Non-profit grant writing, Experiential education

Needed: Grant Writer (Volunteer)
Organization: Cortes Island Academy
Location: remote, anywhere in Canada

What is the Cortes Island Academy

The Cortes Island Academy a non-profit educational organization, that offers a 20-week (single semester) high school accredited program focused on experimental, project-based education.

The Cortes Island Academy is a Model for Transformative Education

Education is an important determinant of health both for individuals and communities. Unfortunately, in Canada, rural students drop out of high school at almost twice the rate of their urban counterparts and consistently under-perform in all areas of achievement including reading, math, and science. These rural-urban differences persist across all the provinces, according to the Canada Council on Learning, who says that: “Canadians should be particularly concerned because, among OECD countries, Canada has the worst rural-urban gap with respect to levels of education in the workforce.”

Cortes Island and our nearby island communities live the rural education gap. With no secondary-school option at all, students had to choose between leaving their homes and cultures or dropping out of bricks-n-mortar school. In a community where families earn less than the BC average and almost ⅓ of children live in poverty, the cycles of economic and community insecurity are profound.

The problem is also an opportunity. Cortes Island, the ancestral and traditional lands of the Tla’amin, Homalco, and Klahoose First Nations, is a beautiful, wild, and natural “campus”. The island boasts an amazing community that includes the Klahoose First Nation, numerous nonprofit groups, and a disproportionate number of PhDs, naturalists, educators, ecologists, artists, writers, world-class intellectuals, and local knowledge holders. The result is a model of experiential, place-based education that is transforming what’s possible in rural and remote communities and educating the ecologically and equity-aware leaders of tomorrow.

Role Description

We are looking for a volunteer grant writer to assist our program with identifying and assisting in writing grants to support our both our operations and project based activities. Under the direction of the Creative Director and the Chair of the Board, in this role you will be responsible for identifying grant opportunities and leading the grant writing and development process in collaboration with the Creative Director and the Chair of the Board. This volunteer role will entail researching and identifying grant applications and funding streams for their relevance to the Cortes Island Academy and will involve writing the first draft of the grant applications, addressing feedback and review from the Cortes Island Academy and ultimately working with the Cortes Island Academy to submit the grant applications.

Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with the administrator, Creative Director and Board to understand the Cortes Island Academy’s programs, goals, and financials to prepare to identify and write grant applications
• Research and identify grant opportunities from foundations, corporations, and government agencies that align with the mission of the Cortes Island Academy and educational programming.
• Write the first drafts of grant proposals, edit, proofread and collaborate on the proposals with the Creative Director and the board to ensure alignment between the grant requirements and our program.
• Document grant opportunities, prioritize and identify timelines for application deadlines.
• Utilize program data and resources to support grant proposals.
• Assist and support in grant reporting for successful grants.

Time Commitment:

• Attend a bi-weekly meeting 1 hour meeting with the Creative Director and Chair of the Board
• ~15 hours of work per month

Requirements:

• Reliable and dedicated individual who can work independently
• Passionate about non-profit work and/or experiential and place-based education
• Strong writing and editing skills
• Good communication skills
• Proficiency using Dropbox, Microsoft Office and Excel
• Experience grant writing is preferred; however we are open to volunteers with strong writing skills.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to identify, organize and prioritize grant opportunities based on timelines

Benefits:

• Honorarium for successful grant applications
• Grant writing and work experience in the non-profit sector
• A Letter of Reference
• Opportunities to be involved in other initiatives for the Cortes Island Academy

If you are interested in this opportunity, please apply by reaching out to Kiera Tsakonas at kiera@cortesislandacademy.ca illustrating your interest in the position through a brief cover letter and including your resume. Please mention you saw this at GoodWork.ca.

This position closes on March 31st, 2025

You can find more information about us on our website here: https://cortesislandacademy.ca/