LGBTQ2 projects fund call for proposals: How to develop your application

3. How to develop your application

The first step is to create an account in the Online Application and Intake System (ONAIS). Consult the ONAIS system user guide to find more information on how to create an account. It also explains how to complete, submit, and track an application.

We recommend that you read this section while completing the application. It provides important details on the information and documents we need. We will review your application using eligibility and assessment criteria:

• Eligibility criteria: Basic elements that must be met to assess your application for funding.
• Assessment criteria: Other elements evaluated to determine the strength of your application. We will only assess eligible applications.

We have indicated these in the instructions below.

Before starting an application, we encourage you to take the free online course: Introduction to Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus). It will help make your project more inclusive.

In this section

• Part A: Organization information
• Part B: Primary contact person information
• Part C: Secondary contact information
• Part D: Project information
• Part E: Budget
• Part F: Declaration

Part A: Organization information

You will enter this information in your organization’s profile in the Online Application and Intake System (ONAIS). Please review the organization’s profile in ONAIS before starting an application. For this call for proposals, we ask that you include specific information in the question on mandate and governance.

Legal name

State the legal name of your organization. You can find it on your certificate of incorporation or registration or on a document from the Canada Revenue Agency. If it is an acronym, give the full legal name.

If there is no legal name, state the operating name of your organization. If it is an acronym, state the operating name in full.

Operating name

State the operating or common name of your organization if it is different from the legal name. The operating name is the most used name of your organization. If it is an acronym, state the operating name in full.

Legally constituted

Indicate how your organization is legally constituted.

If your organization was created under an Act, indicate which one (for example, Indian Act, University Act). Some organizations are created under an Act but also have a certificate of incorporation or registration. If this applies to your organization, you must provide your organization’s certificate.

If your organization is incorporated, you must provide your organization’s certificate of incorporation. It displays your organization’s incorporation number.

If your organization is registered, you must provide your organization’s certificate of registration (“certificat d’attestation” in Quebec). It is issued from the provincial or territorial registrar. It displays your organization’s registration number.

Eligibility Criteria

• The applicant is a Canadian, legally constituted not-for-profit organization.
• The application must be complete. It must include a valid incorporation or registration certificate.

Type

Select your organization’s type.

All applicants must be legally constituted not-for-profit organizations, which work primarily or entirely with LGBTQ2 communities. To show this, you must provide your mandate or describe your organization’s experience.

In exceptional circumstances and where no such organizations which work primarily or entirely with LGBTQ2 communities exist in a given region or community, an exception may be granted to the above. Please send an email to Call for Proposals Enquiries to confirm an exception prior to submitting an application.

Eligibility criterion: The applicant organization is a legally constituted not-for-profit organization that works primarily or entirely with LGBTQ2 communities or has been granted an exception prior to applying.

Organization scope

Indicate the scope of your organization as it currently appears in your mandate:

• Local: Activities of the organization generally cover at least one community, such as a town, city, or regional municipality
• Regional, provincial or territorial, interprovincial or inter-territorial: Activities of the organization cover a region of a province or territory, an entire province or territory, or two or more provinces or territories
• National: Activities of the organization have the potential of impact across Canada

Address

Indicate the street address of your organization.

Organizations established in Quebec

The Quebec National Assembly adopted an Act respecting the Ministère du Conseil exécutif (M-30). This Act outlines conditions for organizations that seek to enter into a contract with the federal government. Organizations must ensure compliance with the Act respecting the Ministère du Conseil exécutif (M-30).

If your organization is in Quebec and meets one of the following criteria, it is subject to the Act:

• The majority of its members, board of directors or executive members, come from the Quebec public sector.
  • This includes any person appointed by the Government of Quebec: a minister, a government agency, a municipal body, a school board, or another public agency.
• Its personnel are appointed in accordance with the Public Service Act of Quebec.
• 50% or more of its financing comes from Quebec public funds – either from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, a government agency, a municipal body, or another public agency.

