CREation Community Grants Program

CREation Funding Guide: Youth Empowerment Stream – Sprout  

Project Summary  

CREation is a multi-level funding program that will support strengths-based, community-focused and youth-led projects taking place in communities across Canada. Funding is dispersed through themed streams, which focus on specific funding gaps and needs in communities.  

The Youth Empowerment Stream – Sprout will provide small grants of up to $2,500 to youth-led projects happening in urban, rural and remote communities across Canada. The focus of this stream is to fund new and emerging micro-projects that focus on increasing the resilience, engagement and wellness of youth. Projects must be led by 2+ Indigenous youth (ages 15-29). Grantees and youth will receive innovative mentorship, training and capacity-building opportunities throughout the project. The Youth Empowerment Stream Sprout can be used as a stepping stone to implementing a new idea or starting your work with a project idea.  Grantees that receive funding from the Youth Empowerment Stream Sprout are encouraged to apply to the Youth Empowerment Stream Blossom ($5,000 grants) to continue to grow their projects and impact.  

Funding Stream Priorities 

There is a priority in this stream to support: 

• New and emerging Indigenous grassroots groups and collectives 
• Projects that are testing and/or trying a new idea 
• New groups who have never run a project before 
• Groups who have never received funding from CREaton before 

Project Focus Areas 

Projects should focus on providing programming, training or capacity-building opportunities for Indigenous youth. Below are some possible examples of eligible projects. These examples do not include every type of project that we would fund.  

• Programs for youth to participate in recreational, wellness and/or arts-based programming 

• Cultural programming, including ceremonies, teaching circles and land-based activities 
• Peer-led circles where youth can build relationships and participate in online activities 
• Intergenerational programs, that provide youth opportunities to work with Elders, parents, families, children, etc 
• Programs that increase youth leadership skills 
• Professional development programs for members of a youth council/organization to increase their knowledge about organizational governance 

• Projects that target making resources (such as mental health services) safer and more accessible 

All funded projects engage more youth other than just project leaders.  

Eligibility 

CREation will only fund grassroots Indigenous youth groups consisting of a minimum of 2 youth.  

Please note: for the purpose of this program, CRE defines Indigenous as status and non-status First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples in Canada, living both on and off-reserve. 

Eligible groups and projects include: 

• Unincorporated/grassroots youth groups/collectives/councils comprised primarily of Indigenous youth  
• Emerging, incorporated youth groups (note: CRE defines “emerging” as groups that have an operating budget of less than $50,000) 

• Projects must serve primarily serve Indigenous youth 

Ineligible groups and projects: 

• Individuals and/or projects that are not led by 2+ Indigenous youth 
• Projects that are not youth-led (or where the majority of the leadership is 30+) 

• Non-Indigenous groups and organizations 
• Groups that have received more than $10,000 in funding from CRE over the past 12 months 
• Projects taking place outside of Canada 
• For-profit corporations 

Ineligible Expenses 

CRE will NOT fund projects that are political in nature, or that involve distributing substances (i.e. alcohol, non-traditional tobacco, marijuana, illicit substances, etc) and any activity outside of Canada (i.e travel, accommodations, food, etc)

Project leaders cannot receive honorariums of more than $500.  

Review Process 

Applications will be reviewed by a Community Grants Committee that includes Advisory Circle members, community members, Indigenous youth and other knowledge carriers. All members will have experience running programs and initiatives, overseeing projects and offering community support. 100% of the review committee will be Indigenous, and a minimum of 75% will be youth. 

Capacity Building 

Youth will be invited to participate in CRE’s Capacity Building Program. This program is geared toward strengthening skillsets around program administration, facilitation, and evaluation as well as providing opportunities to learn about program design, organizational governance and growth, personal development and youth leadership. Youth will have the opportunity to work toward a certificate in the program. 

Reporting and Evaluation 

Grantees will be asked to submit one report:  

Final Report (2 months after project completion): Grantees will submit a budget report and an evaluation report. Grantees will receive a copy of the evaluation report within the first month of their project start date.

Financial Oversight and Trusteeship 

Groups/councils/collectives with members who are over the age of 18 do not require an external funding administrator and, if successful, will receive the grant funds directly.

