Vital People 2015
Submission Guidelines
DEADLINE: 5pm Wednesday, September 24, 2014
VITAL PEOPLE GRANT PROGRAM – SUPPORTING LEADERSHIP IN TORONTO
Not-for-profit organizations play a key role in keeping Toronto vibrant, and their
effectiveness depends on the talent and dedication of their staff. The vitality and wellbeing of our city relies on individuals who take initiative, make a contribution, and
demonstrate leadership.
The Vital People grant program supports and recognizes valued leaders who are making
outstanding contributions working at not-for-profit organizations. Funded through our Vital
Toronto Fund, Vital People grants of up to $5,000 are awarded to support the formal
training or informal development opportunities that best enable not-for-profit leaders to
build their skills and knowledge or apply their experience in different ways to enhance
their leadership contributions. Grants are available to those just taking on new leadership
challenges as well as those with many years of experience.
Vital People 2015 grants support leadership development activities taking place between
December 1st 2014 and November 30th 2015.
WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
Vital People grants support leaders in the not-for-profit sector who are:
 Initiators, innovators, and collaborators; they do more than just perform their jobs
well – they break new ground and advance their organizations, and possibly their
entire field;
 Receiving internal and external recognition for their leadership;
 Actively involved in the community; and
 Poised for leadership growth which will position them to make an even greater
contribution to the not-for-profit sector.
Learn more about previous Vital People here.
WHO CAN APPLY?
The Vital People program will accept nominations from any registered charitable
organization working in the city of Toronto on behalf of a leadership candidate who is
serving in a paid staff capacity at the organization. For organizations that do not have
charitable status, please see the “Who Can Apply?” section on our website for
information on establishing a partnership with a charity and what elements must be
included in a signed agreement.
 Priority will be given to organizations that will contribute financial and/or in-kind
support for the leadership enhancement of the nominee.
 Candidates must work in the city of Toronto.
 Only one application per organization will be accepted.
1

