REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

ACCESS (Aboriginal Community Career Employment Services Society) is one of Canada’s most comprehensive Aboriginal training providers. It is an Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy (ASETS) Holder with its major funding provided by the Government of Canada via the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. ACCESS is dedicated to enabling urban Aboriginal people to overcome employment barriers and to pursuing life-long learning and rewarding career opportunities.

The Request for Proposal process usually begins in November with the deadline for receiving of proposals the following January. The proposals are reviewed and assessed by ACCESS’ Internal Review Committee with recommendations presented to the ACCESS Board of Directors in mid-February for final approval. Start dates of projects are usually April. All projects must be completed within the fiscal year, which ends on March 31. Proposals are also accepted any time during the year but approval may depend on funding availability.

Eligibility

The sponsor group must:

Be an urban Aboriginal organization
Have a fully operational office in Metro Vancouver
Be incorporated for at least one year
Be willing and capable of entering into a contract
Applications from individuals will not be accepted

Project Criteria

Funding criteria for service providers of group employment and training initiatives is as follows:

  • The training or employment project must meet the client criteria of the ASETS: training is to be for urban/off-reserve Aboriginal people residing only within Metro Vancouver
  • The project must be employment-related or develops identified priority skills (supported by adequate research)
  • The project must not duplicate any current related programs and services
  • The project must be cost effective and should be innovative
  • The sponsor must have a successful track record in the proposed program or project

All projects must lead to:

  • An employable or more employable urban Aboriginal individual
  • Long term employment that enables self-sufficiency
  • Savings to EI or social assistance programs
  • Further education or training of clients with disabilities, extensive employment barriers or for those who have been long-term unemployed

Types of Projects

The types of projects that can be applied for include Employment Assistance Services, Self-Employment, Job Readiness/Pre-employment, Project-based Training, Targeted Wage Subsidy (only if part of a group training project; individual TWS is provided through ACCESS EAS sites), Labour Market Partnership, Summer Student Employment (uses different application process), and Research and Innovation

Funding Amounts

The type and amount of funding available for programs is determined by ACCESS’ annual and long-term operating plan. Interested project sponsors are encouraged to call for information.

Application

All applications for funding must be submitted using ACCESS Project Proposal Funding Application Form

All areas of the application form should be filled in and all required documents attached
An electronic copy of the completed application form and budget/cash flow spreadsheets should be submitted
Project budget should have a complete breakdown of costs with brief explanations of how each line item is derived
Incomplete applications will not be accepted until they meet all application requirements; this delay may result in late processing of the application and could result in loss of project funding
Provide only what is required in the application form and please:

Do not send multiple copies of the project application and its attachments (two is maximum)
Do not send extensive supporting documentation, letters of support (3 maximum), presentation folders or binders, videotapes or other electronic media (except one electronic copy of proposal application, budget and cash flow)
Download Application Form from website.



Download Application Form

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