The mission of the Women & Girls Fund is to:

  • provide opportunities to address basic needs or develop economic self-sufficiency for women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals,
  • strengthen and/or provide health and safety programs for women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals
  • promote the education of women, girls and gender-diverse individuals, and/or
  • invest in systems and sustainable change efforts in diversity, equity and inclusion.

What will we fund:

  • Innovative new projects
  • Short term projects
  • Seed funding for long term projects
  • Focus on vibrant, healthy, caring community through supporting, advocating, or addressing needs of women and girls

What we normally do not fund:

  • Ongoing core administrative expenses
  • Partisan political or singular direct religious activities
  • Building an endowment, fundraising expenses
  • Debt reduction or emergency funding

To be deemed eligible for the Women and Girls Fund grant, organizations must demonstrate that their proposal meets the following criteria:

  • Applicants must be operating in and/or serving the Central Alberta region
  • Applicants must be incorporated non-profit organizations and have a valid charitable number from Canada Revenue Agency or be a First Nations Band or municipality designated as a qualified donee by Canada Revenue Agency. If your organization does not have charitable status or is not a qualified donee, we can consider an application in partnership with another organization that is a registered charity or qualified donee with a mandate relevant to your proposal.
  • Gender-based programming, services, and/or advocacy are central to your project’s mission, and you have experience offering gender-based programs, services, and/or advocacy initiatives with/for women, girls, Two Spirit, trans, and non-binary people who face multiple barriers and are underserved, including:
    • First Nations, Métis, and Inuit
    • Black
    • 2SLGBTQI+
    • Living with disabilities
    • Living in rural or remote communities
    • Racialized, Refugee, immigrant, or non-status
    • Living on low incomes
    • Older/Seniors
    • Young

NOTE: The Foundation will accept applications from a qualified donee applying on behalf of a grassroots nonprofit organization, coalition, network, or group without charitable or qualified donee status.

The proposed funding will support your organization’s ability to provide programs, services and/or advocacy initiatives, either directly through funding program or service costs or indirectly through funding core operational costs, that align with one or more of the Foundation’s funding priorities:

  • provide opportunities to address basic needs or develop economic self-sufficiency for women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals,
  • strengthen and/or provide health and safety programs for women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals
  • promote the education of women, girls and gender-diverse individuals, and/or
  • invest in systems and sustainable change efforts in diversity, equity and inclusion.

For more information, contact Danielle Stewart at the Community Foundation: 403.341.6911 or daniellestewart@rddcf.ca

Application deadline: January 30, 2024, 4:00pm