Ontario Girl Guides of Canada

Applications for the 2024 summer season of the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy opens on Monday, May 6 at (noon) ET. We are focused on the 2023-2024 Guiding year pilot and will share more information as soon as we’re able about further seasons of the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy.

The latest you can apply to receive the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy for the summer 2024 season is June 14. Applications may close sooner if funds are no longer available.

Yes. We have extended the 2023-2024 Guiding year pilot of the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy to include a short summer season during the month of July, for experiences happening between June 28 and July 31.

All existing Get ON Outdoors Subsidy requirements are to be met. There is one additional requirement from applications, and the subsidy is provided slightly differently than previous Get ON Outdoors Subsidy seasons.

For the summer 2024 season, there is a minimum duration required for applications. All applications for the summer Get ON Outdoors Subsidy must be for activities that run for a minimum of 16 hours over consecutive days. Units can choose what this looks like for them. This could be two consecutive day experiences (e.g., two eight-hour days on a weekend) or could be one longer experience (e.g., a multi-day trip during the week).

Reimbursement funds are calculated based on the duration of your activity. Approved units are eligible to receive a reimbursement amount up to $20 a day per girl participant, for up to three consecutive days (to a maximum of $60 per girl participant).

You will need to login to the GGC Portal. You can use the same login that you use for Safe Guide paperwork and scholarship applications or create a new account if you haven’t previously accessed the GGC Portal.

The application form requires you to submit the following information:

• Responsible Guider Information: Name, iMIS number
• Unit Information: Unit name, unit ID number, branch level, community number
• Participant Information: Number of girl participants
• Outdoor Experience Information: Experience date, Experience site, Experience postal code, description of activities

There is also an open-ended description box for you to use to describe your plans – please use it. If receipts are submitted for items that are not listed in your application, they may not be approved to for reimbursement.

All units within Ontario and Nunavut are eligible to apply to receive the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy. If you are a unit outside of Ontario and Nunavut, but are administered by Ontario Council, please reach out to on-getoutdoors@girlguides.ca to confirm your eligibility.  

Applications arel be approved on an ongoing basis. All eligible applications are approved on a first-come, first-served basis until the funds have been fully distributed for the season.

The Get ON Outdoors Subsidy should be used to get girls outdoors through activities that connect them with each other and the natural environment. This could look different depending on your unit’s needs and location. Examples include visiting a conservation area, campground, outdoor centre, agricultural site and more. The Get ON Outdoors Subsidy should be spent on a unit-led, outdoors-focused experience happening locally to you, within the province or territory your unit is located in.

New for spring 2024: Cross-provincial travel for units close to a provincial border may be eligible for approval. Please contact on-getoutdoors@girlguides.ca for details.

GGC partners with Preferred Vendors across Ontario to make Outdoor Experiences as easy and worry-free as possible. Starting Safe Guide documents and information is already prepared for each of the Preferred Vendor sites. You can also choose to use another facility and plan your experience on your own. We are continually expanding our Preferred Vendors facilities. Share with us! Let us know an outdoors-focused site or facility that you and your unit love to visit through our Facility Recommendation Form.

Here are some guidelines to help determine eligible expenses that the subsidy funds can be applied to.

An activity that is intended to be done primarily outdoors. This doesn’t include time spent sleeping or eating or inclement weather. This includes:

1. Weekend camp (sleeping indoors or outdoors) where majority of the activities take place outdoors (excluding eating)
2. Day camp (meals can be eaten indoors)
3. Activities where instructions are given indoors but activity takes place outside (e.g., cross-country skiing)
4. Hiring a guide/instructor (e.g., hiking guide, canoe instructor, archery instructor, etc.)
5. Equipment rentals (e.g., canoes, kayaks, snowshoes, cross-country skis, etc.)
6. Transportation to an outdoor activity (e.g., bus to camp or trailhead, ferries, etc.)
7. Permits for campsites
8. Visits to farms and agricultural sites
9. Food for outdoor cooking

All units administered under Ontario Council can apply to receive the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy for any outdoor-focused experience. There are many outdoor-focused experiences that these funds can be used towards. Explore some ideas below.  

To be as girl driven as possible, we recommend asking your unit what they would like to do outdoors. To help brainstorm ideas, use this simple activity with your unit.

Yes, you do still need to submit Safe Guide paperwork for any activities that require it. An approval to receive the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy does not mean that your submitted activities are Safe Guide approved. Normal Safe Guide processes still need to be followed.

We recommend submitting your application for the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy as soon as you have a plan, as the funds are being dispersed on a first-come, first-served basis. All required Safe Guide paperwork would need to be submitted and approved for your experience to run. As funds are given as reimbursement, both applications are important paperwork to submit as early as you can.

