1. Children, Youth & Families
We support charities that equip children, youth, and families with skills, resources, and opportunities to reach their full potential.
We prioritize:
- Programs supporting low-income populations
- Efforts to target root causes of problems and not just address the symptoms
- Comprehensive, integrated solutions rather than fragmented approaches or isolated interventions
- Leadership representative of the people most directly affected by the problems we seek to solve
- A commitment and willingness to ongoing evaluation and learning in order to improve and increase impact
Our grants empower organizations that enable economically vulnerable young people and families to overcome barriers to academic success, economic prosperity, and health and wellbeing.
We believe that all children, regardless of the circumstances of their birth, deserve opportunities to thrive. With that in mind, our goal is to support organizations that collectively create a ladder of opportunities from early childhood to young adulthood and independence. We look for organizations that foster positive youth development through education and work related learning.
We’re also interested in exploring models that help young people find and complete post-secondary pathways. We aim to support youth facing social inequalities to achieve independence through a stable income and meet the workforce challenges of the 21st century.
We know that health is a critical variable for an individual’s life prospects, and that it is determined by far more than just access to health care. Therefore, we support community-based efforts that promote health and wellness for economically vulnerable populations.
We look for projects that provide youth and families with the knowledge, tools, and resources to reduce risk factors. In particular, we prioritize efforts that take a multi-disciplinary, holistic approach to address the social and economic determinants of health.
The most promising approaches to social and economic mobility create opportunities for and address the needs of the “whole family”. To that end, we strive to empower charities that create entrepreneurship and career opportunities for family members and provide the supports to pursue those opportunities. This requires a combination of resources across educational, employment, social, and health programs designed to serve children and their parents together.
2. Environment & Sustainability
We believe that environmental reform is both an absolute necessity and an enormous opportunity for economic growth.
Large-scale national and international efforts to slow climate change require adjustments to public policy and business practices, and a move away from fossil fuels as a major source of energy. To meet this challenge, we all must work towards a comprehensive climate solution.
Our environment and sustainability grants support renewable and low-emission solutions, education and public awareness, green development, and communities.
Understanding that greenhouse gas emissions are the driver of climate change, we seek partnerships that focus on humanity’s transition to renewable energy and a net-zero-carbon economy. We believe that technological innovation has always been key to human progress, and so we support projects that are developing, implementing, and scaling clean, green, resilient technology.
We want communities around the world to understand the causes of climate change as well as how individual and group action can contribute to a solution. By supporting efforts that raise public awareness we hope complex policy and research topics will be translated into compelling, relevant, and ultimately actionable messages.
Construction is a significant part of Canada’s economy, and buildings are a major source of carbon pollution. There’s an opportunity for this sector to reduce emissions, lower energy costs, and create green jobs. We support initiatives that make residential and commercial developments environmentally sustainable, while also making strong business and economic sense.
Climate change is the greatest economic and health threat in human history. Disadvantaged communities are likely to be disproportionately affected by the consequences. Considering this, we support charities that build community engagement, capacity, and momentum to respond to the challenges of climate change. We value strategies that prioritize people’s health and wellbeing and build community resilience.
3. International Development
In addition to empowering positive impact for ‘Children, Youth & Families’ and ‘Environment & Sustainability’ across Canada, we hope to do the same in developing countries. Here we look for partner organizations with a proven track record of demonstrated success in effecting these changes while improving the lives of those they seek to serve.
We prioritize the following themes addressing health and wellbeing, education and economic opportunities, and climate change.
Every mother and child should have the opportunity to live healthy lives. We want to help reduce maternal mortality and end preventable deaths and diseases in newborns and young children. We look for projects that reduce the burden of diseases, improve nutrition for new and expectant mothers and their babies, and strengthen health systems.
Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, it’s also a necessary component of a prosperous and sustainable world. Educating and empowering girls has been identified as one of the most effective opportunities to improve the health and wellbeing of communities and reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the longer term. We support projects that put women and girls at the centre of economies.
If your work falls within one or more of the priorities above and you’re interested in applying for funding, now’s the time to check out the types of grants available and make note of what we don’t fund.
