Muskoka IDEA kicks off 2023 with new community grant program and call for Advisory Group members

Thursday, January 5, 2023 (Muskoka, ON) - Looking for a meaningful way to make a difference in our community this year? Don’t miss two great opportunities to support Inclusivity, Diversity, Equality and Anti-racism (IDEA) in Muskoka in 2023.

Join the IDEA Advisory Group:

Muskoka District Council established the IDEA Advisory Group in 2020 to support its goal to become a more inclusive, diverse, equitable and anti-racist community and approved its Strategic Action Plan in March 2022.

The group is looking for new members to join either of its two committees in 2023:

• Champions Committee - made up of Muskoka residents with a personal commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity and anti-racism. The majority of members have lived experience of discrimination but there is also an opportunity for a limited number of committed Muskoka residents without lived experience to be included
• Partners Committee - made up of representatives from Muskoka-based agency partners who are themselves committed to enacting the IDEA principles in their own organizations, as well as the community.

To learn more about the Advisory Group, its strategic action plan, and how to express your interest in joining either committee, please visit www.engagemuskoka.ca/idea.

The deadline to express interest in joining the Advisory Group is January 30, 2023.

Apply to the IDEA Community Grant Program

The new grant program was created to amplify the efforts of the Advisory Group by creating opportunities for community engagement and public education around the IDEA principles of inclusion, diversity, equity and anti-racism or anti-hate.

Note: the IDEA Community Grant is part of the Strategic Action Plan approved by District Council, but specific funding levels are pending the approval of the District's 2023 Budget.

Grant amounts of up to $2,500 are available to eligible organizations in Muskoka under two streams:

•  Employer Funding - to support employers who are actively working to strengthen or incorporate IDEA principles into their workplaces and/or service delivery models.  The 2021 IDEA Community Report highlighted that the most common place residents of Muskoka experience discrimination are at places of work.
• Community Partner Funding - offered to organizations across Muskoka to support initiatives that create opportunities for increased public awareness and/or community education aligned with the IDEA principles. Initiatives that build on the November 5, 2022, Hate-Free Muskoka symposium, or the theme of anti-hate, will be of particular interest.

To learn more about the IDEA Community Grant application process and requirements, please visit www.engagemuskoka.ca/idea

The deadline to submit an IDEA Community Grant application is February 28, 2023.

“We are very excited to start 2023 by recruiting new members to our Advisory Group and with the launch of the new grant program,” said IDEA Advisory Group Chair Mark Nakamura. “The IDEA Advisory Group has worked very hard for the last two years to engage the community and create an action plan that supports our vision for a Muskoka where we combat hate, celebrate diversity, embrace equity and choose inclusion. New members and funding for community initiatives will help expand our efforts to promote IDEA principles in communities across Muskoka.”

If you have questions about the Advisory Group recruitment process or the community grant application process, please contact Tina Kilbourne by email at tina.kilbourne@muskoka.on.ca or by calling 705-645-2412 x 4308 or visit www.engagemuskoka.ca/idea

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