Organizations subject to the Act are responsible for obtaining authorization before signing an agreement with the Department. If your project is selected, we will provide you with more information.

If your organization’s street address is in Quebec:

• Provide your organization’s most recent financial statements.
• Indicate if your organization meets one or more of the criteria of the Act.
• If your organization has received a Ministerial Order from the Government of Quebec, please upload now. If you have never received a Ministerial Order from the Government of Quebec, please continue to the next question.

Confidential address

Indicate if the street address of your organization is confidential, such as the address of a shelter.

Telephone and email

Indicate the telephone number and email address of the organization.

Preferred official language of communication

Indicate the official language in which you wish to communicate and receive correspondence.

Mandate (role and expertise)

Indicate your organization’s mandate as it appears in the organization’s governing documents and website if applicable. (maximum of 400 words).

Here are some examples of mandates showing that the organization does work primarily or entirely with LGBTQ2 communities:

• A mandate to provide social, health, housing and/or cultural programs and services primarily for LGBTQ2 communities
• A mandate to foster networking, knowledge exchange and training/mentoring between and for LGBTQ2 community organizations and their leaders
• A mandate to advance access to public services for trans and non-binary people
• A mandate to provide a community gathering space and resources for Two-Spirit, Indigenous, Black, and/or People of Colour LGBTQ2 community members
• A mandate to organize and promote LGBTQ2 community celebrations
• A mandate to further the inclusion and wellness of gay men
• A mandate that focuses on the health of lesbian women
• A mandate that focuses on support for LGBTQ2 refugees
• A mandate to build links between LGBTQ2 communities and non-LGBTQ2 communities, with LGBTQ2 communities centred in focus
• A mandate to advance HIV/AIDS prevention and education that also works primarily with LGBTQ2 communities.

Here are some examples of mandates showing that the organization does not work primarily or entirely with LGBTQ2 communities:

• A mandate to provide shelter for vulnerable youth, including LGBTQ2 youth
• A mandate to address gender-based violence against women, including lesbian, bisexual and trans women
• An organization for whom LGBTQ2 communities are only one part of the larger mandate population with which they work, or for whom LGBTQ2 communities are one of several mandate subpopulations with which they work

Eligibility criterion: The applicant organization demonstrates that it works primarily or entirely with LGBTQ2 communities and that the main population that benefit from their work is one or several LGBTQ2 communities.

Governance

Explain the type of governance body your organization has in place, such as a board of directors, board of trustees, advisory committee, (maximum of 400 words)

Explain how your governance body oversees the work of your organization. Include how often it meets to review and report on its financial and human resources and activities and outcomes.

Describe what changes, if any, there have been to your governing body or senior management in the last two years. If applicable, describe how these changes affected the organization.

Assessment criterion: The application shows that the organization can manage and support the project.

Amounts owing

Indicate if your organization owes any amount to the Government of Canada.

If your organization owes an amount, add the name of the Department or agency, the amount owing, the nature of the debt, and if a payment plan is in place.

Part B: Primary contact person information

The primary contact person is who the Department may contact about this application. As such, this person must know the details of the proposed project.

Indicate the name, position title, telephone number, and email of the primary contact person.

All correspondence will be sent to the primary contact person’s email address.

Part C: Secondary contact information

The secondary contact person is who the Department may contact about this application in the absence of the primary contact person. As such, this person must also know the details of the proposed project.

Indicate the name, position title, telephone number, and email of the secondary contact person.

Part D: Project information

Experience working with the LGBTQ2 community.

Describe your experience working with LGBTQ2 communities and how the population that benefits from your work is one or several LGBTQ2 communities (maximum of 400 words).

Eligibility criterion: The applicant organization demonstrates that it works primarily or entirely with LGBTQ2 communities and that the main population that benefit from their work is one or several LGBTQ2 communities.

