BC Wheelchair Sports Association is pleased to release information about the BCWSA 2023-24 Club Grant Program. The goal of this program is to provide support to clubs delivering recruitment and development initiatives in wheelchair tennis, wheelchair athletics, and wheelchair rugby in BC.
The 2023-24 BCWSA Club Grant Program Guidelines are attached at the bottom of this page. Please review this document carefully as it includes details on eligibility (including a new Safe Sport requirement), as well as an appendix outlining the questions you will be asked through the online application form. We highly recommend you reach out to your BCWSA program staff prior to applying for direct program support to discuss your initiative as BCWSA may be able to support certain aspects of your request through other PSO funding or recommend you leverage other granting opportunities to support that initiative.
Key Dates
- April 10th, 2023 - 2023-24 Club Grant Program Information Released
- April 26th, 2023 - Deadline for 2023-24 Club Support Program application on Typeform: https://bcwheelchairsports.typeform.com/to/Hyz3zvcM
- May 1st, 2023 - Notification of Funding
- Ongoing - 2023-24 Club Grant Final Report due within 12 months of receiving funding
Club Grant Guidelines - Also Attached Below
Eligibility
Eligible organizations
BCWSA Affiliated Wheelchair Sport Clubs.
Tennis and Athletics clubs are invited to apply as long as requests are related to wheelchair athletics or wheelchair tennis initiatives and have been discussed ahead of time with BCWSA program staff (Athletics – Jessica Ferguson, jessica@bcwheelchairsports.com; Tennis – Michelle McDonell, michelle@bcwheelchairsports.com).
Additional eligibility criteria:
- BCWSA affiliated wheelchair sport clubs must have paid their annual BCWSA Club Membership at the time of submission and athletes supported through the initiative must be current BCWSA members
- Athletes and coaches directly supported by the club grant program in Athletics and Tennis clubs must be current BCWSA members o If you are unsure of your club/individual membership status, please contact office administrator Matthew McDonell, coordinator@bcwheelchairsports.com
- Successful applicants will be required to submit receipts for their approved expenses. Receipts for expenses that have already been covered by other funding sources will not be accepted.
- All program/initiatives applied for must be completed by March 31st, 2024.
- New requirement this year: Safe Sport Training
- In an effort to promote and nurture safe sport environments in wheelchair sport programming in BC, BCWSA will require that all board members AND key coaching staff/volunteers directly involved in the delivery of the programming applied for have completed at least ONE of the following Safe Sport courses:
- -Commit to Kids Training (Canadian Centre for Child Protection)
- -Safe Sport Training (Coaches Association of Canada)
- - Respect in Sport Activity Leader/Coach Program (Respect Group)
- Successful applicants must provide proof of completion of one of these affiliated Safe Sport Training modules for each individual before approved funding will be released.
If you have any questions regarding this eligibility requirement, please contact Grants Manager Lisa Myers, lisa@bcwheelchairsports.com
Application Guidelines and Review Process
All applications must be submitted through the following link by April 26th, 2023: https://bcwheelchairsports.typeform.com/to/Hyz3zvcM
The 2023-24 Club Grant Program has two support streams: Direct Program Support and Grant Writing Support.
All successful applicants will receive grant writing support through BCWSA’s Grant manager to assist clubs in expanding their grant revenue portfolio. This will entail a summary report on possible grant opportunities tailored to funding gaps identified by the successful applicants and the review of one grant application written by the club. More information regarding this process will be sent to successful applicants.
All application questions can be found in Appendix A. It is recommended you draft your answers in a word document first and then copy/paste your answers into the online application form in case of any technical glitches.
Direct Program Support Funding
Purpose of this stream is to support direct costs related to program delivery, which can include:
- Equipment
- Facility
- Coach Professional Development
- Travel
- Integrated Support Team services (strength and conditioning, sport psychology, nutrition, biomechanics, etc)
Priority of fund distribution for this stream will be based on the need being addressed, the anticipated outcome, and the number of LTAD stages/athletes being reached. We highly recommend you reach out to your BCWSA program staff prior to applying for direct program support to discuss your initiative as BCWSA may be able to support certain aspects of your request through other PSO funding.
Retroactive costs related to Direct Programming support will be considered as long as they were incurred after April 1st, 2023
Note: while there are no set funding amounts listed, we do not anticipate awarding more than $2000 in this stream per club.
All applications will be reviewed by the Executive Director, Grant Manager, and sport specific program staff or coaching staff (as appropriate). Funding notifications will be made by May 1st, 2023 with cheques being distributed after confirmation of Safe Sport Training completion by board members and coaches/volunteers has been received.
All successful applicants will be required to submit a 2023-24 Club Grant Final Report within 12 months of receiving funding (ideally 30 days after the approved program/initiatives are complete). Note: Failure to complete the final report will result in the organization not being eligible to apply into next year’s club grant program. A copy of the final report will be emailed to all successful applicants.
Please be sure to review the key dates and program guidelines and send any questions to Lisa Myers at lisa@bcwheelchairsports.com or your sport staff.
You can view the application guidelines in Appendix A of the attached document here and below.
