Urban/Hometown Green Team

Program Priorities | Eligibility Criteria | Financial Assistance | Terms and Conditions | Important Contacts | Past Scholarship Recipients

Urban/Hometown Green Team creates summer employment opportunities for youth aged 15 to 29 years. Participating employers provide a variety of community development projects that improve neighbourhoods, promote community involvement and help develop young leaders.

Employment Periods

• May 1 to August 31; and
• June 15 to August 31.

Deadline Dates

• January 16, 2012, 4:00 P.M. (applications received by January 16 will receive their funding information in March)
• March 8, 2012, 4:00 P.M. (applications received by March 8 will receive their funding information in May)
• Late applications will not be accepted.

Program Priorities

Projects will be assessed based on the following program priorities:

• Projects that target older youth (18-29 years) to supervise teams of younger youth (10 to 15 years) in doing volunteer work to improve their communities.
• Projects that target other children/youth in the community (eg. drop-in centres, camps).
• Projects that have long term benefits to children/youth (eg. environmental projects)..
• Projects that target Aboriginal and visible minority children/youth.
• Projects that target children/youth with a disability.
• Projects located in revitalization areas of Winnipeg and rural Manitoba (see Neighbourhoods Alive! communities at www.gov.mb.ca/housing/neighbourhoods/).
• Projects located in northern Manitoba.

Grant approvals are subject to availability of funds and program demand. All applicants will be notified by mail on the status of their funding request.

 

Eligibility Criteria

Projects:

Eligible projects include:

• activities for children/youth (drop-in centres/camps/volunteering)
• public education
• tourism activities
• housing rehabilitation
• public grounds/community enhancement
• street/road enhancement
• riverbank/stream/park/trail enhancements
• recycling/waste management/conservation

Projects that are not eligible include:

• projects located in a federal jurisdiction
• projects that are research based
• projects proposing any type of advocacy or solicitation of funds
• projects that include lifeguard or swimming instruction duties
• projects that include tasks required in the normal maintenance of an organization (eg. reception, accounting duties, janitorial work)

Top of Page

Organizations:

Eligible organizations include:

• not-for-profit organizations in Winnipeg and rural Manitoba
• universities, colleges, school divisions, schools and hospitals in Winnipeg and rural Manitoba
• municipal governments in rural Manitoba

To be eligible for funding, organizations must also adhere to the following:

• be capable of providing project management and ongoing employee supervision;
• have Workers' Compensation coverage for all approved Green Team employees;
• conduct child abuse registry, criminal records and vulnerable sector checks on employees involved in children/youth activity projects;
• ensure proper safety procedures are in place for children/youth activity projects
• ensure that all employees wear proper safety clothing, and use proper safety equipment
• ensure that all employees are properly trained in the use of any equipment;
• ensure that all employees have access to some form of communication (eg. cell phone, two-way radio) if working throughout the community or in remote areas;
• ensure that all work done on private, residential and municipal properties has the required permission from all affected parties (waiver forms);
• post a statement in printed materials that fee assistance is available through the organization for children/youth who want to participate in children/youth activity projects;
• provide the Green Team program with funding and logo recognition on any promotional or advertising materials;
• ensure that all employees wear the Green Team t-shirts while working on the project or have the Green Team logo imprinted on the organization's item(s) of clothing;
• for volunteer and children/youth activity projects, keep track of the number of participants involved and their age and submit a final report with these statistics to the Green Team program;
• pay all approved program employees the Manitoba minimum wage plus 4% vacation allowance (visit www.gov.mb.ca/labour/standards for the most current minimum wage rate);
• document all hours worked by each employee on a daily basis;
• issue cheque stubs indicating hours worked, gross/vacation pay, deductions and net pay as well as T4 slips;
• remit all applicable payroll deductions to Canada Customs and Revenue Agency.

Top of Page

Positions:

Eligible position must:

• provide a minimum of 100 regular hours of employment;
• not result in the lay-off, reduction of hours or dismissal of any current employees or replace employees who have previously been laid-off or dismissed;
• not perform the same duties as regular staff;
• not be funded by other provincial or federal government employment programs for the same position.

Employees:

Eligible employees must be:

• youth aged 15 to 29;
• living in Manitoba;
• legally entitled to work in Canada (have a valid Social Insurance Number and a valid work permit if 15 years of age).

Those not eligible as employees include:

• immediate relatives (husband, wife, son, daughter, brother, sister) of a board member, director or executive member of the applicant organization or any contact person listed on the Grant Application form;
• individuals already employed by the organization prior to the approved start date (if worked longer than three months on a full-time basis);
• individuals with a financial interest in the applicant organization;
• self-employed individuals, independent contractors, sub-contractors, or commissioned salespersons.

