OCASI invites you to participate in:
OCASI’s Equity Stream Program is hosting a webinar series to support Grassroots Community Organizations (GCOs) across Ontario that serve and are led by equity-seeking communities. The series focuses on building organizational and service capacity, enabling GCOs to sustainably support their communities while addressing systemic barriers and delivering inclusive, culturally responsive services.
You Can Negotiate: Strengthening Funding Relationships
(A Two-Part Workshop Series)
Learning outcomes:
- Write stronger grant applications using negotiating principles
- Find and secure funding that genuinely meets your needs
- Develop a strategy to improve existing funding relationships and guard against cuts
Session 1: Writing Grant Applications Like a Negotiator
This session is designed for grassroots organizations with limited or no experience applying for funding, and non-profits seeking to diversify revenue and be more strategic.
You will learn:
- How to identify negotiating "windows" and understand your funder's perspective"
- Techniques for crafting compelling proposals using negotiation principles
- How to make the most of your medium from concept notes to full proposals
- Making a strong funding case, navigating negotiations and reaching agreement.
Date: September 2, 2026 | Time: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Session 2: Renegotiating Existing Funding Relationships
This session is designed for grassroots organizations currently in funding relationships seeking to strengthen existing agreements and mitigate the impact of cuts.
You will learn:
- The “who, what, where, when and how” of crafting a negotiating strategy
- How to guard against unilateral changes to funding agreements
- Strategies to obtain measurable improvements to existing contracts
Participants are invited to bring a funding agreement or funding scenario to work with during the session. Please remove or redact any confidential or identifying information before sharing materials.
Date: September 17, 2026 | Time: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
ASL and French interpretation will be provided. If you have additional accessibility or accommodation needs, please let us know when registering or contact Yasin Samim at: ysamim@ocasi.org