Decisions will be made by a team of reviewers composed of Park People staff in consultation with TD. Application selection will be based on the following criteria:

• Strength of the application – past event experience, compelling argument describing the proposed events
• Environmental focus – groups should incorporate an environmental care or protection component into their events or event activities.
• Priority will be given to equity-deserving or equity-denied communities (at least 50% of grants). These may include but are not limited to Black, Indigenous and people of colour communities, disabled persons or people with disabilities, 2SLGBTQ+, newcomers, women, and low-income people.
• Geographic diversity – representation of many neighbourhoods in each city and representation of the 21 urban areas eligible for the grants. 
• Originality of the event ideas – aiming for many different types of events in parks
• How many people do the events aim to reach
• Evidence of consideration of inclusion/accessibility
• While meeting any or all of these criteria will not guarantee that your group will be awarded a grant, we are looking for these qualities in each application.

The application form should take about 2 hours to complete once you’ve planned your events. Here is a preview of the questions:

• Describe your group or organization, and indicate if your group is from an equity-deserving or equity-denied community.
• Outline your past experiences in hosting community events in parks and green spaces.
• If partnering with other groups or organizations, list them and briefly describe their roles.
• Provide a brief description of the two events you plan to host.
• Describe the steps you will take to ensure your events are inclusive, accessible, and safe.
• Explain how your proposed events will focus on environmental impact (e.g., environmental education, sustainability practices, or stewardship activities).
• Highlight the significance of these events for your community. Describe how you will use the $2,000 grant to support your events. List any additional sources of funding, confirmed or anticipated.

Your group can link to an environmental focus in many ways, whether through environmental education, a commitment to sustainability practices, or stewardship activities: 

• You can help raise awareness on environmental issues, such as climate change, or teach your community about the local environment by hosting a nature walk. 
• Your group can demonstrate an environmental focus by committing to sustainability practices, such as ensuring your event is zero-waste or hosting a bike repair clinic or clothing swap. 
• Stewardship activities could include park cleanups, planting and gardening, invasive species removal, and other projects that enhance your local green space.

We encourage you to get creative and think outside the box!

Hosting a free and open-to-the-public event is not enough to ensure that it is inclusive and accessible. Your event will be more accessible if you contemplate the diverse range of disabilities among potential attendees and anticipate the challenges they might encounter upon arrival to answer their access needs. 

Here are some measures past grant recipients have adopted to make their park events inclusive:

• Conduct outreach beyond social media by engaging community leaders, schools, local newspapers, language centers, etc.
• Consider inviting an Indigenous Knowledge Keeper or Elder to your events and including an honorarium for them.
• Translate promotions into the most widely spoken languages in your community.
• Ensure the event is inclusive for people using mobility devices or accompanied by service animals, and choose a park that is fully accessible for wheelchair users.
• Serve vegetarian or vegan options and exclude food with common allergens.
• Offer portable toilets if the park doesn’t have toilets.
• Use gender-neutral language in your material promotion and presentations and ask for the preferred pronouns of your participants.
• Use closed captions for a virtual event.
• Assure the participation of a sign language interpreter.
• Choose a park that is easily accessible by public transportation.

We also suggest to include an accessibility section in your event page, that provides information regarding the location, transportation, food, sensory experiences, and interactions one might expect. It will help people determine if they can/want to participate and plan accordingly.

For further reading, see our resource on Events Accessibility.

If successful, your group will receive a total of $2000 to be spread across both events. Once you have received the funds for your grant, you are free to use them however you’d like for your events. This could include providing transportation to the event with bus tickets. You may also combine the money received from this grant with other sources of funding.

We define equity-deserving and equity-denied communities as those that, because of systemic discrimination, face barriers that prevent them from having the same access to the resources and opportunities available to other members of society. These may include but are not limited to Black, Indigenous and people of colour communities, disabled persons or people with disabilities, 2SLGBTQ+, newcomers, women and non-binary people, and low-income people.  We prioritize equity-deserving groups in our granting to address the inequitable distribution of resources within the parks sector. Some cities have specific geographic areas indicated, including Toronto’s Neighbourhood Improvement Areas or Montreal’s Integrated Urban Revitalization zones*.