The purpose of the Green Innovation Award is to inspire entrepreneurs to pursue green business models that serve as solutions to environmental challenges and to assist in taking green business at the seed stage to the market.

Established businesses are not eligible, however eligible applicants can be individuals, students, inventors or non-profit organizations. Each applicant may only submit one idea.

The application is a 2 stage process, the first stage being applying online with a 1-2 page project proposal; in the second stage selected applicants will be required to present a business plan and present their idea to a panel of judges.

The Green Innovation Award falls under the Toronto government mandate for a better cleaner Toronto. The Toronto Community Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to improving Toronto; it does so by serving as an umbrella organization that pools organizational capacity resources as well as charitable gifts of donors to create endowment funds and using the investment income to make grants.

More information can be found at www.tcf.ca

Tweet This Post

Entrepreneurs, artists or individuals with creative ideas are looking for funding. Somewhere out there are individuals or groups looking to help fund the right ideas. Traditionally, finding each other has not been easy. In this article, I discuss an exciting new website – kickstarter.com, which matches ideas with capital.

Kickstarter.com is an awesome social networking site that uses the power of crowd sourcing to fund creative ideas and ambitious endeavors.

Anyone can create a dedicated page with a pitch for a set amount of funding to support or ”kick start” their project, a deadline (anytime within 90 days) for their fundraising target and how they will reward contributors. Any individual or group from anyplace in the world can give through the website to the project. The only catch is that a project only receives its donated funds (minus a 5% fee taken by kickstatrer.com) if the target amount was reached or exceeded within the established deadline. In cases where projects do not reach their funding amounts, the funds are returned to their original donors. This helps protects the value of donated funds based on the belief that a project is more likely to achieve its goals if it has all the funding it requires. In exchange for backing an idea, individuals receive rewards set by the person or group asking for money. For example, if an artist is looking for funding to record an album, the artist may give each supporter a free CD.

The power of kickstarter.com is the principle that a good idea if communicated well through the power of the internet can spread fast and attract support.

Kickstarter.com believes that a large group of people can be a tremendous source of money and encouragement Aside from giving ideas the chance to be funded, the process of creating an online ask creates an environment where an idea can be enhanced through feedback. Furthermore, the process creates communities by bringing together individuals who would like to support similar innovative initiatives. It also helps a project by building a network of backers who feel invested in ensuring the project’s success.

Why are people giving money to projects on kickstarter.com? I believe it is simply because individuals wish to be part of ideas and causes they feel connected to, but cannot take on by themselves. Offering support is next best solution.

Kickstarter.com should not be seen as “easy money”, rather it is earned money. Not all ideas are funded. Success requires a well thought out idea, a captivating proposal and from the start, potential projects will need to build a relationship with those interested in supporting the project.

Examples of previously successfully funded projects:

Lumi Co. – a start-up business involving an innovative textile printing technology. Asked for $12 000 and raised $12 998.

MakerBeam – a start-up that offers an open source building set (similar to Lego/Meccano/Erector Set but users can help design the elements) Asked for $10 000, raised $17 922 .

On average successful projects pitch and receive total amounts of less than $4000. Funded ideas have been both non-profit and business projects. As the site evolves and grows in popularity, raising funds will likely become more difficult as projects compete and only the most vibrant ideas survive.

In conclusion, if you think you have a kick ass idea, then kickstarter.com might just be the right place to get the required boost.

Tweet This Post

As the world of fundraising evolves and becomes more interconnected, successful non-profit organizations are increasingly in need of a new, more holistic approach to growing their organizations.

What is a Holistic Fundraising Strategy?

A holistic fundraising approach is a strategy that aligns fundraising, financial management, communications and organizational polices. This is in contrast to pursuing these elements on their own, which unfortunately happens all too often.

Fundraising

Generally, fundraising is a major strategic focus for most organizations. Effective fundraising should first involve the creation of a “Fundraising Portfolio” – a fundraising plan consisting of diversified fundraising channels. (grants, galas, third party events, capital campaigns, high net worth donors, corporate partnerships, membership campaigns, etc.) A Fundraising Portfolio will present a coherent strategy that balances the associated investment of organizational resources and the expected generated revenues of each fundraising initiative. The value of a Fundraising Portfolio is that it provides a strategic organizational direction and promotes organizational sustainability because it prevents reliance on just one or a few revenue sources.

Another important aspect of fundraising is adopting a fundraising strategy founded on the belief that strengths and weaknesses can be leveraged by building strong networks. Thus, it is vital that foundations endeavour to create winning teams; often consisting of charitable organizations, high net worth donors, politicians, grassroots groups, businesses and funders.

