The mission of the Heritage Community Association (HCA) is to engage and empower residents to build a thriving, all-inclusive inner city community with links to our history and our future. This mission cannot be achieved until racial injustice is eliminated, which is why HCA released a statement in December 2020 in support of the global movements for Black and Indigenous lives. The Safer Neighbourhood Micro Grant program is one small part of our commitment to racial justice as outlined in that statement. This grant is intended to help improve the safety of racialized people in our community.

Categories:

Personal

Individual Heritage residents are invited to apply for up to $400 toward any purchase or cost that will help them feel safer. We are excited to hear from you what would improve your safety. If an individual cannot apply themselves, we will accept an application completed by someone else on their behalf, with their awareness and consent.

Examples might include: warm winter clothing such as a winter coat, technology that is primarily for personal use such as a cell phone, upgrading a lock to help you feel safer in your home, emergency mental health support, etc.

Surveillance technology including cameras are not eligible. Nor are purchases that primarily protect property, such as a car alarm.

This is a one-time grant, so it cannot be used for ongoing costs.

Total amount: We have set aside a total of $5000 for this category.

Deadline: We will accept applications for this category on an ongoing basis, while funds last. We will process applications as quickly as possible, and will aim to respond to each applicant within 2 weeks of submission.

Project

Groups of two or more Heritage residents are invited to apply for up to $1000 toward any activity that will help improve the safety of the neighbourhood for visible minorities. The project must be clearly led by racialized Heritage residents, and must primarily benefit racialized residents.

We are very open to hearing your ideas. Examples might include (but are not limited to): a neighbourhood watch program, conflict de-escalation training, anti-racism training, a mental health or addictions support group, mutual aid,  etc. Don’t let these examples limit you — we are open to any project ideas that will help you and other racialized community members feel safer.

This is a one-time grant, so it cannot be used for ongoing costs. However, it could act as seed money for a larger, longer term initiative.

Total amount: We have set aside a total of $5000 for this category.

Deadline: We will be accepting applications for this category in 2 rounds. The first deadline will be April 15, 2021. A second deadline will be announced after the first round has closed and been evaluated.

Eligibility criteria:

• Applicants must be residents of the Heritage neighbourhood; 
• Applicants must self-identify as Black, Indigenous, Person of Colour, Visible Minority and/or any other perceived racial identity that experiences discrimination or barriers to safety due to that perceived identity;
• Only one grant will be awarded to a single applicant, directly or indirectly.

Approval Process:

All applications will be reviewed by a committee of the HCA Board of Directors. 

Successful applicants will receive 100% of approved funds immediately after approval. 

Selection of the successful applicants will be at the sole discretion of HCA, while funds last. There is no guarantee that a submitted project will be selected.  

Reporting:

All successful applicants will be expected to submit photos or photocopies of receipts for their costs, and will be sent a brief follow-up form to help us evaluate the impact of the program.