The Get ON Outdoors Subsidy should be used to get girls outdoors. The following is a list of pre-approved activities, grouped by Safe Guide level. The approved activities best support the goals of the subsidy which is intended to build friendships and to connect girls with nature through interactive engagement with the natural environment.

*Visiting these spaces on their own is not an approvable activity.There must also be programming integrated with intentional connection to Canada’s natural environment and the outdoors.

For other ideas and details specific to Safe Guide for the activities listed above, check out the A to Z of Activities. If you’re looking for inspiration for different seasons, check out this list of Seasonal Camping and Outdoor Activities.

Other costs needed to allow for an outdoor experience to occur can also be covered, such as snacks and transportation (e.g., taking a bus to an outdoor site or destination). Neither of these costs can make up more than 50% of the total cost you are submitting for reimbursement.

Girls have told us that outdoor activities are some of their fondest memories of their time at Girl Guides of Canada, so we want to help facilitate more of these experiences.

Applications centered on the activities below will not be approved to receive the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy:

• Amusement parks (including waterparks)
• Axe throwing/Knife throwing/Slingshot/Target sports
• Bouldering (indoors)
• Bouncy castles/houses
• Bowling
• Climbing (indoors)
• Curling
• Dunk tank
• Eurobungy/reverse bungee jumping
• Fencing (indoors)
• Giant swing
• Glass blowing
• Go-karts
• Golf or Mini-golf
• Gymnastics
• Hot tubbing (indoors or outdoors)
• Ice skating (indoors or on artificial ice)
• Indoor skydiving
• Kickboxing
• Laser tag
• Paintball
• Parades
• Petting zoo
• Scuba diving (in a pool)
• Sleepover (in a community hall, meeting space)
• Sleepover (at an sports arena, museum, etc.)
• Swimming (indoors)
• Trampoline parks
• Vertical Playground and Team All–Aboard
• Via ferrata

Girl Guides of Canada’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity policy strives to ensure that our shared space and activities allow for all members of GGC from all walks of life, identities, and lived experiences to feel a sense of belonging and allow them to fully participate in any activities planned and executed through the organization.  We have been working diligently to ensure that all activities offered by our organization are of a secular nature so that we are providing an inclusive space for all who choose to be members of Girl Guides of Canada. To this end, our members will not be engaging in activities that have a connection to a specific religious celebration, which includes:

• Halloween, Jack-o-lanterns, Ghost walks (in October)
• Santa Claus Parade, Christmas markets, Winter solstice, Hanukkah, Caroling
• Easter, Egg dying and decorating

We are shifting the focus to the season rather than holiday/significant days, and the things that have always been central to Guiding: role models, service, life skills and FUN.

No, owned equipment and materials (e.g., tents, camp stoves, compasses, flashlights, etc.) cannot be purchased using funds from the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy. Consider an activity that doesn’t require specialized equipment (e.g., a guided nature walk with an expert) or visiting a Preferred Vendor site where they provide equipment.

No, take-home souvenirs are not an eligible expense for reimbursement within the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy. This includes purchasing a gift for each girl participant (e.g., jar of jam after a farm visit, souvenir from conservation area, etc.).

The only crest that can be purchased using funds from the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy is the Outdoor Experiences Crest available online for purchase. No other costs for crests or badges will be covered by the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy at this time.

As the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy is being approved on a first-come, first-served basis – we recommend submitting your application as early as possible. To help us approve your application easier, please ensure you:

1. Have read the FAQs and understand what is an approvable experience and eligible expenses.
2. Fill out the application form completely and accurately.
3. Choose from the list of pre-approved activities.

The Get ON Outdoors Subsidy is intended to build friendships and to connect girls with nature through interactive engagement with the natural environment. The tables below summarizes how applications will be evaluated, based on Subsidy Intent, including some examples:

Subsidy Intent: Build Friendships

Subsidy Intent: Interactive Engagement

Subsidy Intent: Natural Environment

Not yet. The Get ON Outdoors Subsidy cannot be applied to fully serviced Outdoor Experiences (overnights or day trips). If cost is a hurdle for someone to participate in your Unit in one of these fully serviced experiences, you can apply for the Outdoor Experiences Financial Assistance program (apply to receive up to 50% of the cost of these experiences subsidized).

Please note that the Financial Assistance program is only available for overnight fully serviced Outdoor Experiences.

Not yet. The Get ON Outdoors Subsidy is meant to help units with unit-led outdoor experiences. We are looking into this being a possibility in the future.

No, the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy is only eligible for participating girl members.

Yes, if your unit has a Junior Leader (previously Girl Assistant) on its roster, they may be included in the girl participant count submitted.

Yes, if your unit has Try Now, Join Later girls on its roster, they may be included in the girl participant count submitted.

Applications are processed online and can be accessed through the main Financial Assistance web page. Don’t see a link on that page? Applications are not currently being accepted.

