ONGOING CONNECTIONS GRANT
Investing in valuable connections
We offer funding renewals to teams that:
- Are active members of the SHIFT Learning Community;
- Want to continue in their work and build their capacity for systemic change;
- Work closely with Concordia on their community-based project or are in the process of developing meaningful partnerships.
Program overview
The Ongoing Connections Grant (OCG) is a fund dedicated exclusively to active members of the Learning Community who have previously received funding from SHIFT. Through the OCG, we recognize the long-term nature of most social change projects and commit to maintaining ongoing supportive relationships with the projects we fund. Our hope is that through sustained engagement we can continue to expand the socially transformative potential of this work while building additional beneficial connections between these projects and Concordia.
This program offers grants of $10,000 annually, to funded partners whose work continues to align with SHIFT’s values and priorities.
All eligible applicants will be assessed through our participatory selection process.
Deadline: February 24th 2025, 9:00am.
Eligibility requirements
Only partners previously funded by SHIFT and active members of the Learning Community are eligible to apply for the OCG.
Teams must have completed any deliverables for which they received SHIFT funding, or be able to provide details of timeline and steps for completing them. Please consult with your SHIFT Point Person before making your application.
This year, the Ongoing Connections Grant will become a competitive process. Recognizing that applicants projects have previously passed through a selection committee and have an ongoing relationship with SHIFT, applicants will only be assessed based on five key criteria areas:
Relationship to Concordia |
The applicant has a meaningful partnership with at least one of Concordia’s central operations (student life, academics, operations). This partnership is reciprocal and mutually beneficial. If it is through one person (ex: A faculty member), it has to be linked to their everyday work within the university (ex: their research field). If they have a plan to build a partnership with Concordia, they should have already begun outreach and have had some conversations with their potential partner(s), and have a clear idea of the potential for reciprocity and ideal partnership details
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| Relationship to SHIFT | The applicant is engaged with SHIFT's community. They see the value in SHIFT’s ecosystem and are participating in creating a reciprocal relationship The work is aligned with SHIFT’s values
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| Potential for social transformation | The work is tackling the root causes of social issues, not just the symptoms, and the team is striving towards wider systemic change in the medium-to-long term. Groups focused solely on community-building or individual service provision do not count as “socially transformative initiatives”. Beyond some of the too-deep root causes (ex: capitalism), we’re looking for teams that have a clear idea of an institution or system requiring change. |
| Feasibility | The team has the expertise required and the capacity (or a plan for capacity) to ensure that this project succeeds. |
| Learnings & Growth | Applicant has clearly demonstrated learnings from the past year of their work that they will integrate going forward |
Application process
The next deadline for the Ongoing Connections Grant is February 24th 2025, at 5:00pm.
To apply, teams submit a simple form, which will be complemented by input from their SHIFT point person. Depending on the number of applicants, some will be invited to join a live (online) conversation with a selection committee composed of three to five individuals, including members of other SHIFT-funded projects.
To acknowledge the value of their time and investment in the SHIFT community through the OCG application process, unsuccessful applicants will receive an honorarium.
New! - Expression of interest for peer pre-readers
This year, SHIFT is inviting applicants to participate in the grants selection process. This would involve reviewing and scoring some of the other applications to OCG. Those scores will be ranked, and will inform the decisions of the community-based selection committee.
This opportunity aims to provide a learning experience for applicants both in how grant selection works, and to better understand the work being done in the SHIFT community.
Those who are selected to act as pre-readers will receive an honorarium of $200-$500, depending on the number of applications.
If you are interested, please indicate it on your application form when prompted.
Support for applicants
To assist you in the application process, we encourage you to meet with SHIFT staff members to ask specific questions and receive coaching. There are two options:
Value exchange
Project commitments (What does SHIFT expect?)
In the spirit of collaboration and reciprocity, and in lieu of traditional reporting requirements, we ask the teams we support to contribute in-kind to the SHIFT community.
As an OCG recipient, your team commits to:
- Participate in at least one Learning Community event
- Share an output from your project that could be useful to other members of the SHIFT community
- Offer four hours of coaching or support to another SHIFT-funded project
- Make a presentation about your project, transferable learnings, and next steps at an event for the broader SHIFT community, upon invitation.
In-kind support (What does SHIFT offer?)
Each funded project has the opportunity to work with their SHIFT point person to co-create a tailored in-kind support plan that suits their needs.
Being part of the SHIFT Learning Community brings many benefits, including:
- Connections with other socially transformative projects
- Promotional support via SHIFT communications channels
- Access to one paid Concordia student intern per term (pending student interest)
- Project development coaching, troubleshooting and feedback
- Links to Concordia student and alumni volunteers for punctual engagements
- Relevant introductions across the SHIFT ecosystem
- Other customized support to be discussed as needs/opportunities arise
Calendar
Events
Notices
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March 22, 2023
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December 19, 2022
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October 20, 2022
