MRU is committed to fostering a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and to make a significant impact, we need your help. The EDI Opportunity Fund provides financial support of up to $15,000 to propel initiatives that identify and remove systemic barriers on campus.
Students, faculty, and staff at Mount Royal University are engaged in discussions about how the University can improve, better support and represent equity-deserving groups. The EDI Opportunity Fund supports initiatives, large and small, that aim to advance EDI at MRU.
The Fund
Applications for funding of initiatives or projects up to a maximum of $15,000 will be considered. If an initiative requires an amount that exceeds the $15,000 maximum allocation, the applicant must provide details on how the remaining funds will be secured.
*As of the Fall 2023 semester, the maximum allocation of the EDI Opportunity Fund will be $10,000.
| Who can apply for this fund? | ||
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The EDI Opportunity fund is available to current MRU students, faculty, staff and administrators. Applicants may apply as individuals, groups, or on behalf of a faculty or department at MRU (with approval from senior administration). |
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| What can this fund be used for? | ||
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Get creative and think of ways you and/or your department can contribute to EDI on campus. This fund can be used as financial support for a guest speaker, curriculum changes, special events, training, creative showcases, space enhancements that incorporate universal design, and so much more. The EDI Opportunity Fund is available to support:
The EDI Opportunity Fund cannot be used to support ongoing budget items or individual attendance, or professional development opportunities. |
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| What am I responsible for if my application is approved? | ||
| EDI Opportunity Fund recipients are expected to implement their proposed initiative in a timely fashion and submit a final report to the Associate Vice-President Equity, Diversity and Inclusion on the outcome no later than four weeks following completion. The final report should outline the initiative’s accomplishments, impact analysis and accounting of actual expenditures vs. budget. |
The Application Process
Step 1
Step 2
Prepare a project proposal to submit with your application. This is a requirement for your application to be reviewed and must include the following information:
Purpose and objectives: the purpose or rationale and intended objectives/outcomes of the project.
Intended significance and impact: the anticipated impact of the project on fostering a culture of equity and inclusion. If applicable, the proposal should indicate how the impact can be sustained or scaled beyond the funding year.
Alignment with institutional goals: describe how the project aligns with and advances institutional priorities related to EDI.
Assessment of expected outcomes: a plan to assess the impact and a deliverable(s) that showcases how the funds were used and the outcome in its entirety.
Project work plan and timeline: a timeline of milestones that address the lifecycle of the work and anticipated completion.
Detailed budget: a breakdown of expenses and all the resources (financial and non-financial) that will be required. Applications should also include information on sources of additional funding if the proposed budget exceeds the maximum fund allocation.
Step 3
We are committed to reducing barriers throughout the application process. To make an accommodation request, please get in touch with the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion by emailing edi@mtroyal.ca.
Application deadlines
Applications will be reviewed in phases during the academic year. The deadlines for each review period are as follows:
- Spring 2024 deadline — April 29, 2024 for projects taking place in Spring/Summer or across multiple terms up to March 31, 2025
- Fall 2024 deadline — August 26, 2024 for projects taking place in Fall term
- Winter 2025 deadline — December 16, 2024 for projects taking place in Winter term, up to March 31, 2025
If this form is open, feel free to submit it even if the deadline has passed. This means your application will be reviewed during the following review period.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but we will only consider one application per person per funding cycle.
If you have multiple projects you seek funding for, we recommend choosing one idea per funding year and applying separately with your second project the next year. The same applies to a single project that spans multiple semesters.
Example
Term-by-term speaker series — only apply for one installment at a time, then re-apply for the next installment in the following fund cycle. A second installment may or may not be approved depending on the demand and volume of new applications received in each application period.
If applying on behalf of a group (e.g. committee or club), multiple applications can be submitted, but there must be a different person as the project lead for each proposal.
All faculty, staff and students can apply. However, students and contract faculty are required to work with at least one full-time employee and have them named on the application. The full-time employee will serve as the principal applicant and will be responsible for managing the funds.
Yes, contract faculty are able to submit applications to the EDI Opportunity Fund.
Suppose the contract employee submits an application to fund an initiative that will continue or start after their current contract end date. In that case, they must submit the application with at least one other full-time employee who commits to carrying out the work, being accountable to the Office of EDI, and completing the project should the contract employee not return to MRU.
