The Government of Canada and its partners are currently accepting applications for three major funding opportunities for communities. Through the funding opportunities, communities can apply for funding to support public spaces, improve mobility and access to digital services, provide programs and services related to financial empowerment and social inclusion of vulnerable youth, and build intersectoral partnerships to address social determinants of health and wellbeing. The three funding opportunities are described below:
The Canada Healthy Communities Initiative
Deadline for Submission: June 25, 2021, at 8 pm ET
The second round of the Healthy Communities Initiative opened for proposals on May 14. The funding has been made available through a $31 million investment from the Government of Canada. It is being delivered through a partnership involving the Community Foundations of Canada, the Canadian Urban Institute, 880 Cities, Park People, Vivre en Ville, MaRS, Canadian CED Network, ICLEI, Network for the Advancement of Black Communities, the National Association of Friendship Centres and Jay Pitter Placemaking.
The initiative provides funding for organizations to respond to challenges from the pandemic and to support the public spaces that are crucial to communities. The three main areas for projects to work in are to (1) create safe and vibrant public spaces, (2) improve mobility options, and (3) provide innovative digital solutions.
To learn more about the initiative, the application process or to get some ideas for a community project you can check out the initiatives' website.
The Social Development Partnership Program – Employment and Economic Development
Deadline for Submission: July 6, 2021, by 12 pm ET
Funding Amount: Up to $3m over 5- years
On May 25, Employment and Social Development Canada announced two calls for proposals under the Social Development Partnership Program – Families and Children Component. The two streams available for application are Financial Empowerment and Social Inclusion of Vulnerable Children and Youth.
These significant opportunities are focused on the development of partnerships to offer services and programs for financial empowerment or the social inclusion of youth and children from vulnerable populations. For both streams, engagement of individuals with lived and living experiences in the design and implementation of activates is important.
The Intersectoral Action Fund - Public Health Agency of Canada
Deadline for Submission: July 12, 2021, 3 pm ET
Funding Amount: $25,000-$250,000 over a 12-month period beginning Fall 2021.
The Public Health Agency of Canada has recently opened a call for proposals for its new Intersectoral Action Fund. The fund is meant to support intersectoral action to address complex public health challenges related to health equity and wellbeing. The fund is meant to support capacity building for intersectoral action on the social determinants of health.
The fund has three streams for focused capacity building within communities:
- Identifying priority areas for collective action on social determinants of health and wellbeing
- Fostering transformative partnerships for action on social determinants of health and wellbeing
- Building capacity to take action on social determinants of health and wellbeing.
The Intersectoral Action Fund is an interesting opportunity for communities to address the upstream issues that contribute to inequitable health outcomes in Canada. The structure of the call for proposals encourages communities to develop broad strategies to address local challenges and opportunities.
