Are you working in the nonprofit sector and concerned about the “digital divide” in Canada? Would funding for an internet project benefit your community? It’s that time of year – CIRA Grants opened for applications on March 2, 2023. Applications close on April 12, 2023 at 2PM ET, so apply soon.
The digital divide is a serious gap in internet service experienced by communities across Canada, especially Indigenous communities, or those in rural or northern areas. The pandemic has only exacerbated these challenges. With life and work shifted largely online, a lack of access to reliable high-speed internet or the knowledge of how to use the internet safely can isolate communities from participating in our digital society.
CIRA understands the funding challenges that fundraisers and other nonprofit professionals on the frontlines can face. While digital equity is critical to advancing our social welfare, funding for internet projects is scarce and can be difficult for community groups and organizations to access.
CIRA’s number one job has been, and will always be, to manage and steward the .ca domain on behalf of all Canadians. From the revenue we generate, we set aside funds to develop projects and programs that give back to Canada’s internet – including our flagship granting program.
As Tanya O’Callaghan, CIRA’s Vice President of Community Investment, Policy and Advocacy, states, “The granting program is a logical outgrowth of our mission to build a trusted internet for Canadians. As a nonprofit ourselves, we wanted to put our resources at the disposal of communities and issues that are often overlooked.”
To do our part in tackling Canada’s internet’s challenges, each year CIRA awards funding of up to $100,000 per grant to community-led internet projects. CIRA is one of the few non-government grant makers of this kind. We are proud to be a leader in addressing this digital divide and empowering underserved communities, charities, and nonprofits through our grants program.
Now in its tenth year, CIRA Grants has funded 201 projects with a total of $10.45 million. You can read more about CIRA Grants, eligibility, and the application process on our website.
New funding areas
We’ve updated our funding areas for 2023, so if your organization has a great project in mind that will address a digital challenge facing Canadians, make sure you understand the types of projects we are looking for. For 2023, CIRA is accepting applications for funding in three key areas: Infrastructure, Online Safety, and Policy Engagement. We’re especially looking for initiatives that benefit northern, rural, and Indigenous communities, and/or students K-12 or post-secondary.
With improved connectivity comes greater economic opportunity, and that’s one reason we are keen on Infrastructure projects. Last year we were proud to award a grant to the Takla Landing Connectivity Project in BC to connect the remainder of Takla Landing homes and buildings to existing coaxial community lines, setting in place the infrastructure needed for future growth and development, like maximizing their tourism industry. CIRA funds Infrastructure projects like this and other community-led connectivity research, network planning and solutions to help contribute to long-term community development.
We also fund research, educational frameworks, tools, consultations, and training programs that increase Canadians’ Online Safety. We want more Canadians to know how to use the internet confidently and safely and with the ability to protect themselves against online threats like misinformation, privacy intrusion and surveillance, harassment, cyberbullying, and gender-based violence. In 2021 we funded BCCLA to develop teaching resources for students and educators on Digital Privacy Rights for Youth particularly around smartphone privacy rights in school – a legal look at student digital rights in school that hasn’t been done before, thanks to the efforts of BCCLA lawyers and policy staff doing the hard work of distilling complex information into something kids (and their educators and caregivers) can easily understand.
Finally, our third goal is a vibrant and influential internet community domestically and globally. Our Policy Engagement grants fund events, research and policy ecosystem work that broadens public awareness, understanding and engagement in domestic internet policy and governance to help build a trusted internet for all Canadians. As an example, CIRA funded a groundbreaking research report, Barriers to Digital Equality in Canada, produced by ACORN Canada, a grassroots advocacy organization. The report researched and documented the lack of affordable internet access in low-income communities, as a tool to connect policymakers with the lived experience and voices of low-income communities.
If you work with a community, charitable organization or nonprofit that is struggling with internet challenges, CIRA can help. We hope that knowing more about the real-world impact of CIRA Grants catalyzes more great grant applications in 2023.
Click here to learn more about our grants program.
Important dates for 2023
CIRA’s call for applications opened on March 2 and will close on April 12, 2023, at 2 PM ET. Applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis until the deadline, so apply early.
Interested in applying and want more information? Register for our webinar on March 7, and pass the link on to any of your colleagues who may be interested in applying for a grant.
If you have any questions about CIRA Grants, reach out to grants@cira.ca.
