Children, Youth & Families

We support organizations that create a holistic ladder of opportunities from early adolescence to young adulthood and independence. We look for partners committed to supporting high school graduation, access to postsecondary, and routes to entrepreneurship and employment in high-earning, skilled workforces in growth industries.

The most promising approaches to social and economic mobility address the needs of the “whole family”. To that end, we also strive to partner with organizations that empower parents and caregivers to pursue entrepreneurship and sustaining careers, and provide wraparound supports that remove barriers to opportunity.

We support the provision of clinical and therapeutic mental health interventions by accredited professionals to adolescents and young adults, ideally in partnership with their families and within their communities. We strive to address financial barriers to accessing therapy, provide early interventions, and support accessible, culturally appropriate mental health care.

We are looking for partners delivering activities that:

• Make mental heath care more accessible for vulnerable youth by providing services tailored to underserved communities
• Deliver licensed, credentialed psychotherapy or counselling in the community, for example within integrated youth hubs or mobile clinics
• Provide early intervention supports to address mild to moderate mental health challenges

We know that access to healthy and nutritious food is a critical building block of health, wellness, education, and opportunity. We support programs that create and facilitate access to this fundamental basic need as well as related stabilizing supports that address chronic food insecurity. To learn more about our Food Security and Systems focus area, click here.

Project grants fund specific programs or activities. Most grants provided through our Grant Programs are single-year project grants. First time applicants are asked to submit project grant proposals.

Capacity-building grants are typically awarded to repeat grantees after a successful project grant. Grantees may use these funds for discrete, specific investments to strengthen internal capabilities, knowledge, and resources.

General operating grants are typically awarded to repeat grantees after a successful project grant, and to Indigenous-led organizations. Grantees may use these funds to cover any costs of running the organization and fulfilling the mission.

Our Children, Youth & Families grants usually range between $10,000 – $100,000 per year. We typically do not award a grant greater than 50% of the total project budget or more than 10% of an organization’s operating budget.

You can submit a new Expression of Interest through our online application portal once you have provided your Final Report for your current grant.

The Peter Gilgan Foundation has a number of long-term strategic partners and we are not looking for new Special Opportunities at this time. We do not accept applications for funding for capital campaigns.