Capacity-Building Fund

The Capacity-Building Fund is designed to support capacity-building efforts in Indigenous communities, particularly as they relate to building increased knowledge and skills for the establishment and management of community-based justice programs. The objectives of the Capacity-Building Fund are:

• to support the training and/or developmental needs of Indigenous communities that currently do not have community-based justice programs;
• to supplement the on-going training needs of current community-based justice programs where the cost-shared budget does not adequately meet these needs, including supporting evaluation activities, data collection, sharing of best practices and useful models;
• to support activities targeted at improved community reporting in IJP communities and the development of data management systems;
• to support the development of new justice programs, paying particular attention to:
  • the current geographic/regional imbalance in programming;
  • the commitment to develop new programs in the under-represented program models, such as dispute resolution for civil and family/child welfare; and,
• to support one-time or annual events and initiatives (as opposed to on-going projects and programs) that build bridges, trust and partnerships between the mainstream justice system and Indigenous communities.

Depending on departmental priorities and resources, certain eligible initiatives or activities may be emphasized more than others at different times.

Who is eligible?

Any of the following may be eligible for funding under the Capacity-Building Justice Fund:

• Inuit, Métis, First Nations, bands, Tribal Councils, local, regional and national Indigenous organizations;
• regional/municipal governments including their agencies and institutions;
• non-profit community organizations, societies, and associations which have voluntarily associated themselves for a non-profit purpose;
• provincial and territorial governments;
• individuals.

How to Apply

There is currently no open call for proposal process for this program stream. If you are interested in discussing a funding proposal, we encourage you to contact the Regional Coordinator in your jurisdiction.

As the Indigenous Justice Program’s Capacity-Building Fund is a federally funded initiative, funding may be awarded on the basis of geographic location in order to provide representation across Canada, when feasible and reasonable.