Trusted Help Call for Applications

Applying for a grant: what you need to know

About

Eligibility

Criteria

Grant amount

Application and deadline

Before you apply

More information

About

This call is now closed.

The Law Foundation of Ontario invites nonprofit organizations to apply for a Trusted Help grant, through our Strategic granting program.

The purpose of the Trusted Help granting is to advance our understanding of one or more of the following areas:

Building the capacity to collaborate across sectors to advance access to justice
Supporting trusted intermediaries (e.g. frontline community workers who help people with their legal problems)
Continuing to learn and better understand the ways trusted intermediaries can advance access to justice

This new call is the result of research the Foundation commissioned into how frontline community workers help people with legal problems. In 2018, the Foundation released the Trusted Help report which describes the many ways that frontline community workers help people with legal problems. Some of these ways include identifying possible legal issues, providing legal information, making referrals to legal professionals, helping clients to complete legal forms, and accompanying clients to meetings or hearings. The Trusted Help granting program seeks to build on the findings of this report and to further support the pivotal work accomplished by community workers who support their clients with legal problems.

The Trusted Help call for application also builds on a recent program evaluation of another Foundation-funded initiative. The evaluation of Connecting Ottawa recognizes that legal problems are usually part of a larger constellation of issues and that people frequently approach trusted intermediaries at community and social service organizations about issues, including legal issues, they might be experiencing. The evaluation report outlines strategies used by Connecting Ottawa to build the capacity of frontline workers and work with them to increase access to justice.

What's our Strategic program? Learn more here.

Eligibility

Criteria

To be eligible to apply for a Trusted Help grant, your proposed project must:

Support access to justice and fit within the Foundation’s mandate and be consistent with the Foundation’s vision and mission
Come to completion or be self-sufficient after the term of the grant, as this is one-time funding

A Trusted Help grant must advance one or more of the following areas:

Building the capacity to collaborate across sectors to advance access to justice

Innovative ideas to link community legal clinics, private bar lawyers, paralegals, law students, and community agencies for training and legal support
Coordinated intake, triage, and referral programs to support holistic responses to people with legal needs
Protocols and other supports to improve referrals between legal and community services

Supporting trusted intermediaries

Templates, tools, and innovative technology to support trusted intermediaries, including tools to support system navigation
Strategies to identify and develop the capacity of trusted intermediaries to reach hard to serve populations, identify their legal problems, make referrals, or otherwise help them address their legal issues
Innovations that harness opportunities created by new technology, emerging public legal education trends, and models for community connections.

Continue to learn and better understand the ways trusted intermediaries can advance access to justice

Projects to evaluate the impact trusted intermediaries have on advancing access to justice for clients, including projects to evaluate efforts to build the legal capability of trusted intermediaries
Projects to develop common evaluation tools to help understand the impact trusted intermediaries have on advancing access to justice for clients and the impact that supports and training have on building the capacity of trusted intermediaries
Research, evaluation, and pilots in other areas identified by the Trusted Help report

Applications for projects that engage across sectors are preferred, in particular those that include the following partners:

Community organization(s) with trusted intermediaries
Legal organizations prepared to collaborate, support and, if appropriate, supervise work
Academics
Evaluators to design and oversee / implement an evaluation where appropriate

We strongly encourage applicants to read the FAQ and speak with a Grants Officer before applying.

Grant amount

Application and deadline

Letter of intent deadline: October 1, 2018 5:00 p.m. EST
Decision by: December 2018
Full application deadline: By invitation only

Important note: only letters of intent that are approved will be invited to submit a full application. An invitation to submit a full application is not a guarantee that you will receive funding.

Complete the application form and submit it by the deadline to: grants@lawfoundation.on.ca

Download the letter of intent application form in Word format here: Trusted Help Letter of Intent Application Form

Before you apply

More information

Frequently asked questions

Eligibility to apply

Do we have to be a registered charity in order to apply for a grant?

Can an individual apply for a grant?

Can an unincorporated committee apply for a grant?

Does a proposed project have to benefit more than one geographic community in order to meet the Foundation’s requirement to “provide a benefit to Ontario”?

Can an organization outside Ontario apply to the Foundation for a grant?

We want to apply for a grant jointly with another organization – can we do this?

I am interested in launching a new program to support frontline community workers in helping their clients with legal problems. Is this type of initiative eligible for a Trusted Help grant?

No, funds will be used for projects and not to set up programs with ongoing costs beyond the term of the grant. Funds are to be used to support the work of trusted intermediaries by either building the capacity to collaborate across sectors to advance access to justice, developing or sharing supports for frontline community workers, or examining the ways trusted intermediaries can advance access to justice.

Application process

Do you have a fixed amount of available funding that is allocated to specific geographic regions?

Do you require an applicant to find funding from other sources?

If we have identified other potential funders for our project idea, do you require us to provide confirmation of their commitment before you will consider our application to you?

Do you require an applicant to have other partners involved in the implementation of the project?

No. However, we do encourage partnerships and applications that engage across sectors (e.g. community organizations with trusted intermediaries, legal organizations prepared to collaborate, support and, if appropriate, supervise work, academics, and evaluators to design and oversee/implement an evaluation) will be preferred. If, in your application, you indicate the intent to partner with another organization, you should include a letter of commitment from the partner(s).

Eligible costs

Will you fund core operating costs associated with a project? If so, do you fund on the basis of a set percentage of total project costs?

I understand that the Foundation will not fund capital expenditures. Are office furniture or computer equipment considered to be capital expenditures?

Can we include the cost of an evaluation in our Trusted help grant application?

We would like to bring a test case. Can we apply to the Foundation for funding?

We would like to lobby government to make needed changes to the legislative and policy environment surrounding our legal issue. Can we apply to the Foundation for funding?

University/college applications

I am a faculty member at an Ontario university and would like to apply to you for a research project. Does the Foundation require institutional sign-off on the application?

Do you fund “indirect costs” which are applied to grants by my university/college?

After a grant application is approved

Our grant application has been approved – what happens next?

What is the payment schedule?

The payment schedule is developed taking into consideration the information provided in the work plan included in the grant application, and often also in consultation with the grantee. In general, the Foundation makes payments in advance, in accordance with each grantee’s needs, and subject to any special conditions of approval being met. The Foundation makes every effort to accommodate special requirements (for instance, where significant expenses have to be incurred at an early stage of the project). For all projects, the final payment is a hold-back instalment (typically 10% of the total grant) that is paid out on receipt of the final report.

What are your reporting requirements?

All grantees are required to submit written activity reports, as well as budget-to-actual financial reports, over the course of the project. A full final report is required in order to receive payment of the final grant instalment. Instalment payments are always conditional upon receipt of required reports, in accordance with the schedule established between the Foundation and the grantee. The timing and frequency of reporting is tailored to the circumstances of each project. Visit our Reporting requirements & templates webpage for more information about reporting requirement.

Introduction