Opportunities Fund (OF) - Funding for Employers and Organizations for Local and Regional Projects

The Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities offers contribution funding to employers and organizations (“sponsor organizations”) for local or regional projects involving eligible activities.

• Who can apply for funding
• Options available to employers and organizations
• Eligible participants
• Costs that may be covered
• Duration
• How to apply
• More Information

Who can apply for funding

Eligible applicants for funding include:

• businesses;
• organizations (including non-profit);
• individual people with disabilities;
• public health and educational institutions;
• band or tribal councils;
• municipal governments; and
• provincial and territorial government departments or agencies (if approved by the Minister of HRSD).

Organizations that wish to develop a local or regional project proposal and apply for funding to promote the employability of people with disabilities in their communities must contact their local Service Canada Centre. Requests for funding will be carefully assessed and reviewed before a decision is made.

If the project proposal is national in scope, please see:

• Funding for Organizations for National Projects

Options available to employers and organizations

The following Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities options are available to employers and organizations:

Wage Subsidies — Funding is available to employers to encourage them to hire people with disabilities.

Work Experience — Funding is available to eligible organizations that provide opportunities for people with disabilities to gain paid and unpaid (volunteer) work experience leading to potential employment.

Enhanced Employment Assistance Services — Funding is available to eligible organizations to deliver employment-related programs and services to people with disabilities to help them integrate into the workplace. These services, which can be provided to an individual or a group, include:

• needs assessment;
• employment action plans;
• employment counseling;
• employment preparation activities;
• diagnostic services; and
• paid work experience placements and/or volunteer opportunities.

Community Coordinator — Funding is available to eligible organizations that enter into agreements with eligible participants and employers in support of activities that further the objectives of the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities. The following activities may be administered by community coordinators:

• Wage Subsidies;
• Work Experience;
• Skills for Employment (See Financial Assistance for Individuals);
• Self-Employment (See Financial Assistance for Individuals); and
• OF Services

Self-Employment (Organizational) — Funding is available to eligible organizations that provide technical and consultative expertise to eligible participants to help them access, develop and implement their business plan.

Eligible participants

To be eligible for assistance through employers or sponsor organizations, an individual must:

• self identify as having a permanent physical or mental disability that limits daily activity;
• be unemployed or working less than an average of 20 hours per week;
• be legally entitled to work in Canada; and
• be in need of assistance to prepare to enter the labour market, to obtain a job or become self-employed.

Note: To qualify for assistance, indidividuals must NOT be currently eligible for federal employment programs offered under Part II of the Employment Insurance Act (or similar provincial or territorial programs). In addition, individuals must not have received Employment Insurance benefits within 36 months of their request for assistance or maternity or parental benefits within 60 months of their request.

Costs that may be covered

Assistance to employers or organizations may be provided to cover the following costs:

• participant wages or related employer costs; and
• overhead costs related to planning, organizing, operating, delivering and evaluating approved activities, including staff wages and employment-related costs.

Duration

The maximum agreement duration is three years. The agreements authorizing financial assistance are negotiated and written on a year-by-year basis, with the negotiation being dependent upon successful completion of each individual year.

How to apply

For local and regional projects, the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities is delivered through local Service Canada Centres, which provide the funding to employers and organizations. Each Service Canada local office determines which activities will best meet the needs in the local communities. These activities may be delivered directly through the local offices or through contracted service partners.

Contact your local Service Canada Centre for information on the types of activities funded in your area and where to apply.

More information

For more information on funding for employers and organizations for local and regional projects, please contact the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities