2SLGBTQI+ Community Capacity Fund: Glossary

7. Glossary

Advocacy

Advocacy is the process of influencing decision-makers, stakeholders and others to change elements of a system to the benefit of a target group. Advocacy can consist of activities that:

• carry out an awareness campaign
• do research or targeted outreach education
• build networks and coalitions
• recommend or put in place policy solutions
• communicate with governments to raise awareness on an issue and its impact on a community
• provide information or recommendations on an issue
• request information on an issue
• hold dialogues on the interpretation or application of a law or regulation
• provide oral or written proposals to parliament or proceedings that are matters of public record.

Advocacy strategy

An advocacy strategy sets out clear goals. Its activities identify the target audiences, timelines and actions to reach its goals.

Capacity Building

Activities that build capacity are those that increase an organization's ability to reach its goals. They improve skills, information, collaboration and tools. They also often improve an organization's sustainability.

Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus)

GBA Plus is a process used to assess how diverse people may experience policies and programs. The “plus” in GBA Plus shows that GBA goes beyond sex and gender differences. We all have many identity factors that intersect to make us who we are. It also considers many other identity factors like ethnicity and age.

Not-for-profit organization

A not-for-profit organization is a society or association that is organized and operates solely for social welfare, civic improvement or recreation or any other purpose except profit.

Results (outcomes)

Results are changes coming from an organization’s activities, policies, programs or initiatives. They are incremental:

• Short-Term: factors that drive behaviour such as knowledge, skills and awareness​
• Medium-Term: actual changes in action such as individual attitudes and behaviours
• Long-Term: good things that result from new behaviour such as benefits or values. This is usually the goal of the project

Strategic plan

A strategic plan describes an organization’s current state and its desired future state. It outlines an organization’s goals and an action plan to go from the current state to the desired future state. The purpose is to build team alignment and decision-making capacity. This will help the organization to be ready for the future and take advantage of opportunities to grow and improve.

It usually includes a/an:

• executive summary
• description of the organization
• mission, vision and value statement
• analysis of the internal and external environment
• SWOT analysis (“SWOT” is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)
• description of the organization’s concrete goals and projects to achieve them
• action plan that lists:
  • specific initiatives, who will carry them out
  • a timeline with specific dates
  • key performance indicators to track progress

Some plans also include details of how implementation will be monitored and evaluated. Strategic plans typically range from two to five years.

Sustainability plan

It describes how an organization will sustain and build upon the capacity achieved through this funding. The sustainability plan could include activities that:

• identify and set out sustainable fundraising practices
• develop knowledge transfer and retention practices to ensure that new skills are not lost to employee turnover
• ensure organizational governance by the creation of a leadership pipeline or succession plan

2SLGBTQI+ sector

The 2SLGBTQI+ sector works to advance 2SLBGTQI+ equality across Canada. It is made up of people, organizations, networks, coalitions and governments.

Work primarily or entirely with 2SLGBTQI+ communities

An organization works primarily or entirely with 2SLGBTQI+ communities if the main population that benefits from the organization’s work is one or several 2SLGBTQI+ communities. An organization is not eligible if 2SLGBTQI+ communities are only one part of the larger mandate population with which they work. Also, an organization is not eligible if 2SLGBTQI+ communities are one of several mandate subpopulations with which they work.