Grant funds may not be used for “partisan political activities” as defined by the
Canada Revenue Agency.
HOW TO APPLY
The Vital People Application Form must be complete for consideration - incomplete
submissions will be declined.
 The organization’s sections (A, B and C) and the nominated individual’s sections (D
and E) should not be completed by the same person.
 Attachments as described below must be submitted both electronically in one
email and in hard copy.
 Do not modify, add to, or amend the questions on the application form in any
way; only answers to the questions provided will be evaluated.
HOW TO SUBMIT THE APPLICATION
By e-mail and in hard-copy: the application must be received by 5pm on Wednesday,
September 24, 2014 at the Toronto Foundation office. Submissions will not be accepted
by fax.
1. In Hard-Copy:
One copy of the application form in hard-copy must include a copy of each
attachment. Please mail or drop off at:
Vital People
Toronto Foundation
33 Bloor Street East, Suite 1603
Toronto, ON M4W 3H1
2. By E-Mail:
Please e-mail one copy of the application form in Word format (please do not submit
the form as a PDF document) along with all attachments to:
skrynitzki@torontofoundaion.ca.
All applications received by the deadline will be acknowledged by e-mail within two
weeks.
WHAT IS THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS?
Staff will review all applications and create a shortlist of proposals being considered for
grant funds. Staff will contact the short-listed applicants mid-November. All other
applicants who do not make the short-list will receive e-mail notification that the request
for grant funds was not successful. A volunteer Selection Committee (comprised of
Toronto Foundation Fundholders, Board Members, partners, community volunteers and
previous grant recipients) will deliberate on the short-listed applications in the middle of
November and final granting decisions will be made at the end of November. Grant
letters, reporting requirements and cheques will be sent out in December. Confirmation of
the status of declined short-listed applications and feedback on all proposals will be
available in December once all decisions are finalized by the Board of Directors.
LEVERAGING YOUR LEADERSHIP – SHARING YOUR STORY
2
All applicants who make the shortlist will be invited to have their organization profiled on
the Community Knowledge Centre (CKC). This web portal shares the stories of high
impact organizations working across the city fundholders, other potential donors, the
media, and the public. More information on how to participate in the CKC will be
provided in the fall after the shortlist has been finalized. If your organization already has a
profile on the CKC – we strongly encourage you to ensure that the content on your profile
is fresh to align with the up-to-date information you are providing in your application.
HOW TO FILL IN THE VITAL PEOPLE APPLICATION FORM
The Vital People 2015 Submission Guidelines are intended for use with the Vital People
2015 Grant Application Form, to help you. Below is more information about how to fill out
the five sections. We encourage you to be as concise as possible and to avoid jargon.
Sections A, B and C are to be completed by a representative of the applicant
organization other than the Vital People nominee. Sections D and E are to be completed
by the Vital People nominee. The entire application must be authorized by the Executive
Director or Chair of the Board. (In the instance where the nominee is the Executive
Director, the application must be approved by the Chair of the Board).
Section A: Cover Sheet – Organization Contact Information (filled out by
applying organization and signed by Executive Director or Chair of Board)
Organization name
Organization address
Vital People nominee
Vital People nominee title
Organization contact name
Mailing address of organization including postal code
Name of Vital People nominee
Provide their role at your organization, e.g. Program
Manager
Note: this cannot be the same person as the
nominated individual.
Organization contact title
Organization contact email
Organization contact phone
number
Amount requested (up to $5,000)
Total annual operating budget
for organization
Charitable registration number
If applicable:
Charitable partner/trustee name
Charitable registration number
Charitable partner/trustee
contact name
Charitable partner/trustee
Up to $5,000 for Vital People grant
Total dollar figure estimated for the current year’s
revenues and expenses
Provide your full charitable registration number. If you are
applying with a charitable partner/trustee, please
indicate that the number belongs to your trustee/partner
by using the following format: Partner #: XXXXX XXXX
XXXXXX
Leave these sections blank if N/A. See the ‘Who Can
Apply’ section above for further detail.
3
contact title
Charitable partner/trustee
address
Charitable partner/trustee
contact email
Charitable partner/trustee total
annual operating budget
NOTE: The Application Form must be authorized (signed and dated) by either the
Executive Director of the applying organization, OR in the instance where the Vital
People nominee is the Executive Director, by the Chair of the Board of Directors.
Section B: About Applying Organization (filled out by applying organization)
1. Organization’s mission (100 words)
2. Toronto’s Vital Signs issue area(s) addressed by your organization (select two from list
provided)
Our annual Toronto's Vital Signs Report is a consolidated snapshot of the trends in our
city, highlighting progress we should be proud of and challenges that need to be
addressed. The Report is compiled from current statistics and special studies which
look at ten different, yet interconnected, issue areas that are critical to the well-being
of our city and its residents. It guides our work at the Foundation and helps us to
connect philanthropy with community needs and opportunities.
To view the latest Report highlights and Full Report with citations and links to original
sources, please visit the Toronto’s Vital Signs Report page on our website.
3. History of organization (200 words)
4. Accolades and accomplishments (200 words)

Provide information on any awards and successes, including how long your
organization has been working on these issues and any relevant impact
statistics.
5. Funding program partners (100 words)

Identify any major funding or program partners. (e.g.: “The Ontario Trillium
Foundation generously supported the development of our ABC program in
2013, and the Metcalf Foundation provided a grant in 2012 to allow us to
develop long-term strategies. The ABC program is delivered in partnership with
Organization XYZ.”)
6. Organization’s programs and activities (300 words)

List your organization’s main programs and services with a one-sentence
descriptor of each.
7. Program impact (100 words)
4

Identify one of the programs the Vital People nominee works most closely with
and provide a one-sentence description of that program’s impact and past
successes, including numbers served, and the outcome or difference you
make in your community (e.g.: “Since 2008, the XYZ program has worked with
X# of youth in ABC neighbourhood, to help decrease the high-school drop-out
rate by Y%.”).
8. Populations served and specifically targeted by your organization

Please select all groups to whom your programs are specifically targeted (e.g.,
you would select ‘Women’, if one or more of your programs specifically targets
female participants versus simply being open to everyone).
5
9. Neighbourhood(s) served by your organization

