Wellness@Work Grant Program

Applications for the 2024-2025 fiscal year are now closed! 

In 2018, a grant program was launched through the Wellness@Work initiative to further enhance the physical and psychological health, safety, and quality of life for all faculty and staff. View a summary of some of the grant programs that have taken place over the years:

• 2018- 39 grant programs 
• 2019- 44 grant programs 
• 2020- 21 grant programs 
• 2022 - 27 grant programs
• 2023 - 27 grant programs

Background

The goal of the initiative is to promote the well-being of the whole person, and build caring campus environments that are vibrant and inclusive, open and respectful, where University members and visitors alike know they are valued, and working together to build healthier communities.

The Wellness@Work Grant Program encourages faculty and staff across all campuses and research stations at the University of Guelph to help promote wellness in their workplace through the implementation of a tailored health‐promoting program, approach, or idea in their workplace.

Grant Opportunities

You play a key role in fostering a healthy campus community. This initiative provides an opportunity to be innovative as you test out a new healthy workplace idea in your department.

When the grant program is open for applications, departments/groups can apply for a seed grant for their initiative. The number of grants available will be dependent on the number of applications received and the amount distributed for each successful grant.

Departments/groups are encouraged to collaborate with other groups to submit a joint application. In the application review process, selected applications with similar goals or ideas may be matched to collaborate on their workplace wellness idea.

New funding stream for Guelph-Humber initiatives 

For the 2024-2025 Wellness@Work Grant application period, the University of Guelph-Humber (Guelph-Humber) has allocated funds for grant initiatives that are planned and implemented at Guelph-Humber’s campus in Toronto. With this funding, Wellness@Work will have a specific stream of the grant program available to those who work at Guelph-Humber and are submitting a grant application. Applicants will be subject to the same application and evaluation process as the rest of the grant program. When applicants are completing their grant application and select "University of Guelph-Humber" as the location, they will automatically be put into the Guelph-Humber stream of funding for the Wellness@Work Grant Program. Please refer to the deadlines below for more information. There will be a separate information session taking place at Noon on April 10th, 2024 for those applying for Guelph-Humber grant initiatives. Also, note slight differences in deadlines for program implementation. 

Eligibility Criteria

Applications will be reviewed by the Wellness@Work Advisor. Programming and ideas must fit within one or more of the following three priority elements of the Wellness@Work Initiative:

• physical well-being;
• psychological well-being; and/or
• social well-being

Approved and Non-Approved Costs

Expenses related to physical changes to your workspace or safety equipment for your team do not fall within the scope of this grant program. 

Please review the application form and FAQ document for further details on the grant program with a more detailed list of approved and non-approved items.

Departments are responsible for the up-front cost of the grant program and are only reimbursed their approved amount at the end of the grant program.  

Important Considerations 

Where possible, grant programs should leverage internal resources from the University and facilitate programs on campus instead of in community locations. For example, if facilitating exercise classes for your department, leveraging the resources from Athletics & Recreation. Or if providing food through your program, ensure that Hospitality Services or other on-campus food providers are used. Locations such as Ridgetown, Guelph-Humber, or research stations may not have access to the same internal resources as those working on the Guelph Campus. This is taken into consideration during the evaluation process by the evaluation committee. 

Application Process

The grant application is to be submitted digitally via Qualtrics. Grant wellness program applications for the 2024-2025 fiscal year are now open. 

Submissions for grant applications are currently closed. Thank you for taking part in this year's application process!

If you require to review the grant application questions before formal submission review the Wellness@Work Grant Application Questions for proposed initiatives planned and implemented

• at the Guelph Campus, Ridgetown Campus, or Research Stations; or 
• at Guelph-Humber’s campus in Toronto.

Important dates

• April 3, 2024: Applications open
• April 10, 2024: Grant info session 12:00pm-1:00pm for University of Guelph-Humber employees
• April 15, 2024: Grant info session 1:00pm - 2:00pm for all UofG (proposed initiatives for Guelph Campus, Ridgetown, and Research station).
• April 30, 2024, at 5 pm: Deadline to submit applications
• May 23, 2024: Applicants notified of decision 
• November 2024: Mid-term progress check-In 
• February 28, 2025 at 5pm: Guelph-Humber stream funding spending deadline and all financial documentation submitted. Final report due.
• March 28, 2025, at 5 pm: Funding spending deadline and all financial documentation submitted. Final report due.

Readiness Checklist

I have…

• Approval from my direct supervisor
• Support and endorsement from my AVP or Dean (or for UofGH support from Supervisor/Department Head/Program Head) to submit a grant application and approval to cover up-front costs;
• Conducted an informal needs assessment to determine what would interest and benefit colleagues in my department/group;
• Considered the health benefits and potential outcomes of the program or idea on the staff/faculty;
• Been thoughtful about how to create an accessible and inclusive program for diverse employees;
• Determined how the program or idea will be evaluated/outcomes measured;
• Discussed how this initiative might be able to be sustained and continued beyond the one year funding available; and
• Reviewed the application form and the FAQ document to ensure all information necessary to complete the grant application has been included. 

Questions? 

Email wellnessatwork@uoguelph.ca. 

Thank you to the University of British Columbia for generously sharing materials and information from their Healthy Workplace Initiative Fund, which has inspired the Wellness@Work Grant Program.