Inclusive Communities Program - Rural Growth Initiative

The purpose of the Inclusive Communities Program is to cultivate inclusiveness and support population retention rates by promoting a culture where newcomers feel they belong and their skills are valued.

Who is eligible for funding assistance?

1. Incorporated non-profit organizations
2. Non-profit cooperatives that do not share dividends
3. Municipal governments
4. Band councils (or their development agency)

What funding assistance is available?

Under the Inclusive Communities Program, financial assistance is in the form of a non-repayable contribution, normally to a maximum contribution of 50 per cent of eligible costs up to $2,500 per application. The client should normally contribute a monetary minimum of ten percent of the total project cost (in kind ineligible). Federal and Provincial funding cannot normally exceed 75 per cent of the total project costs.

What are the eligible activities?

• Welcoming events for newcomers – To introduce newcomers to a community’s culture, services, and members.
• Newcomer networking and business mixers – to connect newcomers to a community’s business leaders.
• EAL/FAL conversation-based projects – To facilitate conversations and community connections between native speakers of English/French and newcomers who speak English/French as an additional language (EAL/FAL).
• Diversity and inclusion training and workshops – To develop diversity and inclusion capacity.
• Conferences, presentations and seminars – To promote inclusive conversations and discussion.
• Professional services to translate community information – To make community information accessible in multiple languages (video, websites, print material, etc.)
• Professional services to develop promotional material - To create and print material that provides information to support settlement services (website content, other media content, etc.)

What are considered ineligible activities?

• Costs of an organization’s core operations (including wages).
• Costs related to infrastructure.
• Plans (see Community Capacity Building Program for planning-related support).
• Activities which are not targeted at rural areas.

Application Process 

Applications are available from a Community Development Officer in your area. Please contact them for an application to help plan for your project (contact information below). 

Completed applications will be accepted and reviewed on an ongoing basis until budget has been allocated for the fiscal year.  

Who do I contact for more information?

Please contact a Community Development Officer prior to preparing an application for funding: