The Metcalf Foundation is currently accepting letters of interest to the Metcalf Foundation’s Inclusive Local Economies Opportunities Fund, an open call for original ideas and compelling approaches that lead to meaningful economic inclusion for low-income people and communities in Toronto.
Metcalf is interested in efforts that approach this work with an understanding of the broader landscape, that seek to bridge and build upon the differences of multiple players, that take good ideas to others who could use them, that foster creative and imaginative action, and that enhance the
participation and leadership of low-income people in addressing the conditions they face.
The Opportunities Fund builds on efforts currently underway in the city and helps to catalyze new ones. It seeks to stimulate both new ways to define and understand the problems, and effective responses to improving low-income residents’ livelihoods and access to quality jobs. Of particularly interest are efforts that aim to work across sectors and disciplines to advance economic opportunities and wealth generation for people and communities with low-incomes.
Successful applicants can be engaged in a wide range of activities. They might be creating shared production space or citywide distribution networks for local microentrepreneurs, advancing policies and practices that support people to develop their abilities and improve their economic position, innovating new approaches to local workforce planning, negotiating a Community Benefit Agreement at a new real-estate development, exploring models of employee ownership to provide better outcomes for low-income people, or nurturing the leadership of low-wage workers organizing to improve their employment outcomes. The deadline for submissions is Monday, September 17th, 2012.
For a full description of the program, including the process for making an application, please view the program guidelines here. http://metcalffoundation.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/local-economies-guide.pdf