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Tag: Strategic Grant

NCF’s New Grant Portal

Posted on by ncfadmin

NCF is pleased to announce the launch of our new Granting Portal; making applying, receiving, and reporting on grants a streamlined and simple process. Through one dashboard, applicants can access all grant programs available through NCF, see archives of past grants, and have access to final reports and follow-up steps.

Beyond the simplicity for our grantees, this new portal allows our volunteer grant reviewers to access applications assigned to them with a transparent and templated process for evaluation. This ensures NCF is adhering to the highest grantmaking standards required to maintain our certification with Imagine Canada.

For all applicants, please follow these simple steps to start your application process today.

STEP 1: CREATE AN ACCOUNT

Follow this link and click on “Create New Account” to set up a username and password. In the registration process, you will be asked to provide your organization’s contact information and CRA number. This information will be used to track all your applications, approvals, and grant agreements.

STEP 2: COMPLETE A LETTER OF INTENT (LOI)

Once logged in, you will have access to all available grants through NCF by clicking on the “Apply” tab at the top of your screen. The first step of the application process is completing a LOI. This process determines your eligibility to apply. The LOI does NOT replace your grant consult with JoAnne Krick; required to apply. Instead, this added step provides the needed due diligence to ensure NCF is granting to registered charities and/or qualified donees that meet our granting priorities.

STEP 3: SUBMIT GRANT APPLICATION

After NCF approves your LOI, you will be given access through your dashboard to the full Grant Application. Click APPLY to begin. You can save your work and return to your application whenever convenient.

STEP 4: USER DASHBOARD

Within your dashboard, you will have access to all current, past and approved applications, as well as grant agreements and final reports. NCF’s new portal will make applying for grants a streamlined and straightforward process.

HAVE A QUESTION?

For further information, questions or concerns, contact JoAnne Krick, Director of Grants & Community Initiatives.

Click here to begin.

Future Black Female

Posted on by ncfadmin

Young Black women in Niagara got some extra encouragement to stay in school and stay strong last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic added extra stress to their lives.

A $20,000 grant from the Niagara Community Foundation enabled Future Black Female and Family Counselling Centre of Niagara to support eight young Black women with mental health counselling, financial literacy workshops, one-on-one mentoring, and career guidance and coaching. 

The teenagers and youth, ranging in age from 16 to 22, had either dropped out of school or were at risk for dropping out. The goal of the pilot program was to equip the young women to map out a path to higher education or employment by helping them gain control over specific areas of their lives. As a result of participating in the program, several found work to support their goals, one started a business, and most are gaining additional skills by volunteering at local organizations.

The pilot program showed that the potential of these young woman was often at risk because of the lack of culturally relevant support, said Tapo Chimbganda, founder and executive director of Future Black Female. The young women said they faced considerable barriers to success, and they identified their number one source of stress as not knowing what to do after high school. They either didn’t talk to high school guidance counsellors or, when they did, felt their dreams were crushed or abilities minimized.

As a result, Future Black Female will strengthen its career guidance and coaching initiatives, Chimbganda said, and work with partner agencies, such as college and university admissions offices, children’s aid societies, and apprenticeship programs, to increase awareness and reduce barriers. “By providing culturally relevant and responsive guidance counselling, more Black girls and women can make informed decisions and start off on a strong foundation. Black women will have access to knowledge and information that can help them make better decisions for their economic security and prosperity.”

TOES Niagara

Posted on by ncfadmin

Black teenagers in Niagara are learning self-advocacy and getting a boost to their confidence because of a grant that gives them access to new skills and connections with mentors and role models who look like them.

A partnership with Brock University and a $25,000 contribution from the Niagara Community Foundation allowed Tools of Empowerment for Success (TOES) Niagara to develop a year-long education program to empower Black teenagers to take charge of their futures.

From Saturday morning lessons on campus at Brock University to field trips to Queen’s Park and Black history sites, about 60 Niagara teens were shown how to participate in government, how to celebrate their identities, and the steps they can take to reach their full potential. They learned anti-racism strategies, financial literacy, how to take care of their mental health, and how to explore the careers open to them.

Nyarayi Kapisavanhu of TOES Niagara said holding the classes on campus at Brock was a way to make participants comfortable with a university environment and be able to imagine themselves there as students one day.

Parents were also invited to participate in a parents’ program, and students were paired with a Black mentor who got to know them and encouraged them in their hopes and dreams.

The pilot project, which had space for 60 students from the Niagara Catholic District School Board, ended up with a waiting list, said Kapisavanhu, but its value is clear and the program will be expanded into other school boards.

“Niagara Catholic recognizes the very specific needs of addressing the challenges of Black youth in our schools, specifically in finding mentors who represent their future selves,” said Lee Ann Forsyth-Sells, Niagara Catholic Superintendent of Education responsible for the Equity and Inclusive Education portfolio. “We are very pleased to partner with TOES Niagara in creating this program, and thank the Niagara Community Foundation for the funding to support this innovative project.

One parent who attended the parents’ course said she learned about governance and was inspired to join the parent council at her child’s school. For a student participant in a school with only three black students and an all-white staff, being in a room full of other teenagers who could share her cultural experience was a comfort. It was also a relief to be paired with a mentor “who looked like me to guide me in my future plans,” she said. “Even if I feel alone at my school, I am not alone because [this program] has provided a village for me.”