Federal government offers “microgrants,”

OTTAWA — The federal government is giving a makeover to a program designed to more actively prod the creation of innovative projects designed to help fight poverty and homelessness.

The federal government announced Monday that it was turning to targeted “microgrants” and short-term funding streams to help organizations test and develop new ways to reduce homelessness and find a way to deliver them on a national scale.

The new funding programs will provide up to $25,000 for smallscale projects and up to $500,000 for larger projects that will take place over the next two years.

The money will come out of $12.5 million the federal government set aside in this year’s budget, with $7.5 million of that flowing this fiscal year.

Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said the money will go to projects that reduce or prevent homelessness among aboriginals, youth, veterans and women fleeing violence.

The new funding streams were unveiled weeks after Duclos asked his department to go back to the drawing board on how to dole out the $12.5 million set aside in the budget for the Innovative Solutions to Homelessness program.

Over the past two years, the program has given out money to “unsolicited projects on a case-bycase basis,” officials told Duclos in late June. By then, the government had already allocated $2.2 million to four projects.

Duclos’ officials came up with options for the rest of the money. The details have been blacked out from a June 22 briefing note obtained by the Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act. Whatever they were, Duclos sent the note back to the department on July 20 saying he wanted additional funding options.

At Monday’s announcement, Duclos said the government wants to try new things.

“To do different things means listening to what we hear from the community,” Duclos said at the University of Ottawa.

It also means collaboration between the social and private sectors, he said.