Applications Procedures and Contact
Please read all of the following information before submitting an application.
The Foundation welcomes people to contact us at any time to discuss ideas. Our staff can provide advice and guidance to assist groups to submit the best possible application and we welcome innovative approaches.
Potential applicants must submit a Letter of Inquiry. If the project falls within the Foundation’s goals and program areas, the applicant may be asked to provide a full proposal and may also be invited for an interview to discuss the project in person. This is not a guarantee of funding.
We do not encourage the inclusion of additional materials such as videos, CDs, annual reports or newsletters with your application. We cannot store or return these materials. Application pages shall be letter-sized and printed with 12 point text. Applications must be received by the Foundation by the due dates specified, no exceptions will be made.
For a PDF version of the complete Grant Guidelines please click here.
Letters of Inquiry
We regret that Letters of Inquiry which do not follow these instructions cannot be considered for funding by the Foundation. All pages must be letter sized with 12 point text.
This pre-proposal inquiry should contain the following:
1. Completed
Please note: If you are using the Editable Version above, those using Acrobat Reader and not the full Acrobat Professional, will not be able to save the information entered in the form once you have begun entering text. It is encouraged that you fill the form in and print it for your hard copy submission, and print it to PDF to send for your electronic submission. Otherwise, you cannot save changes and will lose the information you have filled in. The other option is to print the Uneditable Cover Page and scan it for the purposes of the electronic version once it has been filled out by hand.
2. Letter of Inquiry (maximum 2 pages), which includes:
- An overview of the project
- A description of how the project benefits the Greenbelt
- An explanation of how the project achieves the goals of the Foundation
- A brief outline of the organization’s history, objectives, current activities
- A preliminary budget and timeline of activities
Letters of Inquiry must be submitted as one original, signed hard copy sent to the Foundation office and one electronic copy sent to info - at - greenbelt.ca by the due date. The Foundation cannot offer extensions to the due dates under any circumstances.
Full Proposals
Your organization may be invited by the Foundation to submit a full proposal. This is not a guarantee of funding. Organizations invited by the Foundation to submit full proposals should submit eleven (11) paper copies and one electronic copy of the full proposal by the due date. Original, signed hard copies must be sent unbound, unstapled, hole-punched, and printed double-sided. All pages must be letter sized with 12 point text. Electronic copies should be sent by the due date to info - at - greenbelt.ca.
We regret that full proposals which do not follow these instructions cannot be considered for funding by the Foundation.
Applicants are encouraged to be clear and concise. Longer applications are not considered to be better.
The proposal package should contain the following:
1. Executive Summary (maximum1/2 page)
Summarize the main objectives of your project and nature of the work to be done.
2. Project Description (maximum 2 pages)
Include a detailed description of your project, a work plan, methodology, and anticipated results. Provide the names and a brief description of the responsibilities of all key personnel to be involved in the project, and indicate the primary qualifications and skills required for any staff to be hired. This is an opportunity to showcase the group’s experience and capacity to carry out the proposed project.
If the project is technical or scientific, describe it in lay terms in the body of the proposal and provide a more technical description for peer-review purposes as an appendix.
3. Rationale and Fit with Greenbelt Priorities (maximum 1 page)
Describe how your project benefits the Greenbelt and supports the Foundation’s vision and goals, and why your organization is best qualified to carry out the work. If the project involves collaboration, include a brief description of each partner, each organization’s role in the project, and the reasons for forming the partnership.
4. Communications Plan (maximum1/2 page)
Tell us what your main communication messages will be using the Communication Plan found here.
5. Evaluation Plan (maximum 2 pages + Criteria sheet and Work Plan table found here)
Describe how you will measure success and the plan for undertaking, reporting and acting upon the evaluation including:
- What you want to accomplish with this project and how you envision doing this.
- The intended results of the project, i.e., short- and medium-term effects.
- The potential challenges and opportunities to achieving your project’s overall goal.
- Projects which focus on increasing awareness and capacity must identify how activities will lead to action.
- The outputs or specific products/services which will be developed or delivered for the project such as maps, reports, communications tools, events, etc. to help achieve the result.
- Explain how benefits to the Greenbelt will be maintained after the project is complete and beyond receiving support from the Foundation. Identify whether there will be permanent change and the resources in place to continue work after the grant ends.
6. Budget
Provide an itemized budget using the template provided here. Typically, the larger the amount requested, the more detail required. If the Foundation is being asked for partial funding of the project, indicate which expenses would be covered by our grant and which would be supported with other sources of funding. Specify all other possible funders, the amount of funding expected from each source, any confirmed sources of funding, and sources of in-kind support.
7. Organizational Information
Provide a list of your organization’s Board of Directors, identifying each person’s affiliations, and a list of any relevant committees or advisory groups. Also, provide information about the chief executive officer of your organization and the project’s lead (if different from the CEO).
8. Financial Information
Provide the most recent audited financial statements and a copy of the operating budget for the current year, including expenses and revenues to date for your organization.
Application Review
Each full proposal will be reviewed by Foundation staff, by an external Advisory Committee and by the Board of Directors. The Foundation is committed to achieving its primary goals and thus reviews applications with an eye towards specific outcomes.
- A strong application clearly identifies:
- How the outcomes will directly benefit the Greenbelt
- How the outcomes support the Foundation’s vision and goals
- The likelihood of success for the project and whether the proposed activities will lead to the outcomes sought
- The integration of the Foundation’s public awareness and engagement goals
- The involvement of stakeholders and level of collaboration
- The organization’s history, track record and ability to manage and sustain growth that may result from the grant
- Value for funding and cost efficiency
- Measurable performance results
Eligibility & Program Limitations
Grants cannot be made to individuals. Grants can only be made to registered Canadian charities or other qualified donees. If you have an idea that meets our goals but your group does not qualify, please contact us. We may be able to offer support or assistance in other ways.
The Foundation reserves the right to support any appropriate initiative that we deem to be relevant to our mission. Projects will only be granted one year of funding, no multi-year grants will be made. Overhead costs of up to 10% of the total project budget will be supported.
The Foundation will fund activities including, but not limited to:
- Communications and event coordination
- Contract and professional service costs
- Human resources costs, including salary and benefits
- Materials and supplies
- Planning
- Translation, printing, production and distribution costs
- Travel
The following activities are not funded:
- Basic research
- Buildings and infrastructure
- Capital campaigns
- Deficit financing
- Ecological restoration activities
- Endowments
- Establishing new farmers’ markets
- Land claim disputes
- Projects occurring outside the Greenbelt
- Sponsorships
Our Contact Information
Please send all applications, in hard copy, to:
Burkhard Mausberg, CEO
Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation
661 Yonge Street, Fifth Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M4Y 1Z9
Please send the electronic version of your application to info (at) greenbelt.ca
