Spark Ideas Grant

1. PURPOSE

The purpose of the Spark Ideas Grant is to support the Saskatchewan Sport System to enhance and increase the capacity to support Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility.

The objectives are to:

• Increase opportunities to participate in quality sport activities for all those in Saskatchewan, including equity-deserving and under-represented groups.
• Increase the ability of the Saskatchewan amateur sport system to achieve meaningful, lasting change by supporting member-led initiatives.
• Increase Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility within the Saskatchewan amateur sport system.

2. SPARK IDEAS GRANT OUTCOMES

The Spark Ideas Grant has four specific outcomes that help to ensure equity-deserving groups benefit from this funding.

• Outcome 1
  Participants (athletes, coaches, officials, leaders and administrators) of sport opportunities report greater feelings of inclusion and belonging in environments where all aspects of sport happen (Ex. on the field of play, in the locker rooms, at the board table, at the office, etc.).
• Outcome 2
  Organizations are more aware of and better able to serve the unique needs of Saskatchewan residents in equity-deserving and under-represented groups.
• Outcome 3
  Opportunities to participate in sport (for athletes, coaches, officials, leaders and administrators) are more accessible to an increased number of Saskatchewan residents.
• Outcome 4
  Membership demographics are more representative of the Saskatchewan population.

Additional consideration will be made to distribute the funding to member groups who consider the following principles:

• Nothing about us without us
  This principle recognizes that individuals with lived experiences know what is best for themselves and their community and that their participation is integral to the success of the project. When the principle is used, the organization’s work is guided by the needs and aspirations of the people being served. Those people served are provided meaningful opportunities for participation in project planning, leadership, evaluation and promotion.
• An equity lens
  Using an equity lens means recognizing diversity in experience and needs and creating frameworks that respond to diversity. An equity lens requires a set of informed policies and practices intentionally designed to promote opportunity and rectify disparities, as well as informed people positioned to implement them effectively.

3. ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for Spark Ideas funding, your organization must:

• Be an eligible Provincial Sport Organization, Multi-Sport Organization, District for Sport, Culture and Recreation, Tribal Council, FSIN and/or MNS.
• Demonstrate the organization’s ability and readiness to support inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility programming/initiatives.
• Demonstrate the organization’s ability to meet one or more of the grant outcomes.

Note: Meeting the eligibility criteria does not guarantee funding.

4. SOURCE OF FUNDING 

The Spark Ideas Grant is funded by the Sport Section of the Sask Lotteries Trust Fund and administered through Sask Sport.

5. EXPRESSION OF INTEREST DEADLINE

The Grant will require an expression of interest form to be submitted prior to accessing the application.

There will be two expression of interest intake deadlines per fiscal year. Exact dates will be announced over the course of the grant cycle with four weeks of notice per deadline.

Timelines for other grant requirements will be communicated with applicants once eligible organizations are invited to participate in the program. Invitations to participate are contingent on the submission of an expression of interest which must be submitted by the intake deadline for an organization to be considered for that grant period.

6. ELIGIBLE PROJECTS

Initiatives must be in support of an approved area of funding, which may include:

• Capacity support for employment
• Club development
• Targeted programming
• Coach, official and leadership development
• Approved organizational development

Examples of projects that support these approved areas of funding may include:

• Unconscious bias training for board members, staff, coaches, officials and leaders.
• Employment for positions that may implement inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility initiatives.
• Education and support around the decolonization of sport.
• Inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility specific development of clubs, programs or initiatives.
• Human and volunteer resource structures and policies (Ex. equitable hiring, employee and volunteer onboarding, mentorship and voluntary self-declaration).
• Supports and training for staff, volunteers and/or board members.
• Enhancement or expansion of existing programs and initiatives.
• Reviewing and evaluating programming and resource allocation with an equity and diversity lens.
• Collecting, analyzing and reporting on equity and diversity data.
• Establishing and enacting proactive recruitment strategies aimed at people from equity-deserving groups.
• Development of equity, diversity and inclusion policy and review of all policies with an equity and diversity lens.

7. GRANT PROCESS

1. Submit an Expression of Interest form.
2. Work with a consultant to help identify the organization’s intended use and equity group target.
3. Complete a readiness assessment which will be used to adjudicate which organizations will be invited to apply for funding. The adjudication process will consider the organization’s readiness to engage in the work across areas like board and membership support, capacity, community need and desire for programming and potential for impact.
4. If invited to apply for funding, complete an application form including organizational information, project overview and budget (funding is allocated upon approval of this basic application).
5. If funded, participate in the facilitated planning process provided to support planning, implementation and workplan.
6. Develop a workplan document that outlines a clear action plan with established timelines to support implementation. The Impact Guide can support you in this process by providing detailed vision, determine outcomes, evaluation guidance, and examples to ensure effective and efficient execution of your plan.
7. Complete the follow up process and submit documentation.

8. INELIGIBLE EXPENSES

• Capital expenditures – no support is available for construction, renovations, upgrading, maintenance, or operating costs of facilities.
• Alcoholic beverages
• Cash prizes
• Off of country travel
• Food expenditures – funds are not to support food-related expenditures. Out-of-pocket meal costs for volunteers and/or staff who are working on behalf of the organization are justifiable, however, food expenses for banquets and dinners are an inappropriate use of Trust Fund funds. Organizations are encouraged to use self-help revenue or user pay to cover food costs for these purposes.
• Expenditures that are covered by other grant funding. Two different grant sources cannot be used to pay the same dollar of expense, whether those grants come from the Trust Fund, Sask Sport or any other provider. (Ex. grant source 1 = $500, grant source 2 = $500 and grant source 3 = $500; there must be a minimum of $1,500 in expenses)
• Debt repayment
• Payment of money returns owed to the Trust Fund or Sask Sport
• Other expenses that may be deemed inappropriate

9. APPROVAL/ PAYMENT PROCESS

Applications will be reviewed and approved by Sask Sport’s Sport Committee, with additional consideration from allied partners, where appropriate. Applications will be adjudicated based on the organization’s ability to demonstrate how they will meet the outcomes.

Upon application approval in Step 5 of the grant process, organizations will be issued
75 per cent of the total approved grant amount. The remaining 25 per cent of the grant will be paid upon receipt of a satisfactory follow-up application and financial documentation. Payment schedules are subject to change if the grant period is longer than one year or based on project outline, notification will be given at the time of grant approval.

10. FOLLOW-UP PROCESS

A completed follow-up document must be submitted within 90 days of the outlined grant period.

Your follow-up report should, at minimum, include:

• Your organization’s name/the grant recipient
• Contact information
• The grant period
• The approved grant amount
• The program/project name (if the project was named)
• The type of initiative as described in your application/readiness assessment (refer to the examples provided in the funding guidelines)
• Project budget breakdown

The follow-up must be substantiated by the organization’s audited financial statement when it becomes available or a signed General Ledger Listing which outlines expenses which occurred during this fiscal period. Revenues (External Self-Help revenue) and expenditures (Categorical Grants) for this grant program must be clearly identified either in the body of the statement or in the schedules or notes to the statements.

There will be two Expressions of Interest deadlines per fiscal year. Exact dates will be announced over the course of the grant cycle with four weeks notice per deadline.

The current Expression of Interest deadline is November 15, 2024.

Organizations may apply for more than one project. Acceptance will be dependent on the availability of funding. You may apply for multiple projects and initiatives within one application, but the organization’s capacity and planning will be considered during the approval process.

There is no minimum or maximum funding amounts. Organizations are encouraged to submit applications that will meaningfully increase capacity within their sports and therefore, it is expected that funding requests may be larger than traditionally accepted.