Successful applicant groups (with leaders aged 15-17) will require a local non-profit or trusted community member over age 18 to serve as their grant trustee. This trustee may be someone the applicants are already familiar with or CRE can support in connecting them with a willing organization or community member as well as with creating a trustee agreement that ensures youth will be supported.  

Release of Funds 

CRE does not issue cheques. Funding will be sent to grantees via a Plooto bank transfer/direct deposit. Grantees will receive funds within two weeks of submitting a signed funding agreement. 

Timelines 

Stages	Spring Intake	Summer Intake	Fall Intake	Winter Intake
Applications Open	April 1st, 2022	June 1st, 2022	August 1st, 2022	November 1st, 2022
Application Deadline	May 2nd, 2021	July 4th, 2022	August 31st, 2022	November 30th, 2022
Decisions Released	June 30th, 2022	August 31st, 2022	October 31st, 2022	January 31st, 2023
Project Start Date	July 1st, 2022	September 1st, 2022	November 1st, 2022	February 1st, 2023
Project End Date	November 30th, 2022	January 31st, 2023	March 31st, 2023	June 30, 2023
Final Report Due	January 31, 2023	March 31st, 2023	May 31st, 2023	August 31st, 2023

Unless otherwise noted, all deadlines are 11:59 pm PST 

 
Questions 

CRE encourages applicants to reach out if they have any questions. Please email jessica@canadianroots.ca to speak to a member of the team.  

Project Summary

CREation is a multi-level funding program that will support strengths-based, community-focused and youth-led projects taking place in communities across Canada. Funding is dispersed through themed streams, which focus on specific funding gaps and needs in communities.

The Youth Empowerment Stream – Blossom will provide small grants of up to $5,000 to youth-led projects happening in urban, rural and remote communities across Canada. The focus of this stream is to give funds to support emerging micro-projects that focus on increasing the resilience, engagement and wellness of youth.

There are two ways to enter the Blossom stream:

• Pathway One: Applicants who have received funding in either the Youth Empowerment – Sprout stream, the general Youth Empowerment Stream or through the Community Support Fund, can apply to expand and grow their project. Your group fits these criteria if they have received funding from CRE before, but the total amount of funding received was less than $10,000.
• Pathway Two: Applicants who do not meet the Pathway One criteria can apply as long as they meet the following criteria:
  • Group has not received any funding from CRE
  • Group has an annual operating budget of $50,000 or less; and
  • Group and/or project is a new and emerging initiative

CRE strongly encourages applicants to start in the Sprout phase with a new idea and then grow into the Blossom phase. CRE will only fund new and emerging groups in Youth Empowerment Streams. Projects must be meaningfully led by 2+ Indigenous youth (ages 15-29). Grantees and youth will receive innovative mentorship, training and capacity-building opportunities throughout the project.

Funding Stream Priorities:

There is a priority in this stream to support:

• New and emerging Indigenous grassroots groups and collectives
• Projects that are testing and/or trying a new idea
• New groups who have never run a project before
• Groups who have never received funding from CREation before

Project Focus Areas

Projects should focus on providing programming, training or capacity-building opportunities for Indigenous youth. Below are some possible examples of eligible projects. These examples do not include every type of project that we would fund.

• Programs for youth to participate in recreational, wellness and/or arts-based programming
• Cultural programming, including ceremonies, teaching circles and land-based activities
• Peer-led circles where youth can build relationships and participate in online activities
• Intergenerational programs, that provide youth opportunities to work with Elders, parents, families, children, etc
• Programs that increase youth leadership skills
• Professional development programs for members of a youth council/organization to increase their knowledge about organizational governance
• Projects that target making resources (such as mental health services) safer and more accessible

All funded projects engage more youth other than just project leaders.

Eligibility:

CREation will only fund grassroots Indigenous youth groups consisting of a minimum of 2 youth. Please note: for the purpose of this program, CRE defines Indigenous as status and non-status First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples in Canada, living both on and off-reserve.

