Manitoba Accessibility Fund

During the pilot year, in 2022, the fund provided 30 organizations up to a maximum of $50,000 per project. A total of over $756 thousand was awarded to grant recipients to complete their accessibility projects and initiatives by March 31, 2023.

1. E-Quality Communication Centre of Excellence (ECCOE): Non-Profit Organization

   The project will develop ECCOE's needed capacity building for the availability and provision of Deaf Interpreters for requests from customers (including members of the public) to have their video and audio recorded materials accessible to Deaf employees, Deaf clients, and members of the Deaf community searching these online websites for information provided by ECCOE. Funding: $33,500.00

2. Accessible Sport Connect: Non-Profit Organization

   The project will remove barriers to sports participation for people with disabilities including informational, attitudinal, and physical barriers. Informational barriers will be addressed through a community expo to be attended by sports organizations; sports organizations will all be in the same location at the same time providing information about their programs. Raising awareness about accessible sport will not only increase program numbers, but will also profile more people with disabilities participating in sport which will change society’s view of what people with disabilities can do. Funding: $17,435.00

3. Abilities Manitoba: Non-Profit Organization

   The project will raise awareness of the first three standards named in the Accessibility for Manitobans Act (Customer Service, Employment and Information and Communication) through a media campaign that offers Manitoba businesses, communities and individual citizens an opportunity to learn about how barriers can be removed to improve the health, independence and well-being of Manitobans living with and without disabilities. A series of short videos and digital posters shared across social media pages as well as through the Abilities Manitoba website will promote the message of accessibility being in the best interests of all Manitobans, emphasizing that most Manitobans will confront barriers to accessibility at some point in their lives. The project will communicate that building accessibility into our employment, customer service and communications practices is not only the law under the Accessibility for Manitobans Act, but it is in the best interests of the health and well-being of all Manitobans. Abilities Manitoba plans to promote accessibility well beyond the funding period, as creating an accessible Manitoba is in direct alignment with our regular organizational activities. Funding: $44,650.00

4. Manitoba Possible Services: Non-Profit Organization

   The project will create tools, resources and training to support compliance with AMA standards and raise awareness about the prevention and removal of barriers. The Manitoba Possible Learning Hub is a one-stop shop for information about accessibility and inclusion available to organizations and the public. As new standards are released, Manitoba Possible will build future courses to be included in the learning management system. The Learning Hub will provide information about removing barriers in the community, as well as discussion on topics important to persons with disabilities. These informative topics will be completed through multiple forms of media, including information pages built onto the website, conversation pieces through podcasts, and more. Our goal is to increase the awareness of all forms of barriers experienced by persons with disabilities in an engaging manner. Funding: $39,400.00

5. Squarely Social: Local Business

   The Squarely Social Accessibility Training Initiative (SSATI) will help raise awareness and educate communications and marketing professionals about how to create accessible web and social media content. SSATI will help reduce barriers faced by Manitobans with disabilities with visual, hearing, motor or cognitive impairments and experience the Internet with assistive devices, closed captioning, keyboard-only functionality or other methods such as screen magnification. The SSATI courses will have two streams, one session for leaders and decision makers to affect policies and practices within organizations and one session for marketing and communications specialists to learn how to create accessible web and social media content. Funding: $25,000.00

6. University College of the North (UCN): Post-secondary Education Institution

   The UCN Commitment to the Accessibility project will focus on audit/ consultation and training; upgrading main library database systems and the accommodation process. UCN will contract an external agency specializing in digital accessibility to audit our new website and provide training opportunities related to the development of accessible educational content. Increasing awareness related to digital accessibility will enable us to identify and remove barriers related to information and communication, and provide a seamless digital experience for users to navigate our website. The project will also review and upgrade UCN’s Libraries main EBSCO database systems to improve accessibility and usage. Funding: $50,000.00