Finally, fundraising is too important a task that it should not be left to just the fundraising department; it is something that everyone in an organization should be part of. For example, obtaining grants require a good proposal describing an innovative program, metrics, community support and sustainability. Therefore, a good grant proposal requires the input from program staff, participants, and community stakeholders; furthermore, it should be supported by strong board policies as well as financial statements.

Financial Management

With greater success in raising capital, a non-profit organization must be able to successfully manage its capital.

Proper financial management must be a comprehensive process as opposed to independent organizational initiatives. An Investment Policy Statement (IPS) is the first step in financial planning. An IPS describes how funds will be investment and managed according to future goals as well as anticipated needs; additionally, it includes a strategy than incorporates contingency plans. (For example what do to with the invested funds should there be a drastic change in the market.)  An IPS should also be aligned with a Fundraising Portfolio. An IPS is expected by individual high net-worth donors, corporate partners,  or planed giving arrangements. An IPS is especially important for a capital campaign. Without an IPS an organization looks immature and unprofessional. Donors want to know what policies exist to safeguard the proper use of their funds.

Communications

All foundations have a message that needs to be communicated; good communication is about reaching and connecting with the target audience.

A focal point are Web 2.0 communications channels that should include:

• a SEO optimized website that captures the attention of visitors
• an opportunity for online giving
•  a blog or e-newsletter that shares important news and information
• Twitter and Facebook pages that allow for discussion of issues with your supporters

Whether it’s an Annual Report, AGM Presentations, a video advertisement on YouTube or a thank you card to volunteers, all communications initiatives should be linked into a cohesive message.

Constant communication builds a brand and a solid brand is vital for growth. The end result of a good brand is name recognition, awareness of your message among the public, increased media coverage and a sense of trust from potential donors. A good brand will help your organization recruit and retain the best people.

Events are an important aspect of communications. Events can celebrate organizational achievements, recognize donors, showcase programs, etc. An expert event planner not only provides superior event services, they also provide media and public relations expertise.

Organizational Policies

Effective organizational polices integrate seamlessly with fundraising, financial management and communications. Job descriptions must exist. By-laws should be to update. Financial statements should be clear and also up to date. Most importantly, all non-profit organizations must have a multi-year strategic plan.

How to create a holistic fundraising strategy?

A good start to creating a holistic fundraising strategy would be having a team meeting with staff from all departments and discussing how to better collaborate to achieve goals. This process should be led by an experienced management.

For organizations that lack experience, it is best to find a professional team that offers fundraising, financial management and communications consulting. Such teams are made up of individual firms (or self employed professionals) that have a history of working together in order to better serve their clients. Usually such a team will consist of financial professionals, communications specialists, fundraising consultants, event planners and web experts.

Please feel free to contact me for questions or advice on how to implement a holistic fundraising strategy. I can be reached at jorge@jorgeleclair.ca

Tweet This Post

ArtReach Toronto is an innovative youth focused and youth driven program with a mandate to support arts initiatives that engage youth who have experienced exclusion in under-served areas of Toronto.

With strong financial support from all three levels of government, funding organizations and donors, ArtReach has committed to spending $1.2 million over 3 years to support projects that encourage creative expression through quality arts opportunities for youth. ArtReach also provides free youth capacity building workshops on fundraising, leadership and non-profit organization administration.

Much like the Youth Challenge Fund, ArtReach embraces a growing social change philosophy that youth should be involved in the design, funding decisions and evaluations of youth programs. In other words, youth must be a vital part in creating solutions to the issues of youth oppression, disengagement, crime and negative influences.

The idea for ArtReach Toronto was created out of 2004 Intergovernmental Roundtable of Art Funders and Foundations (IRAFF) from the recognition youth in the Greater Toronto Area are increasingly find it difficult to access to relevant cultural arts programs. ArtReach Toronto believes that arts programs have high youth appeal and that quality arts experiences/programs can serve as a powerful engagement method; ultimately improving Toronto’s communities, include the city’s priority neighbourhoods.

ArtReach provides grants to non-profit organizations, individual artists or groups of artists for arts initiatives that provide meaningful youth arts opportunities and engage youth aged 13-29 from Toronto’s Priority Neighbourhoods. Youth must be part of every aspect of the project – design, implementation, management and evaluation. ArtReach also tries to fund arts projects that may not supported elsewhere.

Non-profit organizations are eligible to receive $75 000 over 3 years while individual artists or groups of artists are eligible for $10 000 in funding.

