Northern & Remote Communities Recreation Fund (NRCRF)

The Northern & Remote Community Recreation Fund (NRCRF) is an initiative of ISWO’s Well Nation program. The program is intended to increase opportunities for participation in sport, recreation, and physical activity while building community capacity and decreasing behaviours that can have long-term negative consequences. The NRCRF supports projects that utilize sport and recreation as a positive agent to impact social change, helping to achieve social development outcomes in northern and remote Indigenous communities. The fund is also focused on removing barriers, providing access to resources and decreasing at-risk behaviours, which can have long-term negative consequences. Proposals that outline how culturally grounded sport, recreation and physical activity opportunities will support overall wellness will be considered for funding.

The NRCRF is intended to make community sport, physical activity, and Indigenous approaches to wellness more accessible to people 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.

Applicants must demonstrate how their project will:

– Lead to new or continued sport participation opportunities;

– Increase the number of Indigenous participation involved in organized sport activities in their community;

– Increase the capacity of the community to deliver additional or enhanced sport, recreation, and physical activity programming as a direct result of this funding.

The NRCRF 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.

Eligible applicants are invited to apply for funding in the amount of up to $7,500 to support new, existing and/or expanded projects that address a community social development need by directly supporting new or continued sport, recreation, and physical activity participation opportunities in their communities.

Northern & Remote Communities Recreation Fund 2024-2025 Guidelines

Click Here for the NRCRF 2024-2025 Application

WHO CAN APPLY:

● First Nation, Métis or Inuit (FNMI) community associations located in Ontario;
● Established Indigenous youth groups 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; or
● Not-for-profit organizations, clubs, and associations, located in Ontario, that directly influence organized sport delivery in Indigenous communities, in consultation and collaboration with those communities.

ISWO is responsible for determining the eligibility of each applicant, their project, and project-related expenses. Please note that the NRCRF is intended to support the Indigenous population in either Northern Ontario and/or remote communities in Ontario. All activities and programs related to the funding request must take place in the province of Ontario.

HOW TO APPLY

Read the NRCRF Application Guidelines in their entirety before completing the NRCRF Application. You must meet all the eligibility criteria requirements and submit a complete application package to be considered for funding. A complete application package includes the Application Form and letter of support from the leadership of the Indigenous community or organization benefiting from the project.

APPLICATION PROCESS

● Complete, sign and date the Application Form;
● Attach the letter of support from the community/organization; and
● Submit your application through only one means, either by email, mail, or by fax.

Email Submissions

We encourage you to submit your application package electronically to the following email address: info@iswo.ca.

What are the timelines for NRCRF?

All applications must be submitted by April 25, 2025, at 12:00 pm 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.