7. Access Changes Everything (ACE): Local Business

   ACE will create a survey charting the lived experiences of Manitobans with disabilities when they access Manitoba business related digital materials and media (such as websites, videos, etc.). The survey will assess what businesses are currently doing well, and where they need improvement in the digital environment. Results will be analyzed, a quick start guide on digital accessibility created, promoted, and a Manitoba Chamber of Commerce panel presentation given. Funding: $48,750.00

8. Shakespeare In the Ruins (SIR): Non-Profit Organization

   SIR is committed to removing barriers to access for People with Disabilities and other under-represented people and communities. This commitment to accessibility is demonstrated by our investment in initiatives that allow as many people as possible to access and enjoy our performances. SIR has made significant investments this season in accessibility, including: A free, accessible bus charter from downtown Winnipeg to the Ruins on pay-what-you-can Tuesdays; ASL interpretation and live audio description of selected performances; the launch of “Under-the-tent” shows, a pair of matinees staged under a tent for people for whom our promenade experience is a barrier; a new partnership with the Easter Seals Access 2 program, which offers free tickets for support persons; comprehensive training of Front of House and Box Office staff to support these initiatives and investment in our website to ensure it is accessible, and annual assessment and improvement to ensure we’re constantly evolving to meet people’s needs. Funding: $17,000.00.

9. Community Futures Manitoba: Non-Profit Organization

   Community Futures Manitoba is launching a new business start-up training program – Build a Better Business. The program includes a series of 10 modules and 15 supplemental educational videos to accompany the modules. This project will include adding ASL to all 10 module videos and the 15 educational videos. ECCOE will be contracted to provide translation of approximately 7 hours of module content from English to American Sign Language (ASL) to meet the accessibility standards. This will enable Manitobans who are Deaf to access Business Education videos as provided by Community Futures Manitoba online. Funding: $20,873.00

10. Community Access to Justice: Non-Profit Organization

    Individuals with communication disabilities face significant barriers to access to justice. Without the support of trained professionals, like communication intermediaries (CIs), people with communication disabilities are rarely able to access police, legal, corrections, and court services as easily or effectively as other Manitobans. The project involves developing a standard set of visual aids and instructions, which CIs would be able to freely access through our organization to support their work. These would be developed in consultation with CIs, service providers, and Manitobans with communication disabilities, who have experienced the barriers to access noted above and how tools like these visual aids can be used to effectively support communication. Funding: $15,000.00

11. Hanover School Division (HSD): School Division

    The project will remove barriers to information and communication. HSD will place playground core communication boards in every playground within the division. Some playgrounds will receive two communication boards as they have more than one playground. These playground core communication boards were developed in conjunction with the Speech-Language Pathologists and Occupational Therapists in HSD to meet the needs of students who are non-verbal or minimally verbal when they are outside on the playground. Boards will not only benefit students who are non-verbal or minimally verbal but all students. Funding: $30,341.78

12. City of Winnipeg: Municipality

    This project will improve the accessibility of on-line notifications for the public. The City will create a centralized website that displays information on disruptions in a consistent format, which will offer a means for providing user-customized notifications about disruptions. This will significantly improve access to information that is critical to supporting access to City facilities, services and programs. It will also help raise awareness of the broad range of barriers people with disabilities face in their communities and the importance of preventing and removing them. The funding will cover the cost to create a centralized location (website) to publish all disruptions affecting City of Winnipeg managed services and properties. The new website will enable the City to then create a notification system to which residents can subscribe. The City has provided $195,000 for this project. Funding: $50,000.00

13. Victoria Lifeline: Non-Profit Organization

    This project will optimize the Victoria Lifeline website for accessibility in line with the Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1 Level AA). The website serves as an information and resource hub for current/prospective clients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, partners, and community stakeholders. For example, many of our clients are older adults experiencing age-related low vision, so we would like to incorporate a clear and easy option to allow for manual font size adjustment. For site users who are experiencing hearing loss, we would like to include closed captioning on all educational videos. By optimizing the Victoria Lifeline website for accessibility, it can be an effective resource utilized by people all over the province looking for aging in place and healthy living support services. Funding: $10,000.00

14. The Good Will Social Club: Local Business

    The Free Will project is a four-part initiative to create more meaningful experiences and discussions around music, art, and culture. As a live music venue, we believe that it is our responsibility to uplift voices that often go unheard. It aims to raise awareness about the prevention and removal of barriers within Winnipeg’s arts and culture scene and create a more accessible community for Good Will patrons, performers, and staff.