Eligible groups and projects include:

• Unincorporated/grassroots youth groups/collectives/councils comprised primarily of Indigenous youth
• Emerging, incorporated youth groups (note: CRE defines “emerging” as groups that have an operating budget of less than $50,000)
• Projects must serve primarily serve Indigenous youth

Ineligible groups and projects:

• Individuals and/or projects that are not led by 2+ Indigenous youth
• Projects that are not youth-led (or where the majority of the leadership is 30+)
• Non-Indigenous groups and organizations
• Groups that have received more than $10,000 in funding from CRE over the past 12 months
• Projects taking place outside of Canada
• For-profit corporations

Ineligible Expenses:

CRE will NOT fund projects that are political in nature, or that involve distributing substances (i.e. alcohol, non-traditional tobacco, marijuana, illicit substances, etc).
Project leaders cannot receive honorariums of more than $500.

Review Process:

Applications will be reviewed by a Community Grants Committee that includes Advisory Circle members, community members, Indigenous youth and other knowledge carriers. All members will have experience running programs and initiatives, overseeing projects and offering community support. 100% of the review committee will be Indigenous, and a minimum of 75% will be youth.

Capacity Building:

All funded groups will be required to take part in online training/skills development workshops on managing, facilitating, evaluating, and reporting on programs. There will be orientation sessions for all new grantees. All grantees will be assigned a CRE staff member and will have individual meetings with this staff member throughout the project.

Reporting and Evaluation:

Grantees will be asked to submit one report: Final Report (2 months after project completion): Grantees will submit a budget report and an evaluation report. Grantees will receive a copy of the evaluation report within the first month of their project start date.

Financial Oversight and Trusteeship

Groups/councils/collectives with members who are over the age of 18 do not require an external funding administrator and, if successful, will receive the grant funds directly.

Successful applicant groups (with leaders aged 15-17) will require a local non-profit or trusted community member over age 18 to serve as their grant trustee. This trustee may be someone the applicants are already familiar with or CRE can support in connecting them with a willing organization or community member as well as with creating a trustee agreement that ensures youth will be supported

Release of Funds

CRE does not issue cheques. Funding will be sent to grantees via a Plooto bank transfer/direct deposit. Grantees will receive funds within two weeks of submitting a signed funding agreement.

Timelines

Stages			Summer Intake			Fall Intake
Applications Open			June 1st, 2022			August 1st, 2022
Application Deadline			July 4th, 2022			August 31st, 2022
Decisions Released			August 31st, 2022			October 31st, 2022
Project Start Date			September 1st, 2022			November 1st, 2022
Project End Date			February 28th, 2023			April 28th, 2023
Final Report Due			April 28th, 2023			June 30th, 2023

Questions

CRE encourages applicants to reach out if they have any questions. Please email jessica@canadianroots.ca to speak to a member of the team.

Project Summary

CREation is a multi-level funding program that will support strengths-based, community-focused and youth-led projects taking place in communities across Canada. Grassroots and incorporated youth groups/collectives are eligible to apply for funding to support community programs and projects while receiving innovative mentorship, training and capacity-building opportunities.

The Education and Training stream will provide funding of up to $20,000 to Indigenous youth-led groups, non-profits and school groups that run programs and initiatives that focus on supporting Indigenous youth to enhance their skill-building and stay engaged in educational spaces. Projects must be led by 3+ Indigenous youth (ages 15-29) who are meaningfully involved in project guidance, planning, implementation and/or evaluation.

Funding Stream Priorities:

There is a priority in this stream to support:

• Indigenous grassroots groups and collectives
• Schools, Indigenous student centers and School Groups
• Groups that have some experience running programming and projects, but are looking to scale to a new level or try something new
• Projects that have an appropriate scale and scope for the funding provided (i.e. engagement numbers and frequency makes sense for the funding requested)

Project Focus Areas

Successful projects will fall within the following areas. Please note that projects can fall within multiple focus areas (just select the one that best describes your project).