We have developed several fillable templates that you can use to create your project proposal. You are welcome to download and use one of these templates or provide the information in another creative format that works best for you (e.g. PDF document, video/audio file, image, presentation, etc.).
If using a creative format, please use the fillable budget template to outline the financial requirements of your initiative. This budget makes it easy to share what you plan to spend as it does the cost calculations for you.
- Project Proposal Template_V1_fillable.pdf
- Project Proposal Template_V2_fillable.pdf
- EDI Fund Budget Template_fillable.pdf
Note: the budget is built into project proposal templates V1 and V2. You do not need to download the budget template separately when using either of those templates.
We strongly encourage applicants to review the templates to ensure your project proposal answers all of the questions. These questions address key information we need in order to review your application and make a decision.
If you are unsure where to start, please email EDI@mtroyal.ca
Applications will be reviewed shortly after each application deadline and in order of when projects will launch.
Our suggestion is to prepare and submit your application well in advance of the start of your proposed project or initiative. At a minimum, allow for a two-month lead time between when the application is submitted and when the money is needed for the initiative.
For complex projects or initiatives that will require a marketing timeframe (e.g. advertising for attendance 2–4 weeks in advance), we recommend submitting your application a semester ahead of time, particularly if your project launch takes place early in an academic term. For example, if your project involves events in September or early October 2023, we recommend submitting your application in May. This is to ensure you have enough lead time for event planning and advertising if the project is approved.
You can anticipate a follow-up on the committee’s decision within 3–4 weeks of the application deadline.
If your application is successful, you may be approved for the full funding or a partial amount.
The amount you receive will depend on factors such as the availability of funds, the relevance of components of your budget to MRU’s EDI objectives, the availability of other resources, and other factors that the committee might consider.
Suppose the committee is unable to fund your entire budget. In that case, the release of funds may be contingent upon your ability to demonstrate that you can obtain the remaining amount from other sources.
The fund will cover costs such as speaker fees, transportation costs, food, registration fees (for events that directly impact the EDI profile of MRU), non-capital equipment for EDI projects (equipment that is not currently available within the University), survey instrument development and analysis, outreach and engagement cost, and other costs that are not covered by other initiatives or funds in the University.
The EDI Opportunity Fund is intended to support initiatives that foster a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion on campus, providing funding for projects up to $10,000. Major renovations, such as establishing new campus infrastructure, may exceed the amount available through the fund. If you suspect your project may exceed the maximum allocation of the fund, we suggest making a capital funding request through other University avenues.
Additionally, most faculty-led research initiatives are not appropriate for this fund. We recommend applying for the wide array of faculty research grants available through the Office of Research, Scholarship and Community Engagement.
Permanent, ongoing budget items and annual recurring projects are not necessarily appropriate. However, projects such as an event that is happening for the first time might apply and receive funding. If the project is a success that you wish to repeat in future years, we encourage you to connect with your department head to discuss opportunities for recurring funding in their operating budget. You are welcome to share your EDI Fund application materials and the final report with internal budget owners when seeking recurring funding from other MRU sources to help demonstrate the project’s impact.
You should aim to include marketing and promotional expenses in your application budget, along with planning specific advertising channels and collaborators to help build your materials as needed (e.g. employee applicants, we recommend consulting with your department’s Marketing and Communications Strategist).
For student applicants, the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion can help amplify the digital and print materials you create and assist in liaising with University Marketing and Communications to share your materials more widely across campus. Marketing materials such as posters and digital signage are recommended for events to boost attendance and broaden awareness across the campus community.
The EDI Fund committee will review applications, and decisions will be made based on the information provided when the application is received. We cannot accommodate changes to project focus or scope once the application has been submitted. If there are substantial changes to your application or your budget, we recommend submitting an adjusted application to be considered in a future round of funding.
The total amount you are approved for is fixed and reflects the approved budget lines included in the application. This amount will not change should costs differ from what is listed in your budget. Please make sure you plan thoroughly and research the anticipated expenses before submitting your application.
No. The EDI Fund committee carefully reviews each application received, and the decision of the committee is final. If you wish to apply to the fund again in the future, you are encouraged to do so with a different project.
If you are seeking ways to improve a future application, we encourage you to review the applicant resources available on our website.