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Community Engagement Fund

What is the Community Engagement Fund?

The Community Engagement Fund (or CEF) is a way for your club to think big and put your ideas into action in ways that positively impact your community. You can apply for funding through the CEF to plan an activity that is bigger than what you club might normally be able to do. Maybe you want to organize a conference for girls in elementary school or run a contest to design posters about girls’ right that could be displayed in libraries and cafes.

Funds are limited so think carefully about what you want to do and the resources you will need. We are looking for ideas that:

  • Will have an impact beyond your club and your school;
  • Involve collaborating with one or more organizations in the community that work with women and girls;
  • Are planned for at least two months after the application has been submitted to allow time for the application to be reviewed by Plan staff and members of the Because I am a Girl advisory team.

Your club can apply for a maximum of $2000 in one school year.

How to apply

We want you to think carefully about your idea and develop some business skills along the way! We’ve teamed up with smartwater to create a module all about women in business and to help you dive right into the world of business we’ve created a CEF application form that models a typical business plan.

Of course applying for a CEF grant is different from starting a business but there are keys things to consider in both cases.

You need to complete and submit the application online but you can print a copy first to discuss with your club or make notes.

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Apply today
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Why do you need a business plan?

A business plan is the first step in the path to success. Most of the companies and organizations you know started with a business plan designed to convince investors to fund their ideas.

Developing a plan is really about explaining what you want to do and how you plan on doing it. simple. We know you have an idea to engage members of your community and spread the message about gender equality and girls’ rights, and we want to help you succeed. This application was developed with assistance from glacéau smartwater canada as a tool to help you show us your idea in a well-thought out and concise business plan so that we can give you a grant from the community engagement fund to help make it happen.

Things to consider:

  • Has your idea been done before? If so, did it work or not, and why? (market research)
  • Is there anyone doing this same kind of thing right now? (competitive analysis)
  • Does your idea require ongoing maintenance and resources? (sustainability)
  • What are some of the obstacles you may face, and how to you plan to overcome them? (contingency planning)

Download the application form

For more information, check out the FAQ's