Grants For Women in Alberta 2017

This is an old blog. For the latest grants for women, click here.

This grant blog addresses the following topics:

Surprisingly not many grants for female entrepreneurs
Grants for women are presented – One released in 2018!
Status of Women Ministries and Calls for Proposals

Are there any grants for female entrepreneurs?

Yes.

Are there many?

No.

Where are they?

Further down in this blog.

Contrary to what you probably heard, you will find few grants for female entrepreneurs.

Why?

I don’t know.

But I hear often that “there has got to be grants out there for women starting businesses.”

No wonder people think that.

With the Alberta Government NDP and the federal government Liberal, a great deal of attention has been paid to women issues.

The most recent grant comes from the Government of Canada, and social media is all over it. Here are the details:

Women Entrepreneurship Fund

Value: $100,000

Description

The Entrepreneurship Fund is a $20 million investment which aims to assist women entrepreneurs to grow their existing businesses and enable them to pursue opportunities in domestic and global markets. It will provide successful applicants up to $100,000 in non-repayable contribution funding for a 12 month project.

Eligible Applicants:

A for-profit organization such as:
- An individual operating a business
- Partnerships
- Social enterprises
- Incorporated companies, corporations or co-operatives, and
- An Indigenous organization
A women-ownedand/or women-led business
A small to medium enterprise (SME) – (less than 500 employees), and
A business in operation for a minimum of 2 years

Eligible Activities

The project must focus on activities for business scale-up and/or pursuit of new market opportunities. Projects must be up to 12 months in length.

Eligible costs include, but are not limited to:

Cost of labour
Capital costs: purchase of machinery, equipment and infrastructure
Operating costs: management fees or working capital
Consultancy fees, Costs related to intellectual property
Preproduction, Commercialization costs, Subcontracting costs
Production and distribution of promotional materials and management tools
Anticipated cost of maintaining the useful life of an asset for a reasonable period
Production of management tools, and
Other costs necessary to support the purpose of the funding, as approved by the Minister

Deadline: November 15, 2018

Contact: ic.wes-sfe.ic@canada.ca or at 1-800-328-6189.

Website: https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/128.nsf/eng/00001.html

When the Alberta NDP had an election platform, it mentioned women 11 times. Here it is: http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/themes/5532a70aebad640927000001/attachments/original/1429634829/Alberta_NDP_Platform_2015.pdf?1429634829

THE NDP PROMISED A WOMAN’S MINISTRY, AND THEY CREATED ONE. AND THAT MINISTRY CREATED A GRANT PROGRAM WITH TWO STREAMS: INNOVATION AND ENHANCEMENT.

Here they are for your convenience:

ALBERTA STATUS OF WOMEN GRANTS

The department has a few programs. You can see them here: https://www.alberta.ca/culture-multiculturalism-and-status-of-women.aspx

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP FUND | STARTUP CANADA:

Value: Maximum $3000

Description:

The Startup Canada Women Entrepreneurship Fund invests in high-impact, grassroots initiatives across Canada that advance women entrepreneurship through education, investment, mentorship and access to growth opportunity. The Fund is brought to you in partnership with Startup Canada and Dell Canada in an effort to enable entrepreneurial leaders across Canada to mobilize and create an entrepreneurial environment that encourages and empowers women to be successful entrepreneurs. The programs objectives are:

Invest in community-driven initiatives that foster an environment and culture which encourages women entrepreneurs in Canada
Develop and harness the potential for women entrepreneurs in Canada through education, mentorship and support

Drive awareness of the importance of women in entrepreneurship to increase engagement, investment and growth opportunities for women-led companies

Eligibility:

Any Canadian-based entrepreneur, group or organization.

Eligible Expenses:

Programs or events that support women entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses such as:

Women’s entrepreneurship conference
Speaker series
Mentorship program
A workshop series
Trade missions, etc.

Deadline: Currently closed. Future deadline February 2018.

Contact: Renee Tavares | Renee.Tavares@startupcan.ca

Website: https://www.startupcan.ca/women-founders-fund/

STATUS OF WOMEN MINISTRIES

Now I have a couple of important grants points here.

One of the most painful things in grants is known as “calls for proposals.” Please allow me to translate that governmentese term to English, so that you can understand and win a grant.

Definition for the term “Call for Proposals – “Hey everybody, over here! We have a bunch of free money to give away. You have six weeks to get your grant application in. Don’t delay!”

I’m being serious.

Then the government will run advertisements to try and get people to stop what they are doing (making payroll) and submit a quality application. Fair enough.

Now we get to the painful part.

DO YOU KNOW WHEN THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS OPEN FOR FEMALE GRANTS OR GRANTS IN YOUR INDUSTRY? DO YOU KNOW WHEN THE NEW GROWING FORWARD 3 PROGRAM OPENS?

If you’re serious about winning grants, you can subscribe to the Alberta Grant Gazette here: https://albertabusinessgrants.ca/gazette-prices/

A less detailed option is to join our mailing list by downloading our Winning Grant PDF here:

Women’s Programs

And now we can return to the federal status of woman program.

According to its website, the objective of the Women’s Program is to achieve the full participation of women in the economic, social and democratic life of Canada. Funding is provided to eligible organizations in support of projects at the local, regional and national levels that address the following three priority areas:

Ending violence against women and girls
Improving women’s and girls’ economic security and prosperity
Encouraging women and girls in leadership and decision-making roles

Funding is available for time-specific projects of 36 months or less that address barriers to women’s participation and equality in Canadian society. Eligible organizations and activities are determined by the Women’s Program’s funding criteria. Funding is not provided for ongoing activities, such as an organization’s operations and administration. Also, as available funds are limited, not all qualified applicants may receive funding.

Now here is the tricky part under “How do I apply.”

“The Women’s Program issues targeted calls for proposals on specific themes, each with a number of predetermined elements, and application deadlines.” Nothing open now. Learn about past calls here: http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/fun-fin/cp-ap-en.html

Are there grants for women? Yeah, but not many. And the ones available you have to watch closely.