Application Instructions: Girls’ Fund
Combined Girls Program and Girls Group Mentoring Grant
Please read all sections carefully.
These instructions are intended to help you write your proposal. The Girls’ Fund Advisory Committee relies on your responses to each section when making their decisions, so be as specific as possible. Your proposal should clearly describe the intended goals of the grant and your plans for developing and delivering your program.
Incomplete applications will not be considered.
The Girls’ Fund Application will be administered through an online platform (fluid review).
On October 8th, the grant guidelines, application instructions and FAQs will be available on the Canadian Women’s Foundation’s website ( We encourage interested applicants to take the time to review the materials. If organizations choose to, they may begin forming their responses in a word document to copy and paste into the online grant application platform once it becomes live.
On October 15th, organizations will have access to the online grant application platform and can create a login and password to begin the process of submitting their grant application.
Applicants must complete the four steps outlined below:
Step One: Complete the Organization Information
Once you create a login for the online application, you will first need to complete the Organization Information. Fill out the information in complete detail and be sure that all information is up-to-date.
See Appendix A (page 3) for detailed instruction on completing the online application form.
Step Two: Complete the Proposal Questions
The online application will guide you through the proposal questions specific to the grant area you are applying for. We have provided prompts for each question in the following pages to help guide you to develop complete and effective responses.
Each question has been designated a maximum word count that will be enforced by the online application platform. You will be able to copy and paste the information from a Microsoft Word document so you can check your word count in advance.
See Appendix B (pages 4-10) for support and direction on completing the application questions.
Step Three: Complete the Budget
Download the excel spreadsheet from the online application platform (fluid review). There are two tabs in the Excel form – one for expenses and one for revenues. You must fill in both. Your budget must balance which means that your expenses and your revenues must be equal.
You do not need to outline the budget for the whole organization or all your programs, just for the program you are applying for.
See Appendix C (pages 11-13) for support on completing your proposed budget.
Step Four: Upload Additional Documents Required
Upload the most up-to-date versions of each of the required documents listed below (in word or PDF versions). If your organization only has hard copy versions of these documents, you will have to scan them into electronic files for uploading. We will not accept hard copy versions and you will not be able to submit your online application without uploading the required components.
- Audited Financial Statement (most recent)
- Annual report (most recent)
- Policy on diversity/anti/racism
- Current Board list
Contact information not required; simply include names and professional roles if relevant
- Program curriculum or program outline (if available)
If this is already developed, please include in full. If not, please provide a list of the session topics you will explore or the activities you intend to plan as a sample of the work you will undertake in your girls program.
- Letters of support (minimum of two letters from an organization you work with, parents and/or past participants). These groups may be called to verify the details.
Appendix A
Organization Information
Enter each field with the most current information
Canada Revenue Agency Information
Select the option that you are applying under. If you are unclear as to which category you should apply under, please contact Rifka Khalilieh at
Organizational Resources
- For Staffing and volunteers, please include contract and short term employees in the full-time and part-time staffing totals. Practicum students (if relevant) would be included in the volunteer total.
- For the Financial Portrait, please follow the headings from your last financial statement or annual report to fill in these sections.
- Deficit / Surplus - It is important to let us know why you may be carrying a surplus and also reasons for a small or large deficit. Include how you plan to work towards ensuring that that the books are balanced in future years. This information is crucial in the committee’s decision-making.
- When listing your organization’s top four funders, indicate the area of work (population and service provided) for each one
Previous Canadian Women’s Foundation grants
List grants in all areas, including Girls’ Fund, Violence Prevention, Teen Healthy Relationships, Economic Development, and Anti-Trafficking.
Information about the Program you are applying for
- Indicate the program name and area served
- Number of individuals receiving services – provide an estimated number of girls (not mentors or volunteers) that will take part in the program each year. If you anticipate a different number each year, please include the average number of girls per year.
- Please indicate main three groups of women you will serve.
- We would like to know the three main groups of girls you are working with specifically.
- Please try to list in order – largest group first and smallest group third.
- Please select from the listed groups (First Nation, Métis and Inuit girls; Black girls and girls of colour; rural or remote girls; LGBTQ girls; girls of diverse gender expression; low-income girls; newcomer, immigrant, refugee or undocumented girls; girls with disabilities and Deaf girls)
- Program Description
- Please provide an overview of the program that you are applying.
- Please describe the project as if you were writing a paragraph in a brochure for a general audience, to give a clear idea of what the work is about.
- Try having someone who is not familiar with your program read your program description to see if they understand the intent of your program from your description.
Appendix B
The Girls’ Fund Advisory Committee relies on your responses to the proposal questions to assess the goals and intent of your work. The prompts provided for each proposal question offers suggestions on the information that would be most helpful for our review purposes. Review these prompts to gain a stronger sense of how to form complete responses.
Organization Information
Proposal Question / Prompts / Max Words1. / What is the mandate of your organization? / Reflect on the goals and vision of your organization. Why does your organization exist and what does it intend to achieve? Draw on the primary issues your organization addresses and the supports it provides to your community. / 200
2. / Brieflydescribe your ongoing services/ programs and how you adapt them to meet or address the needs of your community. / Provide an overview or summary of the full scope of services and programming that your organization offers (list form is acceptable).
Explain how your organization ensures the work is specific to the community you serve. What measures are taken to achieve this?
If possible, consider including an example of how you have adapted a service/ program to meet the community’s needs. / 250
3. / If your organization has a diversity/ anti-discrimination policy, how often is it reviewed? Describe one way that your organization has changed as a result of having a diversity/anti-discrimination policy in place. / When stating how often the policy is reviewed, please note the last time it was formally reviewed and whether anything was amended.
Provide a concrete example of how the organization is different and how it has evolved as a result of having the policy in place. This could demonstrate impact on services, programming, staffing, workplace relations, community relations, etc.
If you do not have a diversity/anti-discrimination policy, are you planning on developing this? Be sure to address the following: what is the timeline and what will the process entail? How will you ensure that these issues are being addressed in the interim? / 250
4. / Tell us about your experience working with girl-specific programs. If you have not previously run girl-specific programs, explain why you are planning to start now. / Girl-specific programs should be inclusive of all girls of diverse gender expression, however they identify.
Provide an overview of your experience with programs designed and delivered specifically for girls. Where relevant, briefly share how the programs addressed the unique needs of girls and what the organization and community response was.
If you have not run girl-specific programming, share with us why your organization is interested in starting now. This may relate to the organization (gaps in services) or to the community more generally (needs identified by stakeholders). / 200
Girls Program - Overview
Proposal Question1. / Identify your approach (Select one)
Select the approach that your program will take in empowering girls. There are five approaches that your proposed program can fit within that are described below:
- Science and technology – Uses discussion and activities to provide exposure, learning and engagement with the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math). Women and girls are often underrepresented in these fields; girls programs create space to challenge stereotypes that limit female participation. Often female role models from the STEM field are engaged as a part of these programs.
- Physical literacy and sports – Physical literacy describes “competence and confidence in a wide variety of physical activities in multiple environments that benefit the healthy development of the whole person.” These skills enable individuals to make healthy, active choices that are both beneficial to and respectful of their whole self, others, and their environment (Physical & Health Education Canada, 2015). Programs can focus on healthy lifestyle, physical activity, nutrition, movement activities and/or sports.
- Leadership and empowerment – This is often a core component of all girls programs; however this category exists for programs that run girls groups that focus specifically on building leadership, building confidence, overcoming barriers and stereotypes, and fostering empowerment of girls, without the use of the other four approaches.
- Media literacy – Activities and discussion that guide girls to be able to “access media on a basic level, to analyze it in a critical way based on certain key concepts, to evaluate it based on that analysis and, finally, to produce media oneself. This process of learning media literacy skills is media education.” (Media Smarts, 2015). Programs can focus on deconstructing media, creating their own media, analyzing messaging and exploring different mediums.
- Aboriginal culture and teaching – Draws on cultural teachings, traditional activities and practices to engage girls in Aboriginal communities. By strengthening their connection to the community and their history, the program often reinforces girls’ positive identity. Often this approach includes members from the community, such as Elders, to guide this process.