Please refer to our Neighbourhoods Google Map for an explanation of the
city’s quadrants. Select the quadrants where you provide your programming.
Feel free to select all of them, if your programming is city-wide.
10. Toronto’s Vital Signs Report indicator(s) addressed by your organization (100 words)

Please review the most recent Toronto’s Vital Signs Report and quote a piece
of data that best justifies the need for your programming. If you don’t see a
good fit between your work and the information in the newspaper version of
the Report, take a look at the Full Report. Both are on our website. We also
know that there may not be a quote which is a perfect fit for your work, but we
ask you to find the closest match. You are welcome to include one sentence
under this quote to contextualize how your programming is working towards
addressing this issue.
11. Participant vignette (250 words)
 Please provide a story or simple description of one person’s experience with
your organization, identifying the issue/challenge they face and how your
programming has made an impact on their quality of life. Incorporating quotes
from those impacted makes your story stronger.
Section C: About the Vital People Nominee (filled out by applying
organization)
1. Current role of Vital People nominee (200 words)
 Describe the candidate’s current role and the value of his or her work to your
organization, to the community you serve, and the sector as a whole.
2. Nominee’s past and current accomplishments (300 words)
 Provide examples of the candidate’s past and current accomplishments and
any awards or accolades he/she has received.
3. Current support (financial or in-kind) for nominee’s leadership development (200 words)
 Describe the support your organization currently provides towards helping the
Vital People nominee develop their leadership capacities. Explain how a Vital
People grant will leverage the leadership development opportunities already
in place.
4. Amount requested and proposed use of funds (200 words)
 Provide a simple outline of the total dollar amount requested and a summary
of the use of funds.
5. Telling the story of impact (200 words)
 In the interest of building your organizational capacity as well as sharing
compelling stories about grantee successes, we encourage all our grant
recipients to earmark between 10% and 15% of their grant towards
documenting the impact the grant has had on the individual’s leadership
capacity and the organization. To that end, we encourage you to hold aside
up to $500 of the grant to go towards the purchase of video camera
6
equipment (which will become the property of your organization) and/or some
hours to help pay for the development of a short (1-2 minute) digital YouTube
video that will enable you to tell the story of your organization’s leadership in
your field and how you are benefiting from the grant. Please identify how you
will use this portion of the Vital People grant to accomplish the following:
 Document the best practices of the leader funded and your
organization;
 Share the story of your leader’s impact on the organization and of your
organization in the community; and
 Create videos or photographic materials that will be used to help
showcase your organization’s work on our Community Knowledge
Centre.
6. Grant impact statement (200 words)
 Impact statement – provide a one-sentence description about the potential
impact of the Vital People grant from the perspective of the organization.
Strong impact statements connect the impact of the grant to the
organization’s strategic direction. (E.g.: “By taking courses in strategic
organizational change, Jane Smith will be better positioned to take on new
leadership roles within ABC Organization. The knowledge she gains will enable
her to facilitate our organization’s growth and expansion into two new highpriority neighbourhoods next year thereby enabling us to meet our goals as set
out in our new strategic plan.”)
Section D: Vital People Nominee Leadership Profile (filled out by Vital People
nominee)
Name of Vital People nominee
Title
Email address
Work phone number of Vital People
nominee
Home or mobile number of Vital
People nominee
Home address of Vital People
nominee
Work address of Vital People
nominee
Neighbourhood where nominee
resides
Your full name
Your work title, for example: Program
Coordinator
Your personal work email address
Your personal work phone number
(including extension if applicable)
Full mailing address with postal code
To be eligible for this grant, you must work in
the city of Toronto
This will help us to promote you to local
media
1. Brief bio (200 words).
 Please write a short 200-word bio of yourself that we can use in Foundation
promotional materials and as part of our media outreach. This bio should touch
