Local Poverty Reduction Fund: Application Information with Q & A

Author: Jenn Kucharczyk

Posted: April 24, 2015

Categories: Food Access / Food in the News / Funding Opportunities / GoodFoodBites / Opportunities

The Ontario government is investing $50 million to support grassroots community partners through the Local Poverty Reduction Fund, one of the key commitments under the government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy “Realizing Our Potential”. Released in September 2014, the five-year strategy renewed the provincial government’s  commitment to reduce child poverty by 25 per cent (using 2008 as the base year) and has set a new, ambitious, long-term goal of ending homelessness in Ontario. Learn more about how the Strategy could support a more sustainable, healthy, and equitable food system.

The new Fund’s design is based on feedback that emphasized the importance of local, community-driven solutions and collaborative partnerships to ensure the strategy’s success. To this effect, the Fund will support innovative local solutions and help community organizations demonstrate their progress, evaluate their programs and build a collective body of evidence of poverty reduction initiatives that work.

Who Can Apply?

The fund is available to a wide range of groups. Not-for-profit organizations, registered charities, broader public sector organizations such as municipal governments, district social service administration boards (DSSAB) as well as Aboriginal communities and organizations can apply for the fund.

Visit the Ontario Poverty Reduction Fund webpage for more information on eligibility criteria and application timelines.

The Poverty Reduction Strategy Office also emailed out the following list of commonly asked questions and answers with more details on fund eligibility.

Q1: Can money from the Fund be used to deliver program services or only for evaluation-related expenses?

• The Fund will use an application based process and approved grants may be used to support both program and evaluation costs as will be outlined in the grant agreements.
• The fund can be used to support program services so long as the program or service meets the other criteria, including a strong evaluation component, a focus on community partnerships and a sustainability plan. Our aim is to support innovative local, solutions and help community organizations evaluate their programs. Using the evidence gathered from these programs, we will work  to apply best practices across the province and focus on funding programs that are proven to work and that can be used widely.
• Money received from the Fund should not be used to ‘backfill’ expenses currently funded through existing government grants or other sources. Program costs would be permitted if they relate to ‘net new’ activity, for example the evaluation will look at outcomes for a different set of clients who have not historically received services.  A second example might be where a service provider intends to add a new approach to case management, or a new form of counselling, as a way of increasing the effectiveness of an existing benefit or service.  The incremental cost of the new case management, or counselling would be an eligible expense under the project grant, while the existing benefit or service would continue to be funded from its pre-existing funding source.

Q2: What expenses will be allowed?

• The full Call for Proposals (CfP) in a few weeks will ask applicants to provide a detailed budget for the project. The CfP guidelines will include a list of allowable expenses in support of the project and evaluation components.  However, applicants should not expect the grants to include a percentage allowance for administrative expenses.  The fund’s focus is on delivering support and interventions to clients in, or at risk of, poverty and in evaluating the effectiveness of those services.
• Capital funding is not eligible. The fund is not for building new facilities.
• Proponents should look to new and enriched partnership opportunities as a way of addressing administrative, capital or operational needs through in-kind and other contributions to the project.  Partnerships are an important part of the fund criteria and these efforts would strengthen the overall application.

Q3: What is the role of private-sector?

• Partnership is one of key criteria for applying to the Fund. Private-sector organizations could partner in funded projects in many ways, for example through in-kind supports, financial contributions, providing evaluation expertise, or by providing jobs and apprenticeship opportunities.  Private sector organizations cannot be the applicant for funding.

Q4: What types of organizations are eligible to apply?

• Not-for-profit organizations, registered charities, broader public sector organizations such as municipal governments, district social service administration boards (DSSAB) as well as Aboriginal communities and organizations can apply for the fund.
• For example, social enterprises are welcome to apply as long as they are either a registered charity or not-for-profit organization.  Broader public sector organizations such as universities, colleges and school boards are also welcome to apply.

Q5: What is the expected size of the grants? How long can a project last?

• Grant sizes will depend on the type of project and evaluation methods proposed.  Applicants will be required to provide an estimate of necessary funding based on the type of project and evaluation they are proposing.
• We would consider grant proposals lasting up to three years to provide enough time for the evaluation to be completed. Some projects may require less time, so we are also looking to support one or two year projects.

Q6: Small agencies may not have the capacity or time for evaluation. How will the government include them in the fund?

• We are emphasizing partnership and collaboration as a way to encourage smaller agencies to apply. Organizations with less capacity to evaluate can partner with larger ones that have greater resources and relevant expertise. A partnership like this can strengthen an application for both the larger and smaller organization.
• The Poverty Reduction Strategy Office is looking at ways to increase access to networks of academic and other evaluation experts to support smaller agencies in their evaluation.
• It’s also important to note there will be three Calls for Proposal – in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Organizations that need more time to build partnerships and find an evaluator will have other opportunities to access the Fund.

Q7: What do you mean by evaluation?

• To us, evaluation means systematically collecting and using evidence to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of a program. The type of evaluation will depend on the application. Some organizations may benefit from doing a program evaluation to measure effectiveness; others might propose a process evaluation to assess the program delivery or impact on a target population.
• We are asking for proposals to clearly outline how they will evaluate the project, how it could demonstrate outcomes, and how it relates to the Poverty Reduction Strategy’s indicators.

Q8: Can an organization or municipality submit more than one proposal?

• Yes, an organization may submit more than one proposal. However, final decisions will take into account a number of factors, including geography, so that projects that receive funding are representative across the Province. Organizations should consider how they would manage multiple projects and provide evidence that they have sufficient capacity to implement parallel evaluations, including clear roles within the organization for leading each project. Applications should describe clearly how the proposals are distinct from each other as well as the links between them, where possible, for example in their partnership relationships. Organizations can also consider applying to the Call for Proposals in 2016 and 2017 where they have several programs they wish to evaluate.

Q9: Would the Fund support the development of a new initiative (e.g., a pilot project) provided that all other criteria are met?

• Yes. In their CfP, organizations will need to demonstrate as part of their business case that there is at least emerging evidence of a program or intervention’s effectiveness or that it has been shown to work in another jurisdiction. The evaluation supported by the Fund would then use different measures to assess whether the program was operating successfully at its new site in Ontario.