Example programs that ArtReach Toronto has funded include:

Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples: The Sequel – The program will provide 10 Latino youth with an opportunity to build skills in the art of filmmaking. These youth will have an opportunity to tell their story through the films they develop and screen in the Jane and Finch community. Amount: $24,330

Beyond the Lyrics Youth Resource Centre Inc: Living Through HERstory - a collaborative project that will support young women from Crescent Town to build skills in traditional dance forms, as well as the cultural art form of basket weaving, to develop mouts (Harari baskets) and hats. This inter-generational project also aims to engage young women in discussions around their experiences with respect to identity and familial disconnect. Amount: $17,550

Tweet This Post

“Every time I go to a movie, it’s magic, no matter what the movie’s about.”
-Steven Spielberg

The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) offers film development and production grants through its Feature Film Project (FPP) – a development plus production focused mentorship program for emerging Canadian dramatic feature filmmakers.

Established by the Canadian Film Centre in 1992, and acting as Executive Producer, the Feature Film Project is provides supervision and up to 100% of the necessary financing for the development, production, distribution and marketing of dramatic feature films.

The Feature Film Project is awards 2 different grants:

1. Ultra-low Budget HD Feature (projects that can completed with a budget of up to $250 000): For example, High definition (HD) digital format, minimal cast and crew (approx. 2 to 4 principal/lead actors, small/mobile crew),minimal lighting and special production requirements and a flexible schedule. Films must be shot and delivered in HD.

2. Low Budget Feature (projects that can be completed with a budget of up to $500,000): For example, 16mm or 35mm film OR high definition (HD) digital format, 8:1 shooting ratio, approx. 2 to 3 principal/lead actors and 2 to 3 support cast, approx 15 to 25 person crew, and a 15 to 20 day or ‘custom’ schedule. Films must be shot and delivered in HD.

Both programs follow a 2 phase pathway:

Phase 1 – Development: This phase involves an in-depth review of the project including script, story editing, Director’s goals, cast, Production Company, team capacity, post-production plans, distribution and marketing strategy.

Phase 2 – Production Financing: Select project that have successfully completed phase 1 move into phase 2 where they are given the required funds to achieve set goals and screen their film at the box office.

CFC Feature Film Project accepts applications 3 times a year.

Eligibility for Feature Film Project is competitive and the minimum requirements are dramatic feature film not less than 85 minutes in length that are intended for theatrical release and produced/owned by a Canadian company. Preference is given to projects where the writer, director and producer have not individually or as a group made more than one dramatic feature film.

The Canadian Film Centre was founded in 1988 since then it has become an industry leader in developing Canadian talent and pushing the boundaries of film through creative expression as well as the embracing of new technologies. Films from the Canadian Film Centre have shown at prestigious film festivals such as the Cannes and Sundance Film Festivals. Equally impressive is that 25 Genie Award Nominations have been achieved for the cast and crew members working on FFP productions. A key mandate o the Canadian Film Centre is to provide 100% of the financing, creative, professional and administrative experience and mentorship necessary to ensure the successful development, production and marketing of Canadian theatrical feature films.

As an experienced Grant Writer and Consultant, I would be happy to answer any question regarding film funding – jorge@jorgeleclair.ca

Tweet This Post

The Law Foundation of Ontario (LFO) is committed to advancing the ideal of a truly accessible justice system through the promotion of legal knowledge, excellence within the legal profession and community participation in the legal system.

The LFO is mandated to use 75% of its revenues to fund Legal Aid Ontario, the remaining 25% is used for discretionary grants that align with its Vision, Mission and Guiding Principles.

The LFO funds programs and initiatives that promote and enhance access to justice for all Ontarians. As such it offers 2 Grant Programs, Small Grants of under $25 000 and Major Grants over $25 000. Grants are open to any secular and non-political Ontario non-profit organization or educational institution. Both grant programs are open to applications at various times throughout the year.

Both Small and Major Grant applications require the submission of a standard grant proposal demonstrating strong organizational capacity, key staff biographies, focused measureable goals/outcomes, strong support from community/non-profit stakeholders, a detailed financial plan and a well thought out implementation work plan. Applying for a Major Grant first requires a Letter of Intent.

According to the LFO, since its founding in 1974, “the LFO has given out over $160 million in grants and over $500 million to Legal Aid Ontario. The LFO’s 33 year history demonstrates a strong commitment to supporting the community and to promoting excellence within the profession. In the coming years, the LFO will work to maintain and support more initiatives and enable the work it has seeded to continue having long lasting and wide ranging impact.”

