Women & Girls Sport Fund

The Women & Girls Sport Fund (WGSF) is an initiative of ISWO, under it’s Women & Girls program. The program is intended to increase opportunities for women and girls to participate in sport, recreation, and physical activity while empowering through increased confidence, capacity and knowledge. The fund is also focused on removing barriers, providing access to resources and decreasing at-risk behaviours, which can have long-term negative consequences, through education and support.

The WGSF supports projects that utilize sport as a positive agent to impact social change, helping to achieve social development outcomes in Indigenous communities, specifically for female populations. Proposals that outline how culturally grounded sport, recreation and physical activity opportunities will support overall wellness, for women and girls, will be considered for funding.

The WGSF is intended to make community sport, physical activity, and Indigenous approaches to wellness more accessible to women and girls of all ages and abilities. ISWO encourages remote and rural communities where sport-related opportunities are fewer, and large urban Indigenous populations where low participation rates may exist, to apply.

The WGSF is supported through contributions from the Government of Canada, under STREAM 1 of the Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities (SSDIC) initiative, administered by Sport Canada.

The WGSF will fund 10 applications at $5,000 each.

Women and Girls Sport Fund 2024-2025 Guidelines

Who is Eligible for WGSF 2024?

  • First Nation, Métis or Inuit (FNMI) community associations located in Ontario
  • Established Indigenous women and girls or youth groups focused on women and girls in Ontario
  • Indigenous not-for-profit organizations located in Ontario
  • A First Nation, Inuit, or Métis governing body, an Indigenous provincial/territorial organization or authority in Ontario
  • Not-for-profit organizations, clubs, and associations, located in Ontario, that directly influence organized sport delivery

ISWO is responsible for determining the eligibility of each applicant, their project, and project-related expenses. Please note that the WGSF is intended to support communities and organizations located in the province of Ontario; all activities and programs related to the funding request must take place in the province of Ontario. Indigenous bands or community associations in Ontario.

All applicants must demonstrate how their project will:

  • Address a community need that directly impacts indigenous women and girls
  • Include any barriers that you may face, or women and girls currently face to accessing your program or similar programs
  • Clearly describe how the project will enhance opportunities for women and girls to access and participate in sport, recreation, or wellness programming
  • Identify the evaluation methods that will be utilized to determine the success of the program
  • Specify if the funding is supporting a new program or enhancing an existing program within the community
  • Provide an estimate cost of your project by activity and item

What are the timelines for WGSF?

The program launches on October 11, 2024, and is open until November 8, 2024 5:00pm EST.

Please note that we do not fund retroactively. Your project start date must occur after the date when you would receive notification that your grant has been approved.