Deadline: 3-Jun-25
Applications are now open for the Catherine Donnelly Foundation Grant Program to fund projects and organizatons that address community need.
Funding Streams
- Civic Engagement for Social Change
- The Foundation will consider applications from organizations that use popular education processes to promote a more just, equitable, and democratic society especially for groups systemically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social and civic life.
- Environment
- The Foundation seeks to foster a diverse and inclusive climate justice movement, where communities and voices that are under-served lead the path forward to a climate-safe, resilient, caring, and sociallyjust future.
Funding Information
- The Catherine Donnelly Foundation provides one-year project grants generally in the $10,000 to $50,000 range. The average grant amount is $25,000. The maximum you may request is $50,000.
Ineligible Funding
- Civic Engagement for Social Change
- Children and youth literacy/educational programs (participants of the project must be 18 years of age or older)
- Basic numeracy, reading and writing skills
- Group or individual counseling
- Job skills training or vocational training (including on the job learning)
- One-time conferences, symposia, or events
- Environment
- Travel to and/or atendance at conferences, competitions, symposia, or annual events (unless part of a broader project proposal)
- Event sponsorship (unless part of a broader project proposal)
- Bursaries, scholarships, and/or awards (unless part of a broader project proposal)
What they are Looking for?
- Civic Engagement for Social Change
- They look for participatory processes:
- Where everyone teaches and everyone learns
- That begin with the experience of the group engaged in the program
- Involve a high level of participation, critical dialogue and reflection that helps develop new
- knowledge, consciousness, atitude, leadership and skills
- Culminating in action for empowerment, social and systemic change
- They look for participatory processes:
- Environment
- Support for climate justice leaders and innovative initiatives that build a diverse and inclusive movement
- Projects that demonstrate to people in positions of decision-making power that there is an appetite for fast action on climate solutions
- Projects that inform and seed public opinion and/or support public engagement and mobilization, including grassroots or organizing work
- Creation and sharing of positive, empowering narratives that offer hope and a vision for how they want to live together in a post-carbon world
- Broadening a collective power base through collaboration and mutual learning across diverse communities, sectors, disciplines, geographies, and messengers
Eligibility Criteria
- The Foundation seeks applicant organizations that:
- Are registered Canadian charities or registered not-for-profit organizations
- Can provide evidence that their operative values are consistent with those of the Catherine Donnelly Foundation
- Work in areas where the needs are greatest
- Work with persons not served or reached by traditional programs
- Are undertaking projects or programs that have promise as a model for imitation in other Canadian communities and will train others to set up similar programs
- Partner with other like-minded organizations to achieve shared goals
Exclusions
- The Foundation will not consider funding the following:
- Retroactive funding
- Fund raising campaigns
- Operating deficits
- Projects outside of Canada
- Emergency appeals
- Purely commercial recordings or film projects
For more information, visit Catherine Donnelly Foundation.