Tweet This Post

Scotiabank is one of Canada’s largest philanthropic organizations; as a major provider of donations and sponsorship, Scotiabank offers powerful funding opportunities for nonprofits as well as education institutions.

In 2007 Scotiabank contributed more than $43 million to community causes globally towards 4 focused areas – Education, Health, Social Services plus Arts and Culture programs. Scotiabank has Imagine Caring Company status – a designation created by Imagine Canada for companies that are committed to donating 1% of their pre tax profits towards building vibrant communities and encouraging social progress.

Scotiabank has funded both capital and program proposals, however a recent trend is to support more programs/services than capital projects. Scotiabank has no standard grant application form, instead it using an open application process where applicants can use their talents to submit their own proposal format. As with any successful grant application, a proposal should show support from government, business, education, non-profit and grassroots participants. It’s also essential that a proposal show a convincing need, realistic objectives and persuasive metrics that clearly measure the success of the program. More than likely, an application asking for more than $50 000, will require in person meetings, so an inspiring, creative and high impact presentation will be key.

Scotiabank sponsors events across Canada based on 2 criteria. First, the event must demonstrate that with Scotiabank’s support it can have a powerful impact in one of Scotiabank’s 4 focused areas of giving. Second, the event must stand out from other events based on a history of success, credentials of its organizers, size, uniqueness and public importance. Examples of events that Scotiabank sponsors include: Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, Scotiabank Caribana, The Scotiabank Giller Prize, Rick Hanson Wheels in Motion and many more community events across Canada.

Applications for funding are reviewed quarterly. For projects that require less than $10 000 in funding, proposals are submitted to a local Scotiabank branch, ideally the applicant’s home branch. Proposals asking for more than $10 000 in funding are mailed to:

Director of Sponsorships and Donations
Public & Corporate Affairs
40 King Street West, 63rd Floor
Toronto, ON, M5H 1H1

Another funding opportunity from Scotiabank is the Scotia Employee Volunteer Program, where Soctiabank gives up to $1,000 annually to charitable organizations where its employees and pensioners are active volunteers. Furthermore, through the Team Scotia Community Program, Scotiabank matches funds raised by employees for local causes, up to a maximum of $5,000; therefore this is a funding opportunity of potentially $10 000.

Applying for Scotiabank funding will definitely consume resources and time, but it’s a worthwhile opportunity. With the right expertise and preparation, your organization could receive funding and partner up with leading socially responsibly bank whose footprint in communities and social change is growing every day.

Please contact me at jorge@jorgeleclair.ca and I would be happy to answer any questions you may have and help you put together a winning proposal.

Tweet This Post

According to a Kintera/Luth Nonprofit Trend Report, ¹ “65 percent of donors visit at least one of the websites of the charities they support, and 40 percent always go online before making a giving decision.”

Online fundraising has the potential to be a huge windfall for non-profit organizations. An advantage of online fundraising is that it has overall lower costs. Another key strength is that when a donor gives, metrics software can provide vital information that includes donors contact details as well as demographic and psychographic data that can help a NPOs marketing/donor relations team. The bottom line is that a non-profit organization that is not engaged in online fundraising is missing out on a major donor segment.

Why are NPOs not pursuing online fundraising? The main reasons are a lack of understanding of the value of online fundraising, not possessing the skills to implement it or believing that they don’t have the budget for it.

NPOs do not need to be experts in online fundraising, they just need to be able seek out the services of a consultant that can help them. Hiring a consultant is not as expensive as one might think. While consultants working at firms with high profile clients will be at the expensive end, independent consultants or student/interns will be at more affordable end. An independent consultant will charge approximately $4000 – $6000 for a website with online donation capability; this fee will also include coaching on how to maintain the website, staff training, plus designing a strategic plan to use the site to build better donor relations and reach fundraising targets.

Another option for NPOs is to use Canadahelps.org – a cost effective web service that simplifies online fundraising by allowing individuals to donate to charities of their choosing through Canadahelps.org. For charities it’s an easier less expensive means of raising funds online and for donors it’s a trustable, one stop shop for giving.

Canadahelps.org is a simple process. NPOs create a profile that describes their cause. In the interest of transparency, charities can even permit donors to designate their funds directly to specific projects, a capital campaign or a room in a new building, etc. Potential donors can search for any charity in Canada and donate using their credit card. Donors can donate once or through a payment schedule. Canadahelps.org also accepts cash or securities such as stocks and bonds. What Canadahelps.org does not allow are payments for non-charitable gifts such as memberships, event registration or product purchases. Since it’s a registered charitable foundation, donors are issued a tax receipt. Donations are transferred to a NPO’s bank account minus a 3% transaction fee. Charities are notified by email that their accounts have received a donation. The website also provides donor research data that can be used to foster better donor relations.