Proposal Question / Prompts / Max Words
2. / What is the goal of the proposed girls program? / Indicate what are you hoping to change? How would you like to make a difference with this program? How will this improve the lives of girls in your community?
Indicate the key issues your program will focus on.
Explain how the activities relate to the goal of supporting and empowering girls in your community. / 400
3. / What population of girls will your program serve? How will you recruit girls to your program to ensure it is inclusive and reaches vulnerable girls? Are there similar programs in your geographic area and, if so, how is your program different? / Indicate the population or community of girls that your program is designed for. Why are you targeting this group? How have you tailored the program to their needs?
Share an overview of your plans and activities for outreach and recruitment. Detail any specific measures you are taking to remove barriers to reach vulnerable girls.
If similar programs exist, be sure to address the following: Do they serve the same population? Is their approach/purpose similar or different and how? How will your programs complement one other? Will there be any collaboration? / 300
4. / What ages does your program serve (ages 9 to 13 or a subset within that range)? What considerations will you put in place to meet the needs of girls of different ages and stages of development in the program? / Indicate the age range that your program serves. Note: this should be within the ages of 9-13. Some exceptions may be made for smaller/remote communities or for other reasons.
Given the varying needs, interests, issues and developmental stages of girls in this age range, how will your group accommodate everyone? Think about and share any measures that you will take related to program content, group arrangement, activity planning and/or group facilitation. / 200
5. / Identify the proposed plans for the girls program:
- major activities of the girls program;
- number of girls served
- frequency of programming (weekly/biweekly);
- number of hours per week and duration (# of weeks per year); and
- location(s) of the program.
Provide a summary of the specific objectives and tangible outcomes. Explain the personal or skill development activities of the program. Highlight anything that is unique to your proposed program and why you have chosen that approach.
Indicate how many girls will participate and where the girls will meet. How long on average will participants be involved? Include the frequency of the sessions, the number of hours per week and the duration. / 600
6. / Describe the qualifications and experience of the program staff who will be directly involved in the ongoing delivery of the girls program. If the program staff is not already a part of your team, what qualifications and experience will you prioritize in the recruitment process? / Please give an overview of the roles played by staff, Elders, mentors, and/or volunteers and the experience they need (whether already recruited or not). You do not need to provide staff bios or resumes. If you have not recruited the lead for this program, share with us the most important qualifications/experiences you will look for (3-5 in point form). / 200
7. / Why do you think the program approach you have proposed is the most effective way to address the needs of the girls you will work with? / Review your responses to the questions above and reflect on the goals of the program. Think about the unique needs of girls you are targeting and explain why this format is the best approach to achieve these goals. Think about ‘your approach’ in terms of the themes, activities, format and frequency. How are you sure your approach positively impact girls? / 400
Girls Group Mentoring– Overview
Proposal Question / Prompts / Max
8. / What is the goal of the proposed girls group mentoring program? / Indicate what are you hoping to change? How would you like to make a difference with this program? How will this improve the lives of girls in your community?
Explain how the activities relate to the goal of supporting and empowering girls in your community. / 400
9. / What population of girls will your program serve? How will you recruit girls to your program to ensure it is inclusive and reaches vulnerable girls? Are there similar programs in your geographic area and, if so, how is your program different? / Indicate the population or community of girls that your program is designed for. Why have you chosen to target this group and how have you tailored the program to their needs?
What are your plans for outreach and recruitment? Provide us with a sense of how you are removing barriers or making intentional efforts to reach vulnerable girls.
Provide us with a sense of the programming landscape in your geographic area. What other similar programs exist? Do they serve the same population? Is their approach/purpose similar or different and how? How will your programs complement one other and will there be any collaboration? / 300
10. / Who will be the mentors in the program – older girls, adults, Elders, etc? / Is there a specific population that you are targeting for mentors? This could be based on culture, lived experience, age group, education level or area, similar interests, neighbourhood, etc. Explain why you have chosen this group. / 150