This is a copy of the form you will see in our online application system. If you wish, you can use this as a reference to prepare your submission offline, cutting and pasting your answers into the online form when you are ready.
- About Your Organization
- About Your Project
- Project Plan
- Beneficiaries and Community Support
- Outcomes
- Budget
- Declaration Form
We encourage you to be concise and use plain language. We have set word limits for each section. The proposal and budget request should be accurate, brief and clear, keeping in mind that members of the CIRA Grants Evaluation Panel will have varying degrees of familiarity with the work of your organization. Grants of up to $100,000 are available.
About Your Organization
Year of incorporation or registration
Annual operating budget – $
About your organization – Briefly describe your organization including such information as your mission, mandate and purpose. Limit 100 words.
Provide your organizations website and social handles. Limit 200 words.
Upload proof of eligibility. Examples of proof can include:
- Documentation confirming the organization’s charitable status, not-for-profit incorporation or constitution as an Indigenous community
- For academic researchers: a letter confirming you are employed by the academic institution
Board of Directors/Band Council list with name, title/position and organizational affiliation and e-mail or phone contact details.
Upload most recent audited financial statements – Please provide 2024 audited financial statements at a minimum. If your organization does not have audited financial statements, you are permitted to submit your most recent financial statements which have been prepared or reviewed by an accountant and signed by two members of your board of directors. A tax return is not accepted.
Upload annual operating budget – Please provide an organizational operating budget that includes January 2026 – December 2026 at minimum. It must include forecasted revenue and expenses.
For universities/colleges only – Upload academic researcher resume. Please provide a resume of the person who will provide oversight on the project.
About Your Project
Have you applied for a CIRA Grant before?(Yes/No)
Have you received a CIRA Grant before? (Yes/No)
(If yes) How much did you receive?
(If yes) Have you submitted your final report? (Yes/No) – You are eligible to re-apply for funding once the final report from your last grant has been received and reviewed. Please contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions.
Project title
Which funding area best describes your project?
- Infrastructure: We fund community-led connectivity research, network planning and solutions. Infrastructure solutions must be community-led and owned, contributing to long-term community development.
- Online safety: We fund research, educational frameworks, tools, consultations and training programs that increase Canadians’ online safety. Projects must focus on preparing Canadians to use the internet safely and confidently, building knowledge and protection against threats like misinformation, online harms, privacy intrusion and surveillance, harassment, cyberbullying and gender-based violence.
- Policy engagement: We seek a legislative and policy environment that favours a trusted internet for Canadians. We fund events, research and policy ecosystem work that broadens public awareness, understanding and engagement in domestic internet policy and governance.
To learn more about the types of projects that CIRA funds, click here.
Please identify the province(s) or territory(ies) in which your project will be delivered.
Project summary – Briefly describe the problem or opportunity your project intends to address, what you will do, who will benefit, and the expected results. Be sure to explain how your project contributes to closing Canada’s digital divides. Limit 200 words.
Please summarize your project in one sentence. Limit 40 words.
- Infrastructure: CIRA aims to increase the number of Canadians who have access to a high-quality and high-performing internet.
- Online safety: CIRA is focused on increasing Canadians’ cybersecurity knowledge and safety from threats. We want more Canadians to know how to protect themselves and feel safe online.
- Policy engagement: CIRA engages, supports and strengthens a vibrant and influential Canadian internet community. We seek a legislative and policy environment that favours a trusted internet for Canadians.
Limit 100 words.
What makes your project unique? Please explain how your project is uniquely distinct from projects CIRA has funded over the last five years (2021 onwards). Click here to view a list of funded projects. Limit 100 words.
If this grant application is approved for funding, how will you recognize CIRA’s support? Simple forms include the use of our logo on your website and in any published materials about your project, mentions in media relations, social media and events. Further guidance on this will be provided in your grant agreement. Limit 100 words.
How did you hear about CIRA’s Net Good Grants? Select all that apply.
Project Plan
Project start date – When you anticipate beginning your project. This date should be no earlier than July 2026.
Project end date – When you anticipate your project will finish. Projects should last no longer than one year. A final report on the project will be due three months from this date.
Please state the overall goal for this project. The goal statement should describe the desired outcome of the project and how it will be achieved in one or two sentences. Examples of goals:
- To address the unique challenges of technology-mediated online abuse faced by women Indigenous communities by developing a series of online safety training modules and train the trainer sessions designed to support survivors
- To support and encourage planned community development, business opportunities, economic growth, learning opportunities, and cultural revitalization for a remote BC First Nation experiencing the digital divide, by connecting 800 residents to fibre optic services
- To ensure Canadian youth are represented at Internet governance events and are developed into future Internet leaders by hosting the country’s first youth multi-stakeholder event that will provide a platform for young Canadians to discuss public policy and connectivity issues.