Title

Indicate a brief and descriptive project title. (maximum of 15 words)

Anticipated start date

Indicate the anticipated start date of the project. Projects should be proposed to start no earlier than late fall 2022.

We will not reimburse costs incurred before approval.

Anticipated end date

Indicate the anticipated end date of the project.

Projects must end by March 31, 2024. As such, we will remove the costs of activities continuing after March 31, 2024.

Assessment criterion: The project will end by March 31, 2024, as indicated for this call for proposals.

Project reach

Indicate the reach of the project:

• Local: Project activities cover at least one community, such as a town, city, or regional municipality.
• Regional, provincial or territorial: Project activities cover parts of a province or territory; an entire province or territory; or a few adjacent provinces and territories. Projects that cover one of Canada’s three largest municipalities would qualify as regional: Greater Toronto, Greater Montreal and Greater Vancouver area.
• Pan-Canadian: Project activities must have impact in at least four WAGE regions and be carried out in both official languages (both official languages not required for Indigenous organizations).

Assessment criterion

• The total amount of funding requested of the Department does not exceed the maximum limits as identified in this call for proposals, considering the proposed project’s reach and/or the northern costing limits, if applicable.

Activity location type

Indicate if most of the activities will take place in a rural or urban area, or both. A rural area is defined as an area outside settlements with 1,000 or more population but with less than 400 persons per square kilometre (see Statistics Canada).

If most of the activities will be carried out in rural, or in both urban and rural areas, indicate if the majority will take place in a remote area. A remote area is defined as an area that has infrequent flights, no roads in or out, only has a forestry truck road, or only has road access in winter.

If some activities take place in one of the three territories, or in Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, or British Columbia, indicate if most of the activities will take place in a northern area. A northern area is defined as one of the three territories or an area being above the:

• 50th parallel in Newfoundland and Labrador
• 54th parallel in Quebec or Ontario
• 53rd parallel in Manitoba
• 54th parallel in Saskatchewan, Alberta, or British Columbia

This information can be found on the LatLong website.

If there are extra costs due to remoteness, these assessment criteria apply:

• The application demonstrates the need to consider increased costs due to activities being delivered in a remote or northern area.
• The work plan includes activities that are delivered in a remote or northern area.
• The budget includes costs that reflect activities delivered in a remote or northern area.

Needs to be addressed

Before completing an application, we encourage you to take the free online course: Introduction to 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 acknowledges 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.

Describe how this project would address unique needs and persisting disparities facing LGBTQ2 communities in Canada. Include any considerations resulting from your GBA Plus. (maximum of 400 words)

Assessment criteria

• The application includes information supporting the existence and relevance of the identified need.
• The application demonstrates that a GBA Plus has been conducted and its results considered.

Project objectives

The application must show how the project will develop community-informed initiatives to overcome key issues facing LGBTQ2 communities.

Project objectives describe what the organization will do, how it will track progress, and how it will measure success. They should be clear, practical, and describe measurable goals.

Indicate the project objectives by (maximum of 400 words):

• provide details on how they contribute to the call for proposals objective
• include references to the issue or need the project will address
• state how your organization will measure success.

Assessment criterion: The application demonstrates that the project objectives align with the CFP objective.

Population that will benefit from the project

The population that will benefit from the project should align with the call for proposals objective and with the project. Recall that priority will be given to projects that will specifically address barriers to equality for underrepresented LGBTQ2 people including those who are: Indigenous, Black and racialized, seniors, youth, low income, live with a disability, are members of an official language minority community and/or live in a rural, remote and/or northern community.

Indicate the gender of the population that will benefit from the project (up to a maximum of two). A person's gender may differ from the sex assigned to a person at birth. The categories “All genders”, “Men” and “Women” below are considered inclusive of both cisgender and transgender individuals. If the project is focused on benefitting another gender, choose the “Those not listed above” category.

Indicate the age group of the population that will benefit from the project (up to two).

