HOW DOES MAZON INTAKE APPLICATIONS?

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MAZON is using specialized software this year to accept applications online: SurveyMonkey Apply. When applications open, you will be prompted to make an account that will allow you to save your work as you go, submit your Supplemental Application and Impact Report as follow-ups to your acceptance, and access previous applications to apply more smoothly than ever. Our goal is to be respectful of your time and energy as nonprofit staff and volunteers. If you have any issues with this software, please contact our Community Lead, Robbie Solway, at robbie@mazoncanada.ca.

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WHICH STREAM DO I APPLY FOR?

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There are separate Grocery Grant applications this year for:

• Frontline programs that mainly serve children and youth

• Frontline programs that mainly serve adults or a variety of ages

• Umbrella' programs that resource other, smaller frontline food aid programs through an 'organization-to-organization' model

 

Please choose the appropriate stream for your organization before applying. Before the application, you will fill out an Eligibility Form to confirm which stream you are eligible for. If you are unsure of what granting stream would be the best fit for your program, please email our Community Lead, Robbie Solway, at robbie@mazoncanada.ca, with some information on your circumstances.

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Each organization may only apply for a Grocery Grant once per year. You may not apply for multiple Grocery Grant across different streams (e.g., you may apply for ONLY ONE of the Children & Youth, General / Any Ages, and Umbrella streams). If your organization runs multiple programs, please choose one amongst your team and apply for the appropriate stream. Please look at the instructions and eligibility form at the beginning of each stream to determine which Grocery Grant you wish to apply for. If you still are not sure, please email us at robbie@mazoncanada.ca

 

THIS YEAR, APPLICATIONS ARE ONLY OPEN TO 2023 GROCERY GRANT RECIPIENTS: 

 

Due to Mazon’s limited resources this year against widely increased demand, we are only able to open our 2024 Grocery Grant application to organizations that received a 2023 Grocery Grant from Mazon Canada. 

As a community foundation, Mazon’s grantmaking budget is formed primarily based on our annual fundraising from grassroots donors across the country. Unfortunately, our grantmaking budget and organizational capacity are not where we were hoping they would be this year, while we are simultaneously witnessing a large increase in interest towards our Grocery Grant applications. As a result, Mazon’s Board of Directors has had to limit the eligibility criteria for our Grocery Grant grantmaking to a smaller number of applicants. We did not want to waste the time of so many critical food-aid organizations by opening our grant applications to far more organizations than we could fund. 

 

So: if you received a 2023 Grocery Grant, we look forward to seeing your application for a 2024 Grocery Grant! Please note that funding is still not guaranteed. Announcements will go out in mid-November!

For those who do not qualify under this new eligibility criteria, we are so sorry to share this news. It is not the news we wanted to share, especially knowing how many of us and our neighbours are struggling with food insecurity. We are striving to increase our fundraising, as well as advocate for policy solutions that will reduce systemic Canadian food insecurity. We hope to be able to share better news in the future.

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WHAT KINDS OF PROJECTS DO YOU FUND?

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MAZON funds food projects across Canada, including food banks, shelters, community gardens, meals on wheels projects, school nutrition programs, and more. Each year, we support about 250 programs across the country with grants to help them serve better, healthier food to more people. We have 4 streams of funding, but right now, only Grocery Grants (which fund the direct purchase of food) accept open applications.

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To receive a frontline 2024 Grocery Grant, your organization must:

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• Feed mostly food-insecure people 
• Request funds only for the purchase of food (not salary, rent, equipment, etc.)

• Have received a 2023 Grocery Grant from Mazon Canada

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HOW DOES MAZON DECIDE WHICH ORGANIZATIONS WILL RECEIVE FUNDING? 

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When making funding decisions between eligible applicants, we prioritize organizations that: 

 

• Are underfunded, grassroots, small and in need

• Operate in rural localities, in a Nutrition North catchment area, or are one of the few 

sources of food aid in their community.

• Support specific marginalized and/or highly vulnerable populations

• Promote sustainability through food rescue
• Help clients in other ways besides giving them food

• Maintain decision-making structures that are accountable to clients.

• Have leadership that share lived experience with clients, or are themselves former clients.
• Give clients support ending their food insecurity (helping them secure access to

permanent housing, employment, EI, etc)

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We use a points-based system to determine funding amounts based on these criteria between eligible programs - the more priority criteria you meet, the more funding you get - in relationship to how many eligible applications we receive, and the size of our budget. Our budget is determined by the status of our fundraising to date each year.

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MAZON’s points-based system is applied by an experienced volunteer committee of people with all kinds of backgrounds and experiences: non-profit managers, policy-makers, front-line poverty-relief workers, dieticians, and people with lived experience of food insecurity.

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We do not prioritize Jewish organizations over non-Jewish organizations. 

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HOW MUCH CAN I REQUEST?

 

If your application is successful, the minimum grant amount you will receive is $2,000.
For most applicants, the maximum amount you can apply for is $5,000.
Over the last three years, the average grant in this category was around $3,200. We are anticipating a similar average this year.

 

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WHAT ARE MY CHANCES OF GETTING FUNDING?

 

In past years,  70%-85% of applicants received some amount of funding.
Most are funded in part - only a small percentage receive 100% of what they request.​ 

 

The exact acceptance rate in any given year depends on the total number of applications we receive. Mazon usually receives between 300 and 350 applicants, with the number of applicants increasing ever year.

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DOES YOUR ORGANIZATION NEED TO BE JEWISH TO APPLY?

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No! Food projects DO NOT need to be Jewish to receive grants from MAZON Canada.

 

We’re proud to support any and all people in need on behalf of our Jewish community. We know that many marginalized groups have specific nutritional, cultural or access needs and face specific barriers to food security - and we're proud to help!
 

When Canadians go hungry, the Jewish community cares!

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I DON'T HAVE AN EXACT NUMBER FOR THE ANSWER TO QUESTION X. CAN I ESTIMATE?

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Estimating is okay! We don't need exact answers for most questions and we make that clear on the application.

For example: We support both very big and very small organizations. If you’re not sure if you help 550 or 600 people a year, a guess of 575 will still help us understand whether you’re big or small compared to organizations that serve 50 people a year, or 5000.

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THINGS ARE REALLY DIFFERENT FOR MY ORGANIZATION THIS YEAR, AND OUR ANNUAL NUMBERS DON'T REFLECT THAT. HOW CAN I EXPLAIN MY SITUATION?

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We try to leave room for long-form answers throughout the application where you can explain a complex situation if you'd like. If you feel there's unique circumstances we should know about, you can email us at granting@mazoncanada.ca or call us at 416.783.7554.

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AM I EXPECTED TO REPORT ON MY RESULTS? WHAT IS THE TIMELINE FOR REPORTING?

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We will ask two or three reporting questions in a Supplemental Application shortly after the grant is issued, and expect a very brief Impact Report roughly 6 months after the grant is issued. Extensions on this deadline are made generously and often.

 

To see what we’ve expected in the past, last year’s Impact Report form is available as a preview HERE. 

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HOW IS MAZON CANADA FUNDED?

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Mazon raises funds every year, mainly from the Jewish community, through grassroots campaigns. Our average gift size last year was about $54. More financial transparency information is available here. Our granting budget is determined each year by the success of our fundraising.

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