Limit 100 words
Project Plan
Complete a project plan that outlines 3-5 key activities and the outputs of each activity.
- When reviewing your plan, Evaluation Panel should get a clear picture of how you will get the work done. Be realistic as you will be required to report on all key activities.
- Key Activities: Identify the main areas of work, events and/or milestones for your project, and describe the specific activities that will be undertaken for each. See the project plan examples for guidance.
- Output: The outputs produced as a result of each key activity.
- Timing: Tell us when the activities will take place. Your start date should be no earlier than July 2025.
- Human and Financial Resources: Provide the resources you need to complete each activity and explain how they relate to items in your project budget.
Click to download example project plans for each funding area
- Project management personnel, skills and/or resources you will draw on internally or externally
- Projects of a similar scale to this request that your organization has managed in the past.
Limit 100 words.
CIRA requires that outputs produced through projects funded by CIRA’s Net Good Grants be open and available for anyone to use, share and build upon. Please indicate if you are able to meet this requirement if your project is selected for funding. (Yes/No)
Please explain your answer. Limit 100 words.
How does this project take environmental sustainability into consideration? Limit 100 words.
Beneficiaries and Community Support
Describe the digital divide(s) this project intends to address. Limit 200 words.
Please estimate the number of people your project will directly benefit, broken down by key groups where possible (e.g., women, lower-income households or individuals, seniors, LGBTQ2+, newcomers, Indigenous people, students, etc.). Include a total estimate, recognizing that individuals may belong to more than one group. Limit 100 words.
Please explain your relationship with the beneficiaries and how the project was conceived. Limit 100 words.
Please explain how you arrived at these numbers. Limit 100 words.
Please describe how your project engages with and involves the local community – from conception to execution. This can include reference to surveys, consultations, partnerships, financial contributions – any forms of participation. Please also characterize the key community participants. Limit 200 words.
- These letters should demonstrate that you have established relationships with community members that will help the project succeed.
- Each letter should communicate the relationship with the applicant, their involvement with the project (current or future), and what direct or indirect benefits they expect to see.
- Please note: Letters from people directly involved in your organization (e.g., staff, board members) are not eligible.
Click to download example community support letters
Outcomes
Please identify the total number of people you intend to reach with this project.
Please describe the specific outputs that will result from this project. What tangible products is this project creating? Be as descriptive as possible. E.g., number and type of workshops and topics covered; number of resource materials or reports created and their subject area; number and location of wireless access points, etc. Limit 100 words.
Please describe the specific changes you expect to result from your initiative – whether at the individual, group, organizational, community or institutional level. Limit 100 words.
Please describe the longer-term impact you expect from this project. Limit 100 words.
Please describe how you will sustain what you achieve through this project after the grant is finished. Limit 100 words.
Budget
Amount requested from CIRA
Total project budget
Budget
- You are required to complete a detailed project budget table.
- List all revenue sources for the initiative (including funding from other sources and in-kind contributions) as well as all expenses. Total expenses must equal total revenue.
- You can choose to budget a maximum of 15% of the CIRA grant request as Administration Support. For example, if you are requesting $100,000 from CIRA, the maximum amount of Administration Support would be $15,000. In this case, the rest of the CIRA-specific expenses should total $85,000. $15,000 + $85,000 = $100,000.
- Administration Support costs are overhead expenses such as rent, utilities, managerial oversight, accounting, or insurance. Please detail what these expenses are in your budget.
- Provide budget notes within the budget sheet to help explain the costs, for example: program coordinator salary ($7,000 = 200 hours over 20 weeks X $35/hr.)
- Include in-kind support costs. These should be reasonable and in line with acceptable costs in this sector. Your financial request should be proportionate to the size and capacity of your organization.
- CIRA welcomes projects where financial contributions are sourced from multiple sources, including in-kind contributions by the project applicant.
Upload quotes or estimates – Detailed quotes for services and equipment should be uploaded where possible. You may also be asked to provide them at a later date.
List any third party contractors helping to deliver the project. Third-party contractors should be disclosed where confirmed. You may also be asked to provide them at a later date.
Click to download example budgets for each funding area
Declaration Form
This application was authorized by:
Name:
Title, i.e. Executive Director/President/Chair/Board of Directors:
Date:
By checking the boxes, I agree to the following:
- I am authorized to approve this application for funding and its associated budget
- I have reviewed the contents of the application and provide my approval