Indicate the identity factors that best describes the population group that will benefit from the project. If there is a primary target audience for your project, please select only one. If the target audience for the project is broad, select those that apply. (up to a maximum of three)

The project must be focused on benefitting the LGBTQ2 community. Indicate which population group it aims to benefit (up to a maximum of five unless “All of the above” was selected). If the population that will benefit from the project are another LGBTQ2 population, indicate it using the “Other” category (maximum of five words).

Representation

Indicate whether your organization’s leadership reflects the population that will benefit from the project. This includes the governance body or others with the power to make decisions.

We may use this information to prioritize applications that:

• Are submitted by organizations representative of the population they serve
• address any other gap as deemed a priority by the Department

People served

Indicate the number of people served each year by your organization. If you represent a network of partners or of members, indicate the total number of people served each year.

Engagement

Describe how you will engage and involve members of the LGBTQ2 community affected by the issue or need. (Maximum of 350 words)

Engagement refers to dialogue so that those affected by the issue can influence decisions. They may want to take part in the project in different ways. They may want to provide advice, to help design the project, or work in some activities.

Please refer to the needs to be addressed question for more information on the GBA Plus.

Assessment criteria

• The application demonstrates that a GBA Plus has been conducted and its results considered.
• The application demonstrates that the populations who will benefit from the project will be involved in the project.

Work plan

The work plan provides information on the key activities and timelines. Organizations often rely on detailed work plans to manage projects. For this proposal, only include the key activities and sub-activities with a direct impact on the project objectives. Do not include all the steps you will take to administer the project, such as hiring an employee or reporting on your project. If the project is approved, you will need to report on all activities to the Department. Writing reports will be easier if you only include the important activities.

The key activities you propose need to:

• be realistic given the available funding
• be listed in chronological order
• be well-defined
• be linked to project objectives and deliverables
• have timelines that are feasible for the proposed activities
• show how project outcomes will last after the project ends
• involve partners or stakeholders, if applicable

Read the Activities section for more information on eligible and ineligible activities.

Compare the work plan to your budget to ensure you have the resources required to carry out the activities.

If activities could affect the well-being of participants, you could include cultural and emotional support.

For activities that will take place across Canada, you may include translation or other supports.

Eligibility criteria

• The application is complete, including the work plan.
• The work plan demonstrates the proposed activities are eligible and consistent with the objective of the call for proposals.

Assessment criteria

• The work plan and the application provide a clear description of each activity.
• The activities are eligible and can be measured.
• The work plan and the application show how the activities are relevant to the project objectives.
• The work plan and the application provide clear and feasible timelines that are in line with the project activities.
• The work plan and the application show how the project outcomes will be sustained after the project ends.

Partners

Indicate the project partners, their organization type, and the role they will play in the project, if applicable. (maximum of 300 words)

A project partner generally has expertise and an interest in the issue. Although a partner’s role can vary, a project partner is not accountable for the project outcomes.

If your organization has partnered with the organization in the past, describe the role it played.

Project description

We will use your project description as a summary of your proposed project. Provide a short description of the key activities and expected results. Include your organization’s name and the project duration in number of months. (maximum of 200 words)

Here is a suggested template:

Through this [insert number of months]-month project, [insert organization name] will develop community-informed solutions to key barriers and gaps facing LGBTQ2 communities. This will be achieved by [outline a few key activities].

Official-language minority community

An official-language minority community (OLMC) is a francophone population outside of Quebec, or an anglophone population in Quebec. A list of all OLMCs can be found on the Treasury Board Secretariat website.

Indicate if the project will benefit or involve members of an OLMC. This applies to organizations that work in and around OLMCs. In such cases, it could be important to involve them to have a more inclusive project.

Here are some examples of how your organization can involve OLMCs:

• include OLMCs in the project design and activities
• reserve a seat for an OLMC organization on your project advisory committee
• adapt project activities to OLMC needs

Translation of existing or new documents is not sufficient to benefit or involve an OLMC.