    • Part 1: Online Access: Build and maintaining a new website that meets an extensive list of accessibility requirements. This site will provide virtual access to The Good Will experience, with opportunities to read, watch, and listen to content. This virtual content will be more accessible to those with physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory disabilities, who may not be able to attend in-person events.
    • Part 2: Amplified Voices: Uplifting as many voices as possible, especially those of people disabled by barriers. Through written essays and video content, we will be able to share the stories and experiences of Winnipeggers who face barriers in the arts and culture scene. Contributors may use this site as a portfolio piece for future creative and career opportunities. We will pay all contributors for their work a base rate and once we can fully monetize the website, we will share the ad revenue with the creators. We hope to provide any equipment they may need, such as laptops or video equipment.
    • Part 3: Employee Safety: Helping the Social Club staff contribute to and benefit from a safe and accessible space, we will provide a Safe Space seminar led by Red Tent.
    • Part 4: Customer Awareness: Offering another Safe Space seminar to the public. This seminar will help teach our community how to contribute to a safe space, to ensure the community that they can and should make it known if they feel unsafe or unwelcome in our establishment.

    Funding: $20,000.00

15. Border Land School Division: School Division

    The installation of 12 communication boards on school playgrounds in 8 communities within Border Land School Division will address barriers to communication for people who are learning to speak, learning English, and for individuals who use augmentative or alternative communication. Communication boards will be installed on school playgrounds in Altona, Gretna, Rosenfeld, Emerson, Dominion City, Vita and Sprague. Border Land Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP) will design the communication boards, select the vocabulary, and will provide information for families in a school division newsletter and for the public on the school division website. The boards will have simple instructions about how to use them. School Division maintenance staff will install the boards which will be manufactured by a local business. Funding: $6,500.00

16. Arts AccessAbility Network (AANM): Non Profit Organization

    AANM will create an access guide for an upcoming event called Crip Strength: A Celebration of Deaf and Disability Art and Culture on October 29, 2022. The event will be hosted by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR), on Zoom and Facebook Livestream. The event will include a juried exhibition of visual art, programmed dance, theater, musical, and literary performances and readings by artists and scholars who are Deaf or have other disabilities. The creation of an access guide will ensure attendees are aware of accessibility features of the event. It will include pertinent information about the venue, traveling to the event location, how to access the event virtually, the agenda and activities, accessibility features at the event and online and a glossary of terms and concepts. This guide will help ease the anxiety that participants may experience attending a new space whether that be in-person or online. The access guide will be available on AANM’s website to download and in hard copy. Funding: $8,690.00

17. Prairie Theater Exchange (PTE): Non-Profit Organization

    PTE is implementing three accessible performance options for each of its live shows to make them more inclusive to potential patrons. In the past, PTE has only had ASL performances for its Theatre for Young Audiences. This will be a significant expansion of our accessibility, and the three options will be featured on standardized days within each run of a play. There will be a Relaxed Performance show (2nd Friday evening), an Audio Described show (2nd Saturday evening) and an ASL interpreted show (3rd Saturday evening), for all live performances. Having these on specific dates within our 3-week run of plays will make it easier for audience members who are looking for these options to know when to come to the theatre. Funding: $20,000.00

18. Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P): Non-Profit Organization

    The Canadian Centre for Child Protection’s (C3P) Kids in the Know program (KIK) is a national, bilingual, personal safety education program designed to reduce the risk of child sexual victimization online and offline. To enhance customer services standards and align with the Accessibility for Manitobans Act, with funds from this grant, C3P will update the online training modules to prevent and remove barriers to access and learning for educators in Manitoba and across Canada. Funding: $10,000.00

19. Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities: Non-Profit Organization

    MLPD will partner with Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (CPHR) Manitoba to increase accessibility awareness and to provide targeted information and training for human resource professionals within Manitoba. The project will work with a series of workshops/events and articles targeted to their members. Topics may include information about the AMA, Accessible Customer Service and Accessible Employment, how to identify barriers to accessible customer service, and how to accommodate the accessibility needs of employees. MLPD will set up pop-up booths at up to 10 events of which 50% could be with CPHR. Funding: $49,490.00

20. Winnipeg Trails: Non-Profit Organization

    "Winterpeg is for Everyone" is a community-based project that provides everyone an opportunity to put into practice the many facets of the Accessibility for Manitobans Act. Winnipeg Trails is using increased access to physical activity and active transportation in winter as the ultimate goal of the service being provided, and a very special event called “WinterPeg” as a catalyst for conversation, preparation, and implementation. We will prepare information that our employees, our volunteers, event participants, and the public at large need in order to communicate effectively, reduce physical barriers to hosting inclusive events, and/or get outside themselves. We will provide increased access to tools like inclusive website design and inclusive language, physical space improvements like better site planning, highly adapted equipment like sit skis or wheel blades, and warming blankets and temporary benches. We will provide expertise and demystification on how to use the various adapted winter equipment, along with instructional information and demonstrations. To make what we learn count, all of the information we prepare and glean will be used to inform a parallel process we are calling “Plan Winterpeg” which will look to make recommendations to improve winter travel and recreation for everyone. Funding: $41,066.10

21. Epiphany Lutheran Church: Non-Profit Organization

    The project includes the purchase of Owl Technology to support compliance with AMA standards. This will provide diversity and enable individuals to attend services, meetings and events virtually from the comfort of their homes. Epiphany Lutheran Church has interest from renters to also use the technology for their programming. Funding: $2,000.00

22. St. James Assiniboia School Division: School Division

    The project will enable the purchase of Accessibility Wayfinding signs in schools, including accessibility signs with Braille to identify offices, washrooms, elevators, direction indicators, and accessible emergency exits. Each school would be equipped with a “Reception Accessibility table sign”, an exterior “Service animal welcome” sign and signs to indicate locations of accessible entrances. Accessibility education will be refreshed for front-line workers as well. In addition, each school division building will erect and maintain a “Staff Accessibility Information Centre” bulletin board to provide staff with accessible employment information including emergency procedures, accommodation plans, return to work, and employment recruiting, as well as Accessible Information and Communication strategies being used within the school division. The goal will be to start and complete one school (Strathmillan) then continue with other schools. Phase 1 funding: $11,466.24.

23. Healthy Muslim Families: Non-Profit Organization

    The proposed project will enable the organization to gain a better understanding of the Accessibility for Manitobans Act and other legislation that exists internationally and nationally on the rights of people with disabilities. It will raise community awareness about the AMA and standards. The project will help us become an employer that better supports employees with disabilities. We hope to gain a greater understanding of the intersections of Gender-Based violence as it relates to Muslim women with in/visible disabilities. We will also train our staff to better serve and support community members with disabilities and raise community awareness to become barrier-free and inclusive. Funding: $20,000.00

24. Marymound Inc.: Non-Profit Organization

    Marymound would like to do a complete rebuild of our website. The rebuild will meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards for accessibility, as well as the AMA Accessible Information and Communication Standard. With approved funding, Marymound would build, revise, and launch the website that meets accessibility standards by March 2023. Engagement with Manitobans with disabilities/disability experiences would occur during development, initial revisions and final site updates. Funding: $25,000.00

