TSCF Sample Grant Application Scenarios
The following scenarios are provided as samples of the types of projects that may qualify for a True Sport Community Fund grant application. Projects may be different from these examples – we encourage you to submit your unique idea. Please keep in mind that we are only accepting applications that address issues of access and inclusion for child and youth sport programs for low income, Aboriginal and new Canadians families. The information provided here is NOT sufficient for the Selection Committee to review the merit of the application. Please include as much detail as possible when applying for the True Sport Community Fund grant.
Access and Inclusion - Bridging Cultural Gaps through Sport
A not-for-profit organization dedicated to working with young people with perceived barriers to entering post-secondary education partnered with a First Nation with the goal to increase school attendance and commitment to academics. Several projects have evolved, one of which aims to engage Aboriginal students through sport. This small Aboriginal community does not offer sport programs and has limited access to resources that are typically available in larger urban centres - sporting facilities, equipment and expertise. In particular, the community lacks the proper supports and skills needed to create and sustain organized sports programs.
The organization partnered with a university varsity basketball team to establish a pilot project in order to bring organized sport to this Aboriginal community. The varsity squad ran a summer basketball camp for the First Nation and later held a team retreat in the community that included their participation in traditional Aboriginal ceremonies and educational initiatives as well as basketball training opportunities. The varsity team left the community with an understanding of the Aboriginal youth, their community and some of their struggles while their visits provided recognition of the benefit and importance of sport as an outlet for the children and youth and exposed them to positive role models.
The next steps in the project include the creation of structured sports teams in the community through the development of athlete and coaching development programs. In particular, volunteer coaches must be trained so that there is the local capacity to instruct the children and youth, The True Sport Community Fund will support coaching development opportunities including local basketball clinics and seminars that will focus on building the skills of athletes and coaches as well as opportunities for coaches to travel outside the community to pursue coaching development opportunities, to observe Master Coaches and to meet with mentors.
Inclusion – Athletics for All
Three community centres recently amalgamated to form one strong community centre with three sites. The amalgamation has proven to strengthen the Board of Directors, increase the number of volunteers and improve the centre’s ability to respond to some of the regional demands. Now the largest community centre in the city, it services over 34,000 residents most of whom are low income and refugee families with multiple children and often only one parent.
The community centre’s number one challenge was to provide activities which will help to keep these children off the street. The community centre recognized that a recreation alternative was one possible solution to the issue, and has decided to introduce an athletics program to enhance social skills, fulfill the need for exercise, and in general boost self-esteem. The True Sport Community Fund will help equip all children and youth with appropriate footwear, provide transportation, if required, and ensure that all children and youth get a chance to participate. With its ability to reach all ethnic groups and all ages, the promotion of this new athletics program is expected to reach at least 1,500 children and youth in the community.
Access – The Hockey Exchange
This Inuit community is isolated and only accessible by aircraft for the majority of the year. The community’s population is 1200, 60% of which is under the age of 25. The community faces the same struggles as many other northern communities in Canada – a high rate of unemployment and a high rate of poverty. The community is currently offering a Minor Hockey program and doing an exceptional job despite the limited funds available.
As a result of the existing socio-economic conditions, many of the local youth have limited opportunity to partake in sport offered in the community. Many families are unable to afford the high start up costs of equipping their children for sports, in particular, hockey, one of the most popular sports in the community. The hockey program brings enjoyment to a large group of youth in the community and disappointment to those who sit and watch their friends from the bleachers because they do not have the equipment to play. In order to address this issue, the children and youth in the community have developed their own make-shift solution whereby youth exiting the ice hand over their equipment to friends or siblings so they can use the equipment for the following ice time – often they even mix and match with other friends to ensure the best fit.
As humbling and extraordinary as these actions are, they are limited in their scope as it helps only a small number of youth in the community. The Hockey Association would like to give a larger group of youth the same opportunity by starting a new hockey equipment sharing/exchange program. The True Sport Community Fund will be used to purchase sets of hockey equipment that will be lent to youth thus affording them the same opportunities as others in the community. The equipment will be used from year to year and exchanged among the youth for seasons to come.
Inclusion - New Canadian Youth Inclusion Project
This cricket association grew out of an informal process in which groups of newcomers and established residents, with a shared interest in cricket, came together to play the game and to create a supportive, safe and welcoming environment for new players. As interest grew and numbers increased, organizers saw the potential for broad appeal. Thus a process began that would offer the local youth and newcomer families a fresh opportunity to try a sport that requires limited investment in specialized equipment and that fosters the values of fair play, fitness and community engagement. Since a significant number of new Canadians in the community grew up in nations that have a strong cricketing culture, cricket is likely a good fit to engage newcomer families in the community.
A local municipality has recognized the value of creating a welcoming environment for new Canadians and has partnered with the Association to create and maintain a cricket ground. In addition to the health and lifestyle benefits, the Association is interested in studying the impact of introducing a “new” sport to the community, especially in terms of its effectiveness as an engagement and inclusion portal for inter-cultural exchange by school age children and their families.
In partnership with the municipality, the local Association for Newcomers, the school board and local sponsors, the organization has developed a strategy to minimize the barriers to participation which may include language and literacy, as well as registration and equipment costs. The True Sport Community Fund will be used to improve the designated cricket grounds and to address barriers to participation through the development of a subsidization program for low income families, through the purchase of proper equipment so that everyone can have the opportunity to play, and through a coaching development program where community and school coaches can learn the necessary skills to introduce the sport.
The organization’s pilot project introduced the sport to over 100 children and youth. With the support of the True Sport Community Fund the organization will familiarize over 2,000 children and all Physical Education teachers with the sport of cricket.
Access and Inclusion - Expansion of Inner-City Soccer League
The Inner-City School District represents twenty-one schools that service students and families with diverse socio-economic variables such as single parent families, low income families, English as a Second Language (ESL) students, students who are landed immigrants or refugees as well as a significant Aboriginal population. Unfortunately, the children and youth from this region traditionally experience greater difficulty in succeeding scholastically and in accessing extra-curricular activities such as organized sports.
In general, the children and youth living in the inner core of this major Canadian city are not participating in sport, organized or otherwise. Recognition of this issue led to an informal discussion with a local charitable foundation and soccer association resulting in the pilot of a four week soccer initiative. The pilot proved to be such a success that with further support from the charitable foundation and the soccer association, a formalized league was born that accommodated 220 children and youth from 13 inner-city schools. The league offered six weeks of soccer for which Junior High students were trained as officials and donations from around the city provided used soccer equipment to the students. Over the course of this pilot, school administrators reported improved behaviour and attendance at school, an increase in self-esteem, and an increase in parental involvement at school.
Building on its successes to date and with the support of the True Sport Community Fund, the Inner-City Soccer League will extend its operations to include all 21 schools in the District thus potentially providing a soccer opportunity for 7,065 children and youth. By providing the basic necessities for the children and youth in the community, such as transportation to and from the soccer fields, proper uniforms and equipment for all participants, recognition and awards for participation, as well as increasing the skill level of coaches and referees, the Inner-City Soccer League will continue to evolve and reach all children and youth in the community.
