Deadline: 23-Jun-23
Innovation Grants is offering funding for “moonshot” ideas that can help Canadian registered charities and qualified donees create breakthrough changes for youth in their communities.
TELUS Friendly Future Foundation support initiatives that advance some of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); specifically, good health and well-being, quality education and climate action.
Programs must serve youth experiencing obstacles to reaching their full potential and incorporate the innovative use of technology.
Funding Areas of Interest
- Youth mental health support
- The percentage of children and youth experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety increased exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Charities offering innovative solutions to promote youth mental health and build community will help to meet the needs facing young people today and strengthen their capacity to thrive in the future.
- Environmental education or climate action programs for youth
- Today’s youth have come of age during a time of rapid climate change, and they have the most at stake in how society responds to it. Charities offering creative approaches to climate education and action will help youth to build skills and knowledge, and be inspired to address the urgency of the climate crisis.
- They are very pleased to announce that in 2023, Desjardins Foundation will be partnering with us to co-fund projects focused on environmental education.
- Desjardins Foundation is particularly interested in national projects and projects serving youth in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta or Atlantic Canada where the acquisition of skills and knowledge is clearly defined.
Eligibility Criteria
- To qualify for funding, your organization must meet the following criteria:
- Be a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) registered charity or qualified donee with a stated focus on serving youth
- Have not received an Innovation Grant in the last 12 months
- Have not received a grant from any TELUS Canadian Community Board in the last 12 months for the same program
Program Eligibility
- Your program must address one of the funding areas of interest and meet the following criteria:
- Must serve youth up to age 29 who face obstacles to reaching their full potential. This may include youth from marginalized or under-served communities and members of equity-deserving groups.
- Will offer a new approach or a significant change to an existing model intended to improve outcomes. Funds can be used to explore, test or launch innovative ideas or initiatives or to scale a program to serve a new region or audience.
- Must demonstrate impact and have clearly defined and measurable outcomes.
- Expected to share your lessons learned, successes, failures and things that changed through your project.
- Priority will be given to programs that use technology in innovative ways to meet the needs of participants and your community.
- Charities can also apply for a TELUS Canadian Community Board grant as long as the application is for a different program than what is being submitted to the Innovation Grants stream for consideration.
Ineligible Funding Requests
- Requests considered ineligible for Innovation Grant funding include:
- Fiduciary intermediary relationships, where a non-profit organization leverages the charitable status of another registered charity that isn’t involved in the delivery of the project
- Community-based programs of religious organizations that is unable to show a history of non-denominational participation by the broader community
- Charitable organization operating costs, including salaries, overhead and utilities
- Requests for:
- TELUS services or products, including devices such as tablets and mobile phones
- Capital campaigns, capital expenditures, endowments or debt reduction campaigns
- Sponsorships, advertising and retroactive funding
- Scholarships and bursaries
- International programs
For more information, visit Innovation Grants.