*Please note: Camas Books does not accept unsolicited requests for funding by groups or individuals. If you are a non-hierarchical collective that has a project that fits one of our themes, please consider applying during the next submission cycle.

June 21,st, 2024

Happy Solstice! We are pleased to announce we have selected 5 winners, totaling $8000 from our inaugural Mutual Aid Microgrants Project, and we are very excited to post about them in our Community Initiatives page! We will keep this page available as an archive in case anyone wishes to see how we started this program.

The recipients were chosen through a consensus-based adjudication process undertaken by a six-person project group within the Camas collective. Using our principles of unity, and the initial application questions as our guiding framework, we created a rubrics to structure our assessment.

During the adjudication process, applications were assessed individually by each member of the project group before coming together to discuss our evaluations of the grant applications. Through dialogue, we arrived at consensus regarding which projects to award grants to. 

To the best of our capabilities, we balanced the considerations of providing as many microgrants as possible, while ensuring that each grant retained enough funds to meet that applicant’s core budget goals and realise a successful outcome for their project. 

To the community: We are so grateful for your support. Without your solidarity, resources, and care, we simply would not have been able to undertake this mutual aid project. It is our largest endeavor of this kind to date, and we hope this inaugural round of microgrants is not just the beginning of an ongoing project, but also serves to build a web of resilient relationships and support that will continue to adapt and grow. 

We want to express our gratitude for all applicants. Thank you for the time and energy you put into sharing who you are and what you do with us. It was an honour and privilege to be in the position of trust to receive and review your applications. Thank you. 

It was heartening to hear about all the ways how people in the community and, through all its extensions across distance and borders, are creating change, creating ecosystems, and infrastructures of care and support and engaging in struggle and resistance. 

Below is a list of the recipient projects and information about them and their goals. Congratulations and thank you to all!

Please come back here for updates on how we see this project developing in the upcoming year.

March 1st, 2024

We are announcing our inaugural Camas Books & Infoshop Mutual Aid Microgrants Project! This year, we are giving microgrants of up to $2000 each. Submissions for grants will open March 1^st, 2024, and end midnight on May 1^st, 2024. Those selected will be contacted, with funds provided in July.

Please note, late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

What do I need to know before applying?:

• All applicants must agree with our Principles of Unity and Mission Statement; funds will not be provided for projects related to or supporting political parties or electoral politics.
• Grant money will be going towards specific project expenses, and not to sustaining organisational overhead or salaries.
• If you do not need the maximum amount of the grant ($2000) please specify a lesser amount. And we will consider it. Applying for less allows us to support a broader range of projects.
• If you need accessibility support during the process of completing your  application, please email the Camas Collective at mutualaid@camas.ca any questions you may have as early in the application process as possible. Someone will be in touch with you asap.

We are interested in supporting community projects that would not gain funding from the state or from charities. As a collective ourselves, we favour giving funds to other collectives or community groups rather than to individuals. Please consider your collectivity (minimum 3 people) as a factor in your applications.

Here are some possible project themes our Mutual Aid Microgrants support:

• Indigenous Sovereignty/Resurgence Projects
• Allyship/Accompliceship Projects
• Food Security Projects
• Tenant’s Rights/Housing Security Projects
• Refugee/Migrant Support Projects
• Prison Abolition/Prisoner Support Projects
• Ecological Actions/Projects
• Disaster Response/Community Resiliency Projects
• Skillshares/ Consciousness Raising Non-State Educational Initiatives
• Activist Art/Radical Media Projects

There are three parts to this application:

1. Application Form (submission below)
2. Benchmark Calendar of Goals: We need to see you have thought through your plan of action and created a strategy. Please map out an outline of your plans, tasks, and goals with general and specific dates (if you know them). Please be aware that our disbursement of funding will not happen until JULY, so please plan your own calendars accordingly. See an example here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CivCrGCBgeEBG_ylFFA3lGfP8trA-2MoDgQQ21OtR9M/edit?usp=sharing
3. Budget: We want to see that you have researched the expenses you require for your project. The more specific you can be about the details the better. Please review the example below and be sure to read all the comments embedded in it for guidance: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NDDflE0-ExjxYPYPkSmem4kSYTVasEm_ZhmE0gRqsQo/edit?usp=sharing

Please construct your benchmarks and budgets using either a Google doc/spreadsheet file or Cryptpad (https://cryptpad.fr) and email your completed documents as an attachment to mutualaid@camas.ca along with your completed application form (submission below) before or on the May 1st deadline.

Camas Books Mutual Aid Microgrant Application Form Part One:

Please note this application does not automatically save. To avoid potential mishaps, we recommend you copy and paste this document into a word processing file to fill out your answers. Then, when you have completed your answers, return to the form to copy and paste your responses in.

Name of Group *

Title of Project *

Amount Requested (max $2000) *

Please let us know if you do not need the full amount, so we can share the funds more broadly with other projects.

Collective Members *

Please list the names of all your collective members.

Primary Contact Name *

First

Last

Please provide the name of the person who will be primarily communicating with the Camas Collective.

Primary Contact's Preferred Pronouns

Please allow us the pleasure of knowing how to correctly address you!

Primary Contact Email *

Please provide the primary contact's email to help us stay in touch.

Online Presence

If you have web or social media, please share your handle(s) here.

Please describe the goals and/or purpose of your organization. *

Which of the following project themes does your group work with most? *

• Indigenous Sovereignty/Resurgence Projects
• Allyship/Accompliceship Projects
• Food Security Projects
• Tenant's Rights/Housing Security Projects
• Refugee/Migrant Support Projects
• Prison Abolition/Prisoner Support Projects
• Ecological Actions/Projects
• Disaster Response/Community Resiliency Projects
• Skillshares/ Consciousness Raising Non-State Educational Initiatives
• Activist Art/Radical Media Projects

Please only pick one or two selections. We want you to explain how they relate to your project later in the application.

Is your group part of a larger organization or sponsored by another organization? *

• Yes
• No

If Yes, please provide the name of the Organisation, the name of a Contact Person and a way to reach them (email or phone number).

Project Summary: 1. Name of Project *

Please tell us again the name of your project.

2. Please provide a general overview of the project and how it relates to the theme(s) you are focusing on (max. 250 words) *

3. Where will the project take place? *

4. What community needs will your project address? *

5. Please describe your project goals, and what outcomes you hope to see as a result of the project. *

6. Camas Books wants to support projects where communities lead their own struggles or where there are established bonds of solidarity. What communities, local groups, and/or organizers will be involved in your project, and how? *

7. One of the values of the Camas Books Collective, is a reflection on how we are accountable to the communities around us. Please describe how you are accountable to the communities that you are working with. How are you accountable to those most affected by the issue(s)? *

8. What will this project contribute to broader struggles or movements? *

9. Please describe any specific resources, skills, or experiences you have, which will help you carry out this project. *

10. How does your project help to further Camas Books & Infoshop's Principles and Mission Statement? Please explain how your project helps to uplift our shared anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian values. *

11. How do you organize yourself along the principles of collective action and horizontal relationships? For example, the Camas Books collective meets regularly to enact decision-making by consensus. How does your group make decisions? *

This is the last question of the WebForm section of the application. Please note Camas Books also requires a Benchmark Calendar of Goals and a Budget to be submitted separately as attachments using a Google or Cryptpad Spreadsheet. Please email everything to mutualaid@camas.ca. Your application will not be considered complete until we receive all three parts. *We are grateful for and would like to acknowledge this application was adapted from the intake form developed by Freedonia.ca.

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