Yes, but we will only consider one application per person each review period.

If you are seeking funding for multiple projects, we recommend choosing one idea per funding year and applying separately with your second project the next year. The same applies to a single project that spans multiple semesters.

Example

Term-by-term speaker series: Only apply for one installment at a time, then re-apply for the next installment in the following application period. A second installment may or may not be approved depending on the demand and volume of new applications received in each review period.

If applying on behalf of a group, such as a committee or club: multiple applications can be submitted per funding year, but each project must have a different person as the project lead.

All MRU faculty, staff and students can apply. Students and contract faculty are required to work with at least one full-time employee and include their name on the application. The full-time employee will be the project team member who is responsible for managing the funds.

Yes, contract faculty are able to apply.

If a contract employee submits an application for a project that will start or continue after their current contract end date, they must co-apply with at least one other full-time employee. The co-applicant must commit to carrying out the work, being accountable to the EDI Office and completing the project should the contract employee not return to MRU.

Yes, current MRU students are eligible to apply. Students may also reach out to their instructors with ideas and develop their project as a student-instructor collaboration.

No. Current MRU students are encouraged to apply to the fund, regardless of their involvement with clubs or SAMRU advocacy groups on campus.

In addition to the fillable templates on our website, we encourage you to learn more about the fund and examples of successful projects by viewing our project showcase.

You will find examples of completed projects featuring various recipients of this fund, which may help inspire or hone your project idea. We encourage you to reach out to previous recipients to learn more about their work and experience applying for the fund.

You can also request a meeting with the EDI Office to discuss your project idea and receive guidance on creating a project plan. For student-led projects, we are happy to workshop your idea with you and provide suggestions or feedback on a draft proposal before you submit your application.

If you are unsure where to start, please email EDI@mtroyal.ca.

You are welcome to download and use one of our project proposal templates or provide the information in another creative format that works best for you, such as a PDF document, video, audio file, image or presentation.

If using a creative format, you are still required to use the fillable budget template to outline the financial requirements of your project. This budget makes it easy to share what you plan to spend as it does the cost calculations for you.

We strongly encourage applicants to review the templates to ensure your project proposal answers all of the questions. These questions address key information we need in order to review your application and make a decision.

Applications are reviewed shortly after each application deadline in order of when projects will launch. You can anticipate a follow-up on the committee’s decision within three to four weeks of the application deadline.

Our suggestion is to prepare and submit your application well in advance of when your proposed project takes place. At minimum, plan for a six-week lead time between the application deadline and when money is needed for the project.

We recommend submitting your application a semester ahead of time if your project takes place early in an academic term. For example, if your project has an event in January, we recommend submitting your application for the September review. This is to ensure you have enough lead time for event planning and advertising if the project is approved.

If your application is successful, you may be approved for the full funding or a partial amount.

The amount you receive will depend on factors such as the availability of funds, the relevance of your budget items to MRU’s EDIA objectives, the availability of other resources and additional factors that the committee might consider.

If the committee is unable to fund your entire budget, you may be required to submit a revised budget that addresses the funding conditions in your application decision letter. The release of funds may be contingent on your ability to demonstrate that you can meet these conditions, and/or obtain the remaining amount from other sources.

The fund can cover costs such as speaker fees, transportation costs, food, registration fees (for events that directly impact the EDIA profile of MRU), non-capital equipment for EDIA projects (equipment that is not currently available within MRU), survey instrument development and analysis, outreach and engagement cost and other costs that are not covered by other initiatives or funds at MRU.

Please be advised that this fund cannot be used to cover any costs associated with alcohol or other substances. This is against university financial policies and is not something we support.

Significant renovations, such as establishing new campus infrastructure, are considered capital funding and are outside the scope of this fund.

• We suggest connecting with Facilities Management and making a capital funding request through other University avenues.

Most faculty-led research initiatives are outside the scope of this fund.

• We recommend applying for the wide array of faculty research grants available through the Office of Research, Scholarship and Community Engagement.

Projects with cross-institutional impacts may extend beyond the scope of the committee’s decision-making authority, and may require collaboration with multiple departments.

• We recommend connecting with related campus areas and involving them in your project team prior to submitting your proposal. Applicants are encouraged to include details about your efforts to build internal partnerships and whether leaders and collaborators from the affected areas have expressed their support for the project.

Permanent, ongoing budget items are not appropriate and annual recurring projects may not be appropriate.

• Projects such as an event that is happening for the first time might apply and receive funding. If the project is a success that you wish to repeat in future years, we encourage you to connect with your department head to discuss opportunities for recurring funding in their operating budget. You are welcome to share your EDI Fund application materials and final report with internal budget owners when seeking recurring funding from other MRU sources. This may help you demonstrate the project’s value and impact.

You should aim to include marketing and promotional expenses in your project budget, along with planning specific advertising channels and collaborators to help build your materials as needed (e.g. employee applicants, we recommend consulting with your department’s marketing and communications strategist. Help may be available if capacity allows but is not guaranteed).