An alternative that Canadahelps.org provides is that allows a NPO to use its own website a donation portal while processing transactions through Canadahelps.org. This is accomplished by adding a simple “Donate Button” to an NPO’s existing website.

Online fundraising is constantly evolving and new trends are constantly appearing. The most important trend is that online fundraising is here to stay and will continue to grow. It should be part of any organization’s comprehensive long term and sustainable fundraising strategy.

Tweet This Post

The Canadian Council for the Arts (CCA) is a crown corporation that reports to the Minister of Canadian Heritage; it is supported financially by the federal government as well as donations from businesses and the public. The role of the Canadian Council for the Arts is to support professional artists and arts organizations through grants, endowments, prizes, research and arts promotion.

CCA has 6 main departments: visual arts, media arts, dance, music, theatre and writing/publishing. All of its departments are further assisted by the Aboriginal Arts Secretariat – responsible for advancing the works of aboriginals, the Equity Office – responsible for the inclusion of diversity in the arts, and the Inter-Arts Office – responsible for complex proposals that combine or transcend traditional artistic disciplines.

Grant proposals are peer reviewed by panels of artists with relevant knowledge of the arts in their departments. The Canadian Council for the Arts receives about 16,000 grant requests annually and it approves approximately 6000 proposals by artists and arts organizations. Thus the raw odds of getting a grant are around 2 out 5. According to its 2007 – 2008 Annual Report, it awarded $164 million in grants, averaging about $27 000 per recipient.

Success in having a proposal approved will depend heavily on three aspects. First, a proposal should clearly demonstrate that it precisely meets all of the specific grant requirements, including obtaining detailed quotes and supporting documentation. Second, an artist will need to include a captivating professional biography. Third, a proposal must have goals that are S.M.A.R.T. – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time Bound. Proposals that are highly unique or that apply to specialized and usually less popular grants such as the Japan-Canada Fund (a grant for collaborations between Japanese and Canadian artists) will have a better chance of being awarded funds.

Similar government funded arts councils exist at provincial and municipal levels.

More information can be found on at: www.canadacouncil.ca

Tweet This Post

Successful entrepreneurs are passionately commitment to their dreams, they receive guidance from professional mentors and have access to sufficient start-up cash. The Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) provides all three.

CYBF is a Canada wide, non-profit organization that provides coaching, business resources and financing to new businesses whose owners are between the ages of 18 to 34.

CYBF lends based on the merits of a business plan and character of applicants. Pre-launch ventures are eligible to receive $15 000 from CYBF, plus an additional $15 000 from Business Development Canada. CYBF Entrepreneurs that have been in business between 36 to 60 months can also apply for expansion financing of up to $10 000.

Applicants that are accepted into the CYBF program and that receive CYBF loans must participate in a mentoring program for a minimum of 2 years. Mentors are professionals with valuable experience who volunteer their time to assist youth in realizing their entrepreneurship dreams. CYBF is supported by a large network of business powerhouses such as: Bank of Montreal, Bombardier, McCarthy Tétrault, Scotia Bank, TD Canada Trust, Accenture, CIBC, Industry Canada, etc.

An exciting new development is that on March 2009, CYBF received a $10 million grant from the Federal Government as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan which will result in helping more than 500 aspiring entrepreneurs start new businesses. CYBF is an innovative organization driving social and economic change; it’s on a continuing growth plan with the goal of launching of 2 new businesses per day by 2012.

Success stories include:

Sliced Tomatoes – a British Columbia based ready-to-cook meal delivery service that provides pre-washed, pre-chopped, and pre-proportioned ingredients necessary for a customer to cook a healthy home cooked meal. Sliced Tomatoes is modelled after the billion dollar food/ingredient delivery service that exists in Japan.

La Tortilleria - an authentic Mexican fast food restaurant and manufacturer/wholesaler located in Toronto that distributes fresh authentic Mexican corn flour related products such as tortillas.

TalentEgg Inc – an online recruiting service and information resource that provides students with access to meaningful entry level career opportunities.

QuickSnap – a product that enhances people’s lives by providing a unique, simple, and efficient solution to tying shoe laces while maintaining consistent tension and personalized comfort.

Adorit Boutique – a retail shop located in Ottawa that showcases fashions from Canadian designers who use between 20% and 100% reclaimed fabrics to make one of a kind garments.

Additional information can be found at: www.cybf.ca

Tweet This Post