Youth Gang Prevention Fund (YGPF)

On February 21, 2012, Shelly Glover, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and Member of Parliament for Saint-Boniface (Winnipeg), on behalf of the Honourable Vic Toews, Canada's Minister of Public Safety, announced that the next phase of the Youth Gang Prevention Fund Program has been launched.

The YGPF specifically targets youth with a demonstrated history of serious violence and/or who are clearly at risk of joining gangs and/or are already in gangs.

Main Objectives:

The objectives of the YGPF are to reduce serious youth violence and youth gang threats in communities by:

• Supporting targeted initiatives that address specific risk and protective factors associated with youth violence and youth gangs in communities where these issues exist or are emerging trends;
• Promoting the implementation of evidence-based interventions to provide those young people with alternatives to joining gangs; and
• Developing and disseminating knowledge in order to encourage other communities to adopt effective methods to prevent youth violence and youth gang activity in Canada.

Eligibility criteria

Activities eligible for support must be aligned with the project goals and objectives and include the following:

• Project start-up activities, including but not limited to hiring and training of staff, leasing of equipment or rental of space;
• Development and dissemination of information, tools and resources;
• Outreach, recruitment and selection of participants;
• Interventions addressing risk factors associated with youth gangs and youth violence; including but not limited to: mentoring, counselling, skills development and recreational opportunities;
• Professional development and training of project staff;
• Public Awareness and Education;
• Expert advice and consultation; and
• Evaluation.

The NCPC will not provide funding for core or ongoing operational expenses of programs, services and/or interventions being funded by other levels of government or the replication of a program, service or intervention that has been previously supported by the NCPC in the same community and/or reaching the same target population using the same intervention model.

Funding criteria

Financial assistance will be provided to eligible applicants in the form of contribution funding.

The maximum financial support a recipient can receive per fiscal year is $1,500,000 and cannot exceed a maximum amount of $7,500,000 over a period of five years.

The NCPC will not be the sole funder for any specific project under the YGPF. The maximum NCPC contribution to the total costs of the project cannot exceed 85%. Therefore, it is expected that organizations and community partners will contribute to the cost of the project, financially or in- kind through donations of materials, supplies or services. In addition, total government contributions to the project from all sources (federal, provincial and territorial) cannot exceed 95% of total costs of the project.

Eligible costs

Only expenses directly related to approved project activities are eligible, and can include:

• Personnel;
• Travel & accommodations;
• Material & supplies;
• Office equipment;
• Rent & utilities; and
• Evaluation & audit.

For more information on eligible costs and other budget considerations, please see the budget section of the funding guide.