Organizations are responsible for ensuring employees meet the eligibility requirements and must submit an employee profile form for each youth they hire within one week of hiring. If an employee does not meet program criteria, any hours worked will not be reimbursed to the organization. Organizations requesting referrals to fill approved positions will be provided with names of youth who have registered with the program.

Top of Page

Financial Assistance

• Organizations are eligible to apply for up to four positions for each employment period. If an organization has more than one site, they can apply for up to 4 positions per site for each employment period.
• Organizations may request up to 560 hours per position for the May 1 - August 31 employment period and 320 hours per position for the June 15 - August 31 employment period.
• Not-for-profit organizations will be reimbursed the Manitoba minimum wage and 4% vacation allowance for each approved program employee (visit www.gov.mb.ca/labour/standards for the most current minimum wage rate).
• Municipal governments will be reimbursed half of the Manitoba minimum wage rate and 4% vacation allowance for each approved program employee.
• Not-for profit organizations will receive up to $250 in support costs for each approved position.
• Municipal governments will receive up to $125 in support costs for each approved position on a 50/50 cost-shared basis (will need to spend $250 per position in order to receive full funding).
• Support costs are to help cover expenses such as: safety clothing, employer remittances for CPP and EI, criminal record, vulnerable sector and child abuse registry checks, workers compensation (not-for-profits only), transportation costs, project materials, etc. Receipts are required to claim for support costs.
• Reimbursement will not be provided for any hours worked outside the program operating dates or for any overtime hours worked.
  
• Approved not-for-profit organizations will be provided with an advance payment of 65% of approved employee wage funding and the full amount for support costs. The remaining 35% of approved employee wage funding will be reimbursed at the conclusion of the project following the submission of a Claim for Reimbursement form.
• Approved municipal governments will be reimbursed at the conclusion of the project following the submission of a Claim for Reimbursement form.

Top of Page

Terms and Conditions

All approved organizations agree to:

• comply with all federal and provincial laws and regulations governing employers;
  
• comply with all labour employment standards directed by Manitoba Labour and Immigration;
  
• comply with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), the Personal Health Information Act (PHIA) and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and the Youth Criminal Justice Act;
  
• permit identification of the organization by name in publicity related to the program;
  
• permit the release of contact information to potential employees for approved positions;
  
• provide administration, training and continuous daily supervision for all employees;
• report any changes to a project description to program staff (changes may affect approved funding);
  
• provide information which will assist in reviewing the effectiveness of the program;
  
• follow all the terms and conditions as set out on all Green Team program information and grant application forms as well as all other program documents.

If, in the opinion of program staff responsible for the administration of the Green Team program, an approved applicant or authorized representative has misrepresented the information provided in the application or other program documents or has used part or all of the funding for purposes other than authorized on the approved application or fails to comply with the terms and conditions of the program as described, program staff may cancel any funding provided and take the appropriate steps to require the approved applicant or authorized official to repay in whole or part any funds provided. Failure by program officials to take action for non-compliance or for a breach of any or all Green Team terms and conditions shall not be construed as a general waiver or relinquishment of this right.

Top of Page

Important Contacts

MB4Youth
310-800 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, MB R3G 0N4
Phone: 204-945-3556 or 1-800-282-8069 ext. 3556
Fax: 204-945-5726

Canada Revenue Agency
To obtain an Revenue Canada Account # and information on employer/employee contributions to E.I and C.P.P. phone 1-800-959-5525.

Workers' Compensation
To register with the Workers' Compensation Board of Manitoba, call 204-954-4321 or 1-800-362-3340.

Employment Standards
If you have any questions regarding your obligations as an employer in Manitoba, eg. payment of statutory holidays, contact Manitoba Labour and Immigration - Employment Standards at 204-945-3352 or 1-800-821-4307 or visit their web site at www.gov.mb.ca/labour/standards/.

Workplace Safety and Health
If you have any questions regarding your obligations as an employer for workplace safety and health or are looking for resources on how to properly train your employees, visit www.gov.mb.ca/labour/safety

Child Abuse Registry Check
For information, contact the Child Abuse Registry Unit at 204-945-6967 or 1-800-282-8069.

Criminal Records Check & Vulnerable Sector Checks
For information on criminal records and vulnerable sector checks, contact the Winnipeg Police Service at 204-986-6073 or local RCMP detachment.

Social Insurance Number
For information on how youth can obtain a Social Insurance Number, contact Employment Insurance Canada at 1-800-206-7218 or visit their web site at www.sdc.gc.ca for an online application

Waiver Forms
For information on obtaining a waiver form to work on private, residential and municipal properties or getting a copy of a waiver form, contact the City of Winnipeg information line at 311 or your town/municipal office.

Top of Page