25. S.P.L.A.S.H. Child Care: Non-Profit Organization

    The project is an accessibility audit where we will consult with our existing employees, families, partners, community members and disability organizations that undertake accessibility audits. We will then create accessible policies for employees and families, include accessibility training in our orientation procedures, update our website and other communication materials, and purchase accessibility software. Funding: $34,479.39

26. New Media Manitoba: Non-Profit Organization

    This project will enhance access to information and communications by equipping Manitoba-based service providers with the knowledge of how to create more accessible digital content. This would be done through a series of workshops and one-to-one audits provided by a recognized authority on the subject, Lisa Snider. Our hope is to create foundational knowledge among companies on the importance of creating digital content with accessibility in mind so that it becomes a daily practice. Funding: $46,000.00

27. Deaf Centre Manitoba (DCM): Non-Profit Organization

    This project includes Deaf Awareness and a Mental Health Workshop at the Deaf Resource Centre (DRC). The DRC will continue to provide American Sign Language Video-News (ASL V-News) on social media. The DRC plans to design a Deaf awareness workshop for participants focussing on customer service and employment. Stakeholders and public sector organizations will also be included. DRC will create a best practice guide. Deaf Centre Manitoba (DCM) Inc collaborated with the core team and networks and organizations by hosting a webinar on mental health resources, an in-person workshop and a conference. It is based on the large numbers of Deaf, Deaf-Blind, and Hard of Hearing people who are dealing with mental health issues. The Deaf Resource Centre (DRC) provides the ASL V-News, and project funding will enable DCM to expand ASL V-News over the next year. Funding: $49,500.00

28. Manoverboard: Local Business

    Manoverboard will design and develop an attractive, thoughtful, informative and accessible website that will act as an important resource for other designers, in Manitoba and around the world, thus demonstrating and highlighting the importance of web accessibility. While there are many sites about web accessibility, this will be one of the first to show designers, developers, and those in adjacent professions that accessible design can also be beautiful, informative and engaging.

29. Manoverboard: Local Business

    Manoverboard will design and develop an attractive, thoughtful, informative and accessible website that will act as an important resource for other designers, in Manitoba and around the world, thus demonstrating and highlighting the importance of web accessibility. While there are many sites about web accessibility, this will be one of the first to show designers, developers, and those in adjacent professions that accessible design can also be beautiful, informative and engaging.

    Using plain language, clear content guidelines, and up-to-date technical detail, the Make It Accessible website has the following expected outcomes:

    1. Create a beautiful, informative and accessible site. The site will show designers and developers that an accessible site can be visually delightful and explain the benefits of planning an accessible site from the very start of a project.
    2. Raise awareness about preventing and removing barriers. The website will demonstrate how designing and building accessible websites will remove barriers to digital information and communications. It will also present the business advantages of creating an accessible website.
    3. Provide an educational resource. While targeted primarily at designers, the Make It Accessible website will serve as an easy-to-digest and shareable resource for Manitobans and others interested in web accessibility.

    Funding: $25,000.00

30. Bibliothèque Régionale Jolys Regional Library: Non-Profit Organization

    Bibliothèque Régionale Jolys Regional Library proposes to purchase Technology for Accessible Reading to support older and younger patrons who for various reasons cannot read a radiational book and have difficulties accessing reading materials due to reading disabilities such as dyslexia. Funding: $7,600.00

31. Manitoba Choral Association : Non-Profit Organization

    Manitoba Choral Association (MCA) is planning a workshop that will focus on Accessibility in the Choral Arts. The workshop will take place in a hybrid format to increase participation, and will be facilitated by Jenel Shaw, Executive Director of the Arts AccessAbility Network of Manitoba. The workshop will be geared towards leaders of Manitoba choirs and choral organizations, including directors, educators, administrators, board members, and others. Participants will come away with a better awareness of the barriers that persons with disabilities may face when accessing choral arts activities, and practical tools to prevent and remove these barriers in their own choirs. The event will equip choir leaders and organizations with suggestions on how to shift practices and better comply with the AMA and its standards. Funding: $2,000.00