on your key accomplishments and highlight your work as a leader in your
sector.
7
2. Leadership accomplishments (300 words).
 In your own words, describe in a bit more detail your leadership
accomplishments at your current organization and in the broader community.
3. Collaborative aspects of your work (200 words).
 Highlight any collaborative aspects to your work (collaborative activities,
working cross-sectorally, or with groups that traditionally don’t work in your issue
area).
4. Personal leadership goals (200 words).
 Outline your leadership goals and any challenges you face in achieving them.
Describe how these goals build upon the work you currently do at your
organization.
8
5. Grant request (300 words).
 Describe how the financial support requested will improve your ability to
achieve your leadership goals and increase your effectiveness as a leader in
your organization, and in your field.
6. Grant impact statement (200 words).
 Impact statement – one or two sentence description about the potential
impact of the Vital People grant from your perspective as a Vital People
nominee. How will receiving this grant impact you, your organization, and the
community stakeholders whose quality of life you contribute to through your
work? (e.g.: “By taking courses in strategic organizational change and not-forprofit management, I will be better prepared to take on new leadership roles,
and to steward my organization through our upcoming growth. Ultimately, the
skills gained through this grant will help me ensure we continue to offer high
quality services to a growing pool of newcomers – reducing isolation and
loneliness and increasing community cohesion across Toronto
neighbourhoods.”)
Section E: Grant Use Chart (filled out by Vital People nominee)
PLEASE NOTE: Vital People grant funds must be used between December 1st 2014 and
November 30th 2015.
Grant use activities can be formal (courses at educational institutions) and/or informal
(mentorship, conferences, research, etc.).
Below are some examples of previous recipients’ use of their grant funds. Be creative and
ensure your proposed grant use activities help meet your goals. In addition to the grant
use chart, feel free to attach an addendum with further details – see the last bullet in the
attachments section below.
Names and
locations of
courses and
activities
The XYZ Institute
Course: The Art &
Craft of Effective
Facilitation
Dates
Cost
Expected outcomes
March 16 –
March 20,
2015
Tuition: $600
Better able to guide my
organization through
consultations with diverse
stakeholders to implement
the first section of our
strategic plan (which calls
for three major community
consultations to evaluate
and enhance our
programming).
Learn new and emerging
social media platforms,
community management,
metrics and reporting; and
how to use these tools to
Books: $100
Transportation:
$700
Room and
board:$500
University of
Toronto School of
Continuing Studies
(Toronto)
Course: Social
June 2 – July
28, 2015
Tuition: $750
Books: $250
Transportation:
9
Media Strategy
$100
Stanford
Graduate School
of Business, two
week residential
session: Executive
Program for
Nonprofit Leaders
August 3 - 13,
2015
Purchase of video
camera
equipment for
organization and
editing for a two
minute YouTube
impact and
promotional video
September 1
– November
30, 2015
Tuition,
accommodations,
meals and course
materials: $1,500
(Funding for the
remainder of the
total $5,000 cost
plus for the
transportation
expenses of $750
to be covered by
my organization).
Camera: $200
Editing: $300
create meaningful
conversation and change.
Develop a plan of action for
improved replication of the
organization, increase my
fluency in cross-sectoral
partnerships, and increase
my confidence in my
leadership abilities and
aptitudes.
Promotional piece telling
the story of impact of the
grant, enhancing our
organization’s storytelling
capacity.
Total: $5,000
ATTACHMENTS
Please include the following mandatory attachments in both your electronic (in one
email) and hard-copy submissions:
o Annual Report (if your organization publishes one)
o Most recent audited Financial Statements from your organization (and from your
charitable trustee/partner, if applicable)
o List of Board of Directors
o Recent résumé of Vital People nominee
o A one page reference letter from an individual external to your organization who
can speak to the Vital People nominee’s leadership talents and potential
o One to two photos of the Vital People nominee
o Any relevant addenda related to specific information about your grant request
(e.g. schedule for conference, curriculum for course, etc.)
If you have any questions about the Vital People grant program, please contact Sara
Krynitzki at 416-921-2035 x 231 (skrynitzki@torontofoundation.ca).
DEADLINE: 5 pm Wednesday, September 24, 2014
10