$400mil Community Services Recovery Fund launches in January 2023

The Community Services Recovery Fund is a $400 million investment from the Government of Canada to support charities and non-profits as they focus on how to adapt their organizations for pandemic recovery.

Since the early phases of the pandemic, charities and non-profits have struggled with increased demand for their services, reduced revenues, declines in charitable giving due to the rising cost of living, and a greater need to make use of digital tools as part of adapting and modernizing their operations. Funding from the Community Services Recovery Fund will enable charities and non-profits to invest in their own organizational capacity to:

• adapt the way they deliver services to support the needs of their staff and volunteers;
• buy equipment such as computers and software;
• create new ways of working, such as developing new fundraising approaches;
• provide support for staff and volunteers, such as staff training, supports for mental health and wellbeing; and
• develop plans to receive funding from diverse sources.

As a result of the investments provided by the Community Services Recovery Fund, charities and non-profits will be better equipped to improve the efficacy, accessibility, and sustainability of the community services that they provide.

The Community Services Recovery Fund will be delivered through three National Funders - Community Foundations of Canada, the Canadian Red Cross and United Way Centraide Canada. These National Funders will be responsible for establishing open application processes to distribute funding to eligible charities and non-profits across Canada.

The CSRF will accept applications from Community Service Organizations, which means non-profit organizations, Indigenous Governing Bodies or Registered Charities/Some Qualified Donees located in Canada who provide services to communities in Canada. 

Applications open on January 6, 2023. In the meantime, explore the resource section and sign up for a webinar on how to apply.

Two upcoming webinars on the Community Services Recovery Fund:
December 6, 2pm ET: Information Webinar: Register HERE.
January 12, 2pm ET: How to Apply Webinar: Register HERE.

Read more on the Community Services Recovery Fund Website HERE.
Read the Frequently Asked Questions HERE.
See all current "Applicant Resources" HERE.

Monday December 12, 2022
1:30pm ET to 3pm ET
Online via Zoom 

In defining oral history and discussing the lifecycle of the interview, “archive” often serves as a terse end to a process that privileges the processes of collecting. But oral history is a continuous archival process, the administrative labour of which begins before the interviews, and continues long after an interview is deposited in an archive. This presentation explores how oral history best practices—a pre-custodial approach designed to support the preservation of born digital collections—can be applied to extant collections in order to facilitate discoverability and access. It extends the lifecycle of the interview to include post-custodial archival processes by outlining the administrative labour and technical processing required to support long-term ethical and functional access to oral history collections, and the re-use of interviews.

Featuring speakers from the Oral History Centre at the University of Winnipeg:

• Brett Lougheed, Director of the Oral History Centre
• Kent Davies, Adjunct Professor and the Audio Technician at the Oral History Centre
• Kimberley Moore, Adjunct Professor, and the Programming and Collections Specialist at the University of Winnipeg Oral History Centre

Read more and register HERE.

Upcoming CCI Webinar:
Photography on a Dime - Thrifty Tools and Free Software for Heritage Professionals 
Canadian Conservation Institute, Ontario Museum Association and Galeries Ontario / Ontario Galleries

Online 
Webinar 1: February 9, 2023 (1:00 - 3:00 PM ET)
Webinar 2: February 16, 2023 (1:00 - 3:00 PM ET)
Registration fee required 
Registration opens Dec. 15, 2022 

This Canadian Conservation Institute webinar series is co-presented by the Ontario Museum Association (OMA) and Galeries Ontario / Ontario Galleries (GOG). Interested participants are those who are currently or will be involved in photodocumentation projects within a heritage institution. Participants are expected to have a fundamental knowledge of camera settings and functions (such as ISO and aperture) and a basic understanding of lighting equipment as this information will not be reviewed in the webinar. Participants should also possess practical computer skills.

Learn more HERE.

 
The Ontario Museum Association is hiring a Professional Development Program Manager. Working with the Council, staff and members of the Ontario Museum Association, and reporting to the Executive Director, the Professional Development (PD) Program Manager will play a key role in the delivery of timely and engaging learning opportunities for Ontario’s museums that foster the pursuit of excellence in museum practice.

Read the full Position Description HERE.

Library and Archives Canada opens
New Preservation Storage Facility
Government of Canada

Thursday, November 24, 2022 – Library and Archives Canada (LAC) celebrated today the opening of its new state-of-the-art Preservation Storage Facility in Gatineau, Quebec. A plaque was unveiled and guests toured the site at the event, which was attended by, among others, the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage; the Honourable Mona Fortier, President of the Treasury Board of Canada; the Honourable Steven MacKinnon, Chief Government Whip and Member of Parliament for Gatineau; LAC and Plenary Properties Gatineau executives; and representatives from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Nation.

Completed earlier this year, the new facility enhances LAC’s storage capacity and provides optimum environmental conditions for the long-term preservation and safekeeping of Canada’s documentary heritage.

Read more HERE.

Upcoming Webinar:
Soup-Slinging Syrup Showdowns -
Why Galleries and Museums Are Increasingly Sites of Climate Protests
BC Museums Association

Online
Thursday December 8, 2022
10:00 - 11:30 am PT

Join Caitlin Southwick, Founder and Executive Director of Ki Culture, Kirsty Robertson, Associate Professor (Contemporary Art and Museum and Curatorial Studies), Director of Museum and Curatorial Studies at Western University, and Camille-Mary Sharp, Faculty Fellow in New York University's Program in Museum Studies, for a challenging, stimulating, and reflexive conversation exploring why galleries and museums are sites of climate protests and what we can do to step up as allies in fighting for a sustainable future.

Read more and register HERE.

The National Trust for Canada 
accepting submissions for the
Next Great Save competition
Complete your Full Submission by December 16, 2022

The National Trust for Canada is accepting submissions from community groups that would like to participate in the Next Great Save competition. Their mission is to help a community save a heritage place that matters to them, with a $50,000 prize generously provided by Ecclesiastical Insurance. The prize money can be used for a project that will adapt, renew or improve the heritage place for the future, and inspire us all in the process.

The Next Great Save competition will take place from October 22, 2022, through February 23, 2023.

Read more and apply HERE.

A new display at the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa will highlight the activism and accomplishments of Anishinaabe water-rights advocate Autumn Peltier. The display will be available for the public to view until January 8, 2023.

The museum display features items related to her international advocacy for clean water rights, including the dress she wore when she addressed the United Nations General Assembly in 2018 about the issue of contaminated water in First Nation communities across the country.

Read more HERE.

 
Learn more about our 50th Anniversary HERE.

As museums across Ontario face the challenges of reopening safely and renewing relationships with your communities, the OMA is here for you. Your support, participation, and membership make our work possible.

If you are already an OMA member, thank you! Please renew your membership when you receive an email reminder. If you are not yet a member, please consider an individual, institutional, or commercial membership for yourself, your colleagues, or your institution. You can find information about member categories and benefits on our website.

You can make a donation to the OMA on our website or through Canada Helps. Every contribution adds to the collective strength of our sector. Thank you for your support!