Ethnocultural Community Support Program

1. What is the Ethnocultural Community Support Program?
2. What is the deadline?
   
3. Who can apply?
4. What is the funding formula?
5. How do you apply for a grant?
6. Resources

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1. What is the Ethnocultural Community Support Program?

Manitoba’s policy for a multicultural society emphasizes three fundamental principles: pride, equality and partnership. The Ethnocultural Community Support Program (ECSP) has been established to further these principles by providing funding to assist ethnocultural
community organizations to:

1. Preserve, enhance, promote and share Manitoba’s rich and diverse cultural heritage; and
   
2. Encourage the development of partnerships between cultural communities to foster cross-cultural understanding, harmony and equality.

Eligible organizations may apply for a:

• Special Project Grant, or;
• Operational Grant.

Grants are provided to successful applicants by the awarding of bingo sessions, by cash awards or by a combination of both.

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2. What is the deadline?

Deadlines for grant applications are April 30 and October 31 of each year. Applications will not be accepted after the application deadline.

Requests are limited to one Special Project and one Operational Grant application in any one year (April 1 – March 31).

In the event that the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, applications may be submitted on the next business day without penalty.

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3. Who can apply?

To apply, an organization must:

• Be a not-for-profit, community-based, ethnocultural organization in Manitoba, with membership open to the public;
  
  
• Be incorporated under provincial or federal laws;
  
  
• Be in existence for at least one year;
  
  
• Have a constitution, by-laws, and Articles of Incorporation that clearly define the nature, objectives, and tasks of the organization;
  
  
• Have a board of directors or executive, which is accountable to the membership, meets at least four times a year, and serves without remuneration;
  
  
• Have an organizational plan and develop an annual budget, operate on a sound financial basis, retain financial records and reports for six years and publish an annual audited or reviewed financial statement.

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4. What is the funding formula?

The amount of grant support is based on the availability of funds, the needs of the applicant, the applicant’s ability to make effective use of the funds, the amount of community involvement and other sources of funding. Approval may be given at an amount lower than requested or for only a specific part of the request. All allocations are given on a one-time basis with no guarantee of similar funding in the future.

Successful applicants may receive grants in the form of:

• cash, in the amount approved;
  
  
• bingo allocations in the amount approved; or
  
  
• a combination of cash and bingo allocation in the amount approved.

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5. How do you apply for a grant?

All interested organizations are encouraged to discuss their program and project ideas with the Multiculturalism Secretariat a minimum of one month prior to grant application deadlines.

Organizations applying for the first time, or who have not received funding in the past two years, are required to contact the Multiculturalism Secretariat.

Send an application with all required documents and information completed. 

If your application is incomplete or inaccurate and cannot be corrected by the deadline, the application may be deferred to a later intake date. Groups involved in joint Special Projects are encouraged to submit one application. See the Guidelines for more information.

• ECSP Application Guidelines and Form
  
  
• Help Tutorial - read tutorial on how to fill in application.
  
  
• ECSP Evaluation Report Form (doc)

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6. Resources

• Other Funding Sources
• Resources for Ethnocultural Groups
• Multicultural Reference Guide: Etiquette and Religion

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