and the organization must source funds of 25% of the total project costs. This funding could come from the private sector, not-for-profit organizations and/or the federal or other levels of government. The leveraging requirement may also be satisfied by cash or in-kind contributions to the project by the Applicant organization.

If your organization’s proposed project is approved, there will be a 25% holdback of the total project costs. The 25% holdback is meant to guard against a scenario where an organization fails to meet the 25% leveraging requirement over the course of the project.

If your organization’s proposed project is approved, the terms and conditions for how the leveraging requirement will be satisfied over the course of the project will be set out in the funding agreement, including the release of holdback funds.

Additional details are provided in the Applicant Guide.

Contact us

If you have questions, please email us at NC-DGOP-POB-CSC-SJC-GD@servicecanada.gc.ca before March 18, 2022, at 12:00 p.m. (noon) (ET).