Peter Gilgan Foundation’s Grant Program in Canada

• Children, Youth & Families
  • They prioritize:
    • Programs supporting equity-deserving youth
    • 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 they seek to solve
    • A commitment and willingness to ongoing evaluation and learning in order to improve and increase impact
  • The grants empower organizations that enable economically vulnerable young people and families to overcome barriers to academic success, economic prosperity, and health and wellbeing.
    • Education and Economic Opportunities
      • They support organizations that collectively create a ladder of opportunities from early childhood to young adulthood and independence. They look for partners that foster positive youth development through education, post-secondary pathways, work related learning, and routes to employment.
    • Children and Youth Mental Health
      • They support the provision of clinical and therapeutic mental health interventions to school-age youth and emerging adults, ideally in partnership with their families and/or support systems. They acknowledge the toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on young people’s mental health.
    • Food Security and Systems
      • They know that access to healthy and nutritious food is a critical building block of health, wellness, education, and opportunity. They support programs that create and facilitate access to this fundamental basic need as well as related stabilizing supports that address chronic food insecurity.
    • Indigenous Youth
      • While they very much welcome applications for projects that serve Indigenous youth across the above themes, they also seek to provide core, general operating support to Indigenous-led organizations serving Indigenous youth. They are particularly interested in supporting organizations meeting the holistic needs of youth in rural and remote Indigenous communities.
  • Grant Types
    • It’s up to you to determine what type of grant to apply for. The Peter Gilgan Foundation accepts applications for three types of grants:
      • Project grants
        • Project grants fund specific programs or activities. Most grants provided through the Grant Program are single-year project grants.
      • Capacity-building grants
        • Capacity-building grants are discrete, specific investments to strengthen internal capabilities, knowledge and resources.
      • General operating grants
        • General operating grants are typically only awarded to repeat grantees after a successful project or capacity-building grant, and to Indigenous-led organizations. Grantees may use these funds to cover any costs of running the organization and fulfilling the mission.
• Indigenous Youth
  • As part of the commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in Canada, the Peter Gilgan Foundation has dedicated funds to reducing barriers and uplifting opportunities and wellbeing for Indigenous young people.
  • They seek to support Indigenous-led organizations that are meeting the holistic needs of Indigenous youth in the areas of:
    • Housing & safe spaces
    • Health & healing
    • Education & knowledge
    • Economic opportunity & building capacity
    • Food security & sovereignty
  • Grant Types
    • Funding is available as both project grants and general operating grants. Registered charities and qualified donees are welcome to apply for either type of grant depending on what would best suit the needs of the organization. Non-qualified donees are only eligible to apply for project grant funding at this time.
      • Project Grants
        • Project grants fund specific programs or activities and are most often single-year grants.
      • General Operating Grants
        • General operating grant funds can cover any costs of running the organization and fulfilling the charitable mission.
• Climate Change
  • The climate change grants support nature-based solutions, low-emission and renewable technologies, green building and living, and community resilience. Understanding that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are the driver of climate change, they prioritize projects with the potential to enable large-scale emission reductions in Canada.
    • Low-Emission and Renewable Technologies
      • They seek partnerships that empower Canada’s transition to a renewable, net-zero-carbon economy. They believe technological innovation has always been key to human progress, and so they support initiatives that develop, implement, and scale clean technology solutions focused on emission reductions, renewable energy, and energy conservation.
    • Nature-based Solutions
      • Natural ecosystems in Canada offer huge potential to sequester carbon and contribute to sustainable local community livelihoods. They support initiatives that protect and restore priority ecosystems, support Indigenous lands and protected areas, enhance natural infrastructure in the built environment, and decarbonize the agriculture and forestry sectors to tackle the challenges brought forth by climate change.
    • Green Building and Living
      • Construction is a significant part of Canada’s economy, and buildings are a major source of GHG emissions. There’s an opportunity for this sector to reduce emissions, lower costs, promote innovation, and generate green jobs. They support initiatives that make construction and occupancy sustainable, affordable, and resilient. Priority areas include energy efficiency, low-carbon building materials, and green skills/workforce development.
    • Community Resilience
      • Climate change is the greatest economic and health threat in human history, disproportionately affecting disadvantaged communities. Considering this, they support initiatives that build engagement, capacity, and momentum among communities in Canada to respond to and build resilience against the consequences of climate change. They value strategies that prioritize the health and well-being of vulnerable communities. Priority areas include access to clean, affordable energy and Indigenous-led resilience.
  • Grant Types
    • It’s up to you to determine what type of grant to apply for. The Peter Gilgan Foundation accepts applications for three types of grants:
      • Project grants
        • Project grants fund specific programs or activities over a determined time period. Most of the project grants are single-year. They may award multi-year grants for well-aligned large-scale projects and/or repeat grantees.
      • Capacity-building grants
        • Capacity-building grants are discrete, specific investments to strengthen internal capabilities, knowledge, and resources enhancing the organization’s ability to fulfil its mission.
      • General operating grants
        • General operating grants are typically only awarded to repeat grantees after a successful project or capacity-building grant, and to Indigenous-led organizations. Grantees may use these funds to cover any costs of running the organization and fulfilling its mission.
• International Development
  • They prioritize the following themes addressing health and well-being, education and economic opportunities, and climate change.
    • Maternal and Child Health
      • Every mother and child should have the opportunity to live healthy lives. They want to help reduce maternal mortality and end preventable deaths and diseases in newborns and young children. They support projects that reduce the burden of diseases, improve nutrition for new and expectant mothers and their babies, and strengthen health systems.
    • Education and Economic Opportunities for Women and Girls
      • Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, it’s also a necessary component of a prosperous and sustainable world. Educating and empowering women and girls has been identified as one of the most effective opportunities to improve the health and well-being of communities and reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the longer term. They support projects that put women and girls at the centre of economies.

Funding Information​

• Indigenous Youth
  • Grants for first-time applicants to this funding stream typically range from $10,000 to $50,000 and are single-year commitments.

Eligibility Criteria​

• To be eligible to apply for funding, your organization must:
  • Employ at least one paid staff member
  • Have completed a tax return or financial audit for the previous fiscal year
  • Have not submitted an unsuccessful Expression of Interest or Full Application to the Peter Gilgan Foundation in the past 12 months
• Indigenous Youth
  • They welcome applications from Indigenous-led organizations that are:
    • Registered charities
    • Qualified donees
    • Nonprofit entities that fall under the non-qualified donee classification outlined by the Canada Revenue Agency
  • Priority will be given to:
    • Projects and organizations that address multiple areas of need in an integrated way
    • Organizations serving Indigenous youth in rural and remote communities
    • Organizations that are community-based and culturally-informed
• International Development
  • To be eligible to apply for funding, your organization must:
    • Be a registered Canadian charity

Ineligibility Criteria​

• Children, Youth & Families; Climate Change and International Development
  • They do not accept applications for:
    • Capital campaigns
    • Emergency relief
    • Endowments
    • Fundraising drives
    • Fundraising events or galas
    • Government services
    • Grantmaking intermediaries
    • Individuals
    • Scholarships
• Indigenous Youth
  • They do not accept applications for:
    • Capital campaigns
    • Emergency relief
    • Endowments
    • Fundraising drives or events
    • Government services
    • Individuals

Timeline​

• Children, Youth & Families, Indigenous Youth and Climate Change: Ongoing
• International Development: 1st November 2023