If the project will involve OLMCs, describe how your organization will do it. (maximum of 250 words)

Part E – Budget

We will use the information provided in this section to assess the total cost of the project. Also, we will check to ensure that all anticipated sources of funding you indicated would cover the costs. Costs must align with the activities described in the work plan.

Budget

Fill-out the budget. Read the ONAIS system user guide for more information.

Only include project costs requested from WAGE in the budget table. Write clear and detailed descriptions like the examples of detailed descriptions provided in the Guidelines on Eligible Expenditures.

Eligible costs are those that are necessary to support the purpose of the project. There are two categories of eligible costs:

• Direct costs: expenses related to the delivery of the project and linked to specific activities
• Administrative costs: expenses incurred to manage and support the project

Administrative costs can represent up to 20% of the total funding requested from the Department. It is important to list the costs in the proper categories. For example, if you list administrative costs under direct costs, we will need to move these to the right category. This may result in administrative costs that are over 20% of the total funding. In this example, we would have to cut administrative costs to ensure your project respects the 20% maximum.

All budget costs must be rounded to the nearest dollar.

Organizations can apply for funding for the following maximum amounts (total per project):

• Up to $200,000 in total for projects with a local reach. Project activities cover at least one community, such as a town, city, or regional municipality.
• Up to $400,000 in total for projects with a regional, provincial or territorial reach. Project activities cover parts of a province or territory, an entire province or territory, or a few adjacent provinces or territories. Projects that cover one of Canada’s three largest municipalities would qualify as regional: Greater Toronto, Greater Montreal and Greater Vancouver area.
• Up to $600,000 in total for projects with a pan-Canadian reach. Project activities must have impact in at least four WAGE regions and be carried out in both official languages (both official languages not required for Indigenous organizations).

There are often extra costs of living and travelling in northern or remote areas. So, you may apply for an extra 25% for activities in these areas (see question Activity location type for definitions).

Provide a brief description and breakdown of costs in each category and indicate the amount requested. If your project extends over more than one fiscal year, you must also break down the costs by fiscal year (2022-2023, and not later than 2023-2024). Fiscal years start April 1 and end March 31.

Compare your budget and work plan to ensure that it includes all costs required for each activity. We may remove costs that are not clearly linked to activities. If the Department approves the project, it will only fund the eligible costs and activities directly related to your project.

Sources of revenues

It is not mandatory for projects to have financial or in-kind contributions from other sources. However, if other partners contribute to the project, you must complete this section.

Financial contributions are money sources that cover project costs. These could be other levels of government, the private sector, or foundations.

In-kind contributions are not money sources. They are goods or services provided instead of cash. For example, if a partner provides a room for a project activity but does not charge you, it is an in-kind contribution. Another example is the time a volunteer spends on your project. Give a reasonable value to in-kind contributions. Organizations cannot request reimbursement for in-kind contributions.

We reserve the right to conduct reference checks with your partners.

Amount requested from the Department

The total amount requested from the Department must not exceed the maximum for the project’s reach.

Eligibility criterion: The application is complete, including the budget.

Assessment criteria:

• The budget details and itemizes costs. Costs are eligible, reasonable and are comparable to regional norms.
• The budget shows costs are directly linked to the activities described in the work plan.
• The budget includes the required resources to deliver the project.
• The administrative costs do not exceed 20% of the total funding requested from the Department.
• The total amount requested is below the maximum amount for the project’s reach.

Part F – Declaration

A person with signing authority for the organization must electronically sign the application. The application will be considered signed electronically when the name and position of the signatory is filled out and the application submitted by the official representative(s) of the organization. By signing the application, the representative confirms that they have:

• read and understood the guidelines for the call for proposals
• read and understood the declaration

Eligibility criterion: The application is complete. The application is electronically signed by an official representative of the organization.