No, each unit can receive the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy once per season with an approved application. Units should only be submitting one application for consideration each season. If you have a multi-branch unit, please read the additional note below.

Multi-branch units can receive the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy. If you are planning one event for all members of your unit, please submit only one application for consideration. If you are planning on having very different activities and/or separate dates for the different branch levels within your unit, please submit these as two separate applications for consideration. In the description box in the application form, please be sure to outline this.

Not yet. You need to submit the appropriate application form for the season when your experience will take place. See below for specific dates and times.

We will communicate with you as soon as possible after your application is submitted. At times, this may take up to 10 business days.

If you have not heard back from us after 10 business days, it is possible that your application was not fully submitted. Within the application form, ensure that your application is not listed as in progress. Some mobile users have let us know that this poses some difficulty. You will automatically receive a confirmation email when it has been properly submitted.

After your application is received, it will be reviewed to determine eligibility and approval status. We will communicate with you from the e-mail address provided during your application. Please ensure you are checking this after you’ve applied for follow-up.

We want to approve as many applications as possible to get girls outdoors! We will work with you to try and get your application approved for this season or support you for success in the following season.

Yes. If cost is a hurdle for someone to participate in your unit, you can apply for additional subsidy (up to 50%) cost of participation through the Outdoor Experiences Financial Assistance program.

The Get ON Outdoors Subsidy is available to all girls within Ontario Council, whether a need for financial assistance has been identified or not. The Outdoor Experience Financial Assistance (OEFA) program helps families who require financial support for their daughter/ward to engage in outdoor activities that take place outside of typical unit meetings.

When you submit receipts, you will be reimbursed based on the amount spent, up to $30 per girl participant. The unused funds will be used to help subsidize another experience for another unit.

Guiders will submit expense receipts as they normally would through the Unit Banking System (Webform). Please use the code indicated in your approval e-mail in the comment box to help us determine the applicable receipts to review. Your Treasurer should be familiar with this process.

You will also need to complete a declaration form that lists all of the transaction numbers for the receipts you would like to have considered for reimbursement. More details about this are included in the email after you have been approved to receive the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy.

All submitted receipts will be reviewed to confirm that they are eligible expenses within the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy and that the expenses align with your approved application. All expenses that meet both requirements will be factored into your total reimbursement amount.

Receipts should be submitted by the 15th of the next month (e.g., all October approved experiences need to submit their reimbursement through the Unit Banking System (Webform) by November 15, 2023).

Reimbursements should be received no later than a month after the receipt deadline (e.g., all October approved experiences will have their reimbursement processed by December 15, 2023). .

The submission deadlines and timelines are set up to allow Guiders ample time to submit all required documents and ensure process times can be upheld. As such, under normal circumstances, no late submissions will be accepted. If there are extenuating circumstances (e.g., locked out of Unit Banking system, severe illness) accommodations and extended deadlines may be accepted on a case-by-case basis. If you think your unit requires an extension, please email on-getoutdoors@girlguides.ca.

Yes, all expenses related to an approved application to receive the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy will be considered when calculating the amount to be reimbursed, up to $30/girl participant. This includes deposits made in advance, but we recommend avoiding non-refundable deposits.

If she joined before you go on your experience, she is applicable to receive funding. Please count her as a participant. You do not need to reapply for approval for additional funding but please let us know about the additional participant. If she joined after your experience, she wouldn’t have been a participant, and therefore cannot receive the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy reimbursement.

Please contact on-getoutdoors@girlguides.ca and let us know if there are any changes to your application (e.g., weather constraints, cancelled participants, etc.). We require a minimum of 5 business days in advance of your event/experience date to consider how your proposed changes may affect the status of your application.

Please email on-getoutdoors@girlguides.ca and help us understand your situation. See FAQ below in the case of cancelled experience. Please note that we require a minimum of five business days before your event/experience date to consider how your proposed changes may affect the status of your application.

As the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy funds are received as a reimbursement, your application would be changed to “not approved”. If you are able to plan another eligible application before the end of the application window, you can submit another application for as long as funds remain available.

We are currently planning upcoming seasons of the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy. Dates will be shared in Guidepost.

Your application needs to be submitted for the season that your planned activity falls into. Here are the tentative seasons for the 2022-2023 Guiding year for the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy:

For equity purposes, the dates will be kept as noted above. Season length will be evaluated for the following Guiding year after this pilot.dy:

No, your application has to be approved before your experience and/or activities take place.

GirlJam 2024 and LEAP 2025 are already subsidized by Ontario Council and are not eligible to receive additional subsidy.

Funds will be available seasonally, during fall, winter, and spring, for the foreseeable future.

Funds for the Get ON Outdoors Subsidy are part of the existing Outdoor Experiences Fund (OEF). The OEF was established with net proceeds received through the sale of camp properties in Ontario.