• Building a Student Community (Post-Secondary) – Projects will focus on supporting Indigenous Student Centers and Indigenous Student Groups that work to keep Indigenous youth connected and supported, including running programming that works to build a stronger student community, and connect students with resources and culture and provide engagement opportunities.
• Building a Student Community (Elementary and Highschool) – Projects will focus on supporting Indigenous Student Centers and Indigenous Student Groups who work to keep Indigenous youth connected and supported, including running programming that works to build a stronger student community, and connect students with resources and culture and provide engagement opportunities.
• Creating Mentorship Opportunities – Projects will engage youth in mentorship opportunities with community leaders, partners and peers. The intention of community mentorship opportunities is to connect youth with mentors who will empower them to stay engaged in school, return to school or pursue further education and career opportunities.
• Education Resources and Supports – Projects will develop supportive resources to help keep students engaged and supported. Supportive resources can include educational supports (e.g. disability supports, specialized education resources, tutoring, study groups, homework clubs, etc), the development and purchase of hardcopy and digital supports (e.g. resource packages, library books, etc) or providing basic necessities for students (i.e. breakfast and lunch programs)
• Strengthening Our Skills** – Projects will focus on providing training and development opportunities to Indigenous youth, whether that focus is on employment skills, trade skills, developing leadership skills, training opportunities, conferences (where the focus is on capacity building), etc.
  • **Some important notes:
    • All training/opportunities must take place in Canada;
    • Projects must benefit a group of youth;
    • Projects funded in this category must outline a plan to share knowledge or expertise with other Indigenous youth (e.g. 5 youth participate in leadership training and then run a community event where they share skills and learnings).

Eligibility:

CREation will prioritize funding grassroots youth groups consisting of a minimum of 3 Indigenous youth.

Please note: for the purpose of this program CRE defines Indigenous as status and non-status First Nation, Inuit, and Métis peoples in Canada, living both on and off reserve.

Eligible groups and projects include:

• Unincorporated/grassroots youth groups and collectives
• Small, incorporated youth groups (note: CRE defines a small organization as groups that have 1-8 full-time employees and an operating budget of less than $500,000)
• Youth Councils
• School groups/Student Groups
• Indigenous Student Centres

Ineligible groups and projects:

• Projects that are not focused on supporting Indigenous youth (ages 15-29)
• Individuals
• Projects that are not youth-led (or where the majority of the leadership is 30+)
• Non-Indigenous groups and organizations
• Projects taking place outside of Canada
• For-profit corporations and businesses

Ineligible Expenses:

CRE will NOT fund projects that are political in nature (I.e. supporting someone running for office), or that involve distributing substances (i.e. alcohol, non-traditional tobacco, marijuana, illicit substances, etc).

Review Process:

Applications will be reviewed by a Community Grants Committee that includes Advisory Circle members, community members, Indigenous youth and other knowledge carriers. All members will have experience running programs and initiatives, overseeing projects and offering community support. 100% of the review committee will be Indigenous, and a minimum of 75% will be youth.

Capacity Building:

All funded groups will be required to participate in online training/skills development workshops on managing, facilitating, evaluating, and reporting on programs. There will be orientation sessions for all new grantees. All grantees will be assigned a CRE staff member and will have individual meetings with this staff member throughout the project.

Reporting and Evaluation:

Grantees will be asked to report twice on their projects.

1. Midterm Check In (6 months into the project): Grantees will complete a short report and meet digitally with a CREation staff to talk through challenges and successes. Grantees will share updates on budget spending, completed activities and youth reach.
2. Final Report (2 months after project completion): Grantees will submit a final report (including narrative report, budget report, participant tracking sheet, program hour tracking sheet, etc) Grantees will receive a copy of the final report within the first month of their project start date.

Grantees will have to collect data as a part of their reporting.

Financial Oversight and Trusteeship

Successful applicants over age 18 do not require an external funding administrator/trustee and, if successful, will receive the grant funds directly.

Successful applicants aged 15-17 will require a local non-profit or trusted community member over age 18 to serve as their grant trustee. This trustee may be someone the applicants are already familiar with or CRE can support in connecting them with a willing organization or community member as well as with creating a trustee agreement that ensures youth will be supported.

Release of Funds

CRE does not issue cheques. Funding will be sent to grantees via a Plooto bank transfer/direct deposit. Grantees will receive funds within three weeks of submitting a signed funding agreement.

