For reference: Social Cohesion keywords/definitions
- Trust
- Belonging
- Identity and pride
- Co-operation
- Connection
- Dialogue
- Inclusion
- Strong intergroup relations
- Reduced social isolation
- Increased participation in civic and socio-cultural activities
Procedure to use the Action Template
- Select / Copy the text on this page
- Paste into an email draft to yourself
- Fill in the content in your email draft
- Remove what you don’t need
- Click *send*
Grant Application Paragraph
Purpose: To help a funder or investor understand how your project contributed to social cohesion and why continued investment matters.
Instructions
Review the paragraph you wrote last week in your Social Cohesion Brief to refamiliarize yourself with your overall message!
In the template below, content is divided into:
- Standard text you do not need to change
- Fill in the blanks from your website and your Brief
Once you have completed the Action Template:
- Review and edit the text to reflect your unique organizational voice
- Check in with the Organizational Voice coaches and the Pitching coaches to refine further
We have included prompts in [[ SQUARE BRACKETS ]] indicating which part of your Brief applies.
Please make sure you delete these directives when you are done.
Grant Paragraph Template
======
A. About Your Project (What it Was and Who it Served)
[[ Refer to STEP ONE in your Brief ]]
======
Our project, [Your Project Name], was developed in response to an identified community need related to [share your project’s need, gap, or opportunity] within [your community or region].
With [list the activities and programming involved in the project], we brought together [list your participant groups] to engage in [describe the core activity or experience].
======
B. Results (How it Contributed to Social Cohesion + Evidence/Observations)
[[ Refer to STEP TWO in your Brief ]]
======
As the project unfolded, we observed meaningful results aligned with key indicators of social cohesion, including increased [add your social cohesion outcomes – “What increased?”], and reduced experiences of [add your social cohesion outcomes – “What decreased?”].
These outcomes were identified and validated through [share the evaluation tools you used], which provided both qualitative and quantitative insight into the project’s positive impact. This impact was also reflected in [add your evidence].
[[ Refer to STEP FOUR in your Brief ]]
======
C. Why it matters
======
This work demonstrates that when communities are given meaningful opportunities to engage through arts and culture, they build stronger social connections and more inclusive relationships.
As demonstrated in the Artworks Report from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce Business Data Lab, social cohesion directly contributes to [Research evidence].
[[ Refer to SLIDES, RESEARCH SNAPSHOT, SUMMARY NOTE (pdf) ]]
Our ongoing work [Your organization’s goals/mission/vision] is well-aligned with these values, and we continue advancing this work with [upcoming project/activity or goal].
[[ COPY FROM YOUR WEBSITE ]]
======
D. The Ask
======
Continued investment in projects like these is essential to sustaining and expanding these social cohesion outcomes. Together, we create the conditions that allow communities to build stronger social networks and increase participation in cultural and civic life,
[[ PROMPT: IF YOU HAVE CONFIDENCE TALKING HERE ABOUT THE ECONOMIC BENEFIT OF YOUR PROJECT, ADD A NOTE HERE ]]
We are asking for [your desired contributions from investor/partner] in order to continue our work in improving the [restate your project’s need or opportunity from STEP ONE], which will directly benefit the social cohesion in our community and aligns with our organization’s mission and purpose. Specifically, we are seeking investment in our capacity to systematically collect evidence on social cohesion [[ Refer to STEP SEVEN ]] and increase our capacity to do this work through [[ Refer to STEP SIX ]].