For student applicants, the EDI Office can help amplify the digital and print materials you create and assist in liaising with Marketing and Communications to share your materials more widely across campus. Marketing materials such as posters and digital signage are recommended for events to boost attendance and broaden awareness across the campus community.

Funding decisions are made based on the information provided when the application is received. We cannot accommodate changes to project focus, scope or fiscal year allocation once the application has been approved. If there are substantial changes to your project timeline or your budget, we recommend submitting a revised application to be considered in a future round of funding.

The total amount you are approved for is fixed and reflects the approved budget lines included in the application decision letter. This amount will not change should costs differ from what is listed in your budget. Please make sure you plan thoroughly and research the anticipated expenses before submitting your application.

No. The EDI Fund committee carefully reviews each application received and the decision of the committee is final. If you wish to apply to the fund again in the future, you are encouraged to do so with a different project.

If you are seeking ways to improve a future application, we encourage you to review the applicant resources available on our website.

As a publicly funded institution with reporting requirements, we must adhere to the fiscal year. We try our best to set review periods early in the semester to align with the academic year.

At MRU, each fiscal year runs from April 1 to March 31. For example, the current fiscal year is April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025. The next fiscal year will be April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026.

Fund recipients are expected to implement their project in a timely manner and submit a final report to EDI@mtroyal.ca no later than four weeks after completing the project. The final report will outline the project’s accomplishments, impact analysis and accounting of actual spending versus budget.

When a project is approved, the lead applicant will receive three documents via email:

1. Application decision letter
2. Funding acceptance form: details your responsibilities as a recipient, available payment options and fiscal year deadline for all project spending. This form must be signed and sent back to confirm your acceptance of the approved funding.
3. Project reporting form: a template for your final report that must be filled out and submitted within four weeks of completing your project

Following your final project report, we may contact you with a request to feature your project and outcomes on the MRU website.

You will not receive an e-transfer or lump sum payment at the beginning of the project.

As a public institution, MRU’s funding procedures operate on a cost-reimbursement basis. This means payment cannot be issued to applicants in advance and funds will be released when expenses are actually incurred.

The funding acceptance form included with your application decision letter outlines a list of the payment methods that can be used for your project expenses.

The funding acceptance form outlines transaction options available for all of your project spending. All payment methods are required to comply with MRU financial procedures, which operate on a cost-reimbursement basis.

Approved project expenses must all be submitted within the fiscal year (prior to March 31) in order to be processed.

Example

You place a catering order on February 28 for an event taking place on March 16. Catering is delivered on March 16 and you receive invoices for catering and a keynote speaker on March 17. The expenses are only recorded once the services are completed and the invoices are received, either on or after the event date. All event expenses should be submitted to the EDI Office by March 20, to ensure they can be processed and the funds transferred in time for fiscal year-end.

No. Unfortunately, due to MRU’s budgeting cycle and financial reporting requirements, the fiscal year is not flexible. If you need more time to complete your project and spending, you’ll have to re-apply in the next fiscal year.

Example

Your project involves two events, one planned for February 10 and one for March 10. One of the speakers becomes unavailable and advises you their next availability is on April 8. Your event on February 10 runs smoothly and takes place as planned. You have to make a decision about your March 10 event. If you choose to reschedule the second event in April, you cannot carry forward the funding to pay for it.

• Option 1: You want to have your next event with that specific speaker at a later date and you re-apply to the EDI Fund in the next fiscal year to request funding for it.
  • What you can do: email EDI@mtroyal.ca to advise us of the change to speaker’s availability and let us know you will re-apply to the fund for the second event.
• Option 2: You still want to host your second event on March 10 with the same focus and scope, but adapt the agenda due to the absence of the initial speaker.
  • What you can do: email EDI@mtroyal.ca to advise us of the change in circumstances and your proposed solution. For example, you might find an alternate speaker with similar expertise who is available March 10. In this case, you may be approved to adapt the event and still use the existing funding.

It depends on the nature of the project. If you need to defer the project to take place at a later date within the same fiscal year, this can be accommodated.

If delaying your project timeline means any of the approved costs would be incurred in a different fiscal year, you cannot use the previous year’s funding to pay for them. Funding allocations cannot be carried forward to the next fiscal year. If you need more time to complete your project spending, you would have to re-apply in the next fiscal year.

Example 1

You have a workshop planned for October 15 and the facilitator becomes unavailable. Their expertise is a key element of the workshop and their next availability is on January 25. Since this is within the same fiscal year, you are able to reschedule the event in January and still use your approved funding for it.

• What you can do: email EDI@mtroyal.ca to let us know the event will be rescheduled in January and the reason for rescheduling. Advise us of the new event date and when we can expect to see your expense claims and final report submitted.

Example 2

You have a workshop planned for March 15 and the facilitator becomes unavailable. Their expertise is a key element of the workshop and their next availability is in May. Since May is after the fiscal year-end, you can re-apply to the EDI Fund in the next fiscal year to request funding.

• What you can do: email EDI@mtroyal.ca to advise us of the change to facilitator’s availability and let us know you will re-apply to the fund for the workshop.