Timelines

Stages					Fall Intake
Applications Open					August 1st, 2022
Application Deadline					August 31st, 2022
Decisions Released					October 31st, 2022
Project Start Date					November 1st, 2022
Midterm Report					April 14th, 2023
Project End Date					October 31st, 2023
Final Report Due					January 3rd, 2024

Questions

CRE encourages applicants to reach out if they have any questions. Please email jessica@canadianroots.ca to speak to a member of the team.

Project Summary  

CREation is a multi-level funding program that will support strengths-based, community-focused and youth-led projects taking place in communities across Canada. Grassroots and incorporated youth groups/collectives are eligible to apply for funding to support community programs and projects while receiving innovative mentorship, training and capacity-building opportunities. 

The Medium Funding Stream will provide funding of up to $30,000 to Indigenous youth-led projects and groups of non-profits that seek to create impactful community change and increase the wellness, resiliency and engagement of Indigenous youth. Projects must be led by 3+ Indigenous youth (ages 15-29) who are meaningfully involved in project guidance, planning, implementation and/or evaluation.  

 
Funding Stream Priorities 

There is a priority in this stream to support: 

• Indigenous grassroots groups and collectives 
• Groups that have experience running programming and projects, but are looking to scale to a new level or try something new 
• Projects that have an appropriate scale and scope for the funding provided (i.e. engagement numbers and frequency make sense for the funding requested) 
• Projects that are multi-dimensional (i.e. are doing more than just one thing, and are looking to improve wellness overall) 

Project Focus Areas 

Successful projects will fall within the following areas: 

Assessment and Feasibility Studies 

Projects will focus on assessing community and youth needs, doing feasibility projects and engaging the community in consultation. 

Arts and Culture 

Projects that increase access to arts, art-based workshops, cultural knowledge, traditions and ceremony 

Innovation and Change 

Projects will support youth groups in accessing capacity-building, knowledge mobilization and funding resources. Projects will focus on innovating healthcare systems, developing solutions to infrastructure and resource challenges (such as access to clean water and sustainable food sources) and increasing access to technology. 

Intergenerational Relationship Building 

Projects will engage multiple age groups and should help to enhance the sense of community (i.e. projects where youth participate in programs with Elders, families, adults, etc). 

Resiliency Building 

Projects will focus on organizational development in Indigenous agencies. The intention of this focus area is to increase leadership, governance, capacity and opportunity for Indigenous organizations to impact communities and systems. Projects can include organizational enhancements (i.e. training, website development, strategic plan development, consulting projects, purchase of supplies, etc). 

Youth and Community Wellness 

Projects will focus on enhancing community wellness and can include one-off events or long-term programs and any type of programming related to wellness (i.e. workshops, teachings, gatherings). 

Eligibility 

CREation will prioritize funding grassroots youth groups consisting of a minimum of 3 Indigenous youth.  

Please note: for the purpose of this program CRE defines Indigenous as status and non-status First Nation, Inuit, and Métis peoples in Canada, living both on and off-reserve. 

Eligible groups and projects include: 

• Unincorporated/grassroots youth groups and collectives 
• Small, incorporated youth groups (note: CRE defines a small organization as groups that have 1-8 full-time employees and an operating budget of less than $500,000) 
• Youth Councils 

Ineligible groups and projects: 

• Individuals 
• Projects that are not youth-led (or where the majority of the leadership is 30+) 
• Non-Indigenous organizations 
• Projects taking place outside of Canada 
• For-profit corporations and businesses 

Ineligible Expenses 

CRE will NOT fund projects that are political in nature, or that involve distributing substances (i.e. alcohol, non-traditional tobacco, marijuana, illicit substances, etc). 

Review Process 

Applications will be reviewed by a Community Grants Committee that includes Advisory Circle members, community members, Indigenous youth and other knowledge carriers. All members will have experience running programs and initiatives, overseeing projects and offering community support. 100% of the review committee will be Indigenous, and a minimum of 75% will be youth. 

Capacity Building 

All funded groups will be required to take part in online training/skills development workshops on managing, facilitating, evaluating, and reporting on programs. There will be orientation sessions for all new grantees. All grantees will be assigned a CRE staff member and will have individual meetings with this staff member throughout the project. 

Reporting and Evaluation 

Grantees will be asked to report twice on their projects.  

Midterm Check-In (6 months into the project): Grantees will complete a short report and meet digitally with a CREation staff to talk through challenges and successes. Grantees will share updates on budget spending, completed activities and youth reach.  

Final Report (2 months after project completion): Grantees will submit a final report (including narrative report, budget report, participant tracking sheet, program hour tracking sheet, etc) Grantees will receive a copy of the final report within the first month of their project start date. 

Grantees will have to collect data as a part of their reporting.

Financial Oversight and Trusteeship 

Successful applicants over age 18 do not require an external funding administrator/trustee and, if successful, will receive the grant funds directly. 

Successful applicants aged 15-17 will require a local non-profit or trusted community member over age 18 to serve as their grant trustee. This trustee may be someone the applicants are already familiar with or CRE can support in connecting them with a willing organization or community member as well as with creating a trustee agreement that ensures youth will be supported.  

Release of Funds 

CRE does not issue cheques. Funding will be sent to grantees via a Plooto bank transfer/direct deposit. Grantees will receive funds within three weeks of submitting a signed funding agreement. 

Timelines 

Stages	Spring Intake	Fall Intake
Applications Open	April 1st, 2022	August 1st, 2022
Application Deadline	May 2nd, 2022	August 31st, 2022
Decisions Released	June 30th, 2022	October 31st, 2022
Project Start Date	July 1st, 2022	November 1st, 2022
Midterm Report	December 15th, 2022	April 14th, 2023
Project End Date	June 30th, 2023	October 31st, 2023
Final Report Due	August 31st, 2023	January 3rd, 2024

Unless otherwise noted, all deadlines are 11:59 pm PST 

Questions 

CRE encourages applicants to reach out if they have any questions. Please email jessica@canadianroots.ca to speak to a member of the team.  

Q: What do we mean by “Youth-Led”?

A: All CREation grants require that a minimum of 2 (sometimes 3, depending on the stream) Indigenous youth aged 15-29 design and run the project. This means the youth leads come up with the idea and structure of their project, complete the application, attend necessary meetings with their CRE grant coordinator, attend two mandatory workshops, plan and run the project, take charge of their project evaluation, and serve as primary contacts for their project. If that sounds like a lot, don’t worry! We’ll explain more and we encourage youth teams to have support from adults too. Successful applicants will also be assigned a CRE Grant Coordinator to support them along the way.

Sometimes youth groups will apply to do a project in partnership with a larger organization and while that would still qualify, the project itself would still need to be meaningfully youth-led as outlined above.

Q: What do we mean by “Indigenous organization/group”?

A: CRE is committed to ensuring that funds from this granting program are going into the hands of Indigenous-led groups, organizations and collectives. When we refer to an Indigenous organization, we require that they meet the following criteria:

For incorporated organizations/registered non-profits must meet all of the following three criteria:

• A mission/purpose, mandate and vision statement that outlines your organization’s commitment to working with Indigenous communities.
• At least 50% of the organization’s Board of Directors are Indigenous and/or the organization is staffed and led by primarily Indigenous people.
• The organization uses an Indigenous model/practices to serve the Indigenous community.

Grassroots groups and collectives must meet all of the following three criteria:

• At least 50% of participants in programming run by the group are Indigenous (work is Indigenous-focused).
• At least 75% of staff/organizers are Indigenous.
• The group uses Indigenous practices to serve the Indigenous community.

Q: What do we mean by “trustee”? 
 
A: The CREation granting program allows a group or collective to hold up to $30,000 grants in a group leader’s personal bank account. However, if funds are larger than $30,000 and the group is a collective or grassroots, they will need to find an incorporated organization to support by trusting the grant. A trustee holds the grant funding for the grassroots or collective group, assumes the financial responsibility for managing the funds, and ensures that the project deliverables are completed. In addition, the trustee may choose to take a small admin fee for holding the responsibilities outlined above — at CREation you can have the admin fees covered in your grant if you decide to add it to your budget when applying for funding. A grassroots or collective may also choose to have a trustee for $30,000 and below funding. This option is okay and is the choice of the collective or grassroots group leaders.