How to find foundation grants for your charity in Canada

Step 1: Define one project before you search

Foundations fund projects and purposes, not organizations in general. Before you look for funders, write down in a few lines:

• What you'll do, and what's new or different about it
• Who benefits, and where
• When it will happen
• What it costs, broken into items like supplies, equipment, staff time and travel
• How much you'll ask for

That last point matters more than people expect. Many funders have a minimum or maximum. For example, Calgary Foundation's Community Grants currently accept requests from $10,000, so a $5,000 request wouldn't qualify there.

Step 2: Start close to home

Community foundations fund local charities in most regions of Canada, and they are often the most approachable first stop. Many run one or two grant rounds a year, and their staff will often talk through whether a project fits. Community Foundations of Canada's website lists community foundations across the country.

Then look at:

• Private and family foundations that give in your area or cause
• Corporate foundations with a community-giving program
• Funds run by credit unions, service clubs and local businesses

Step 3: Use CRA records to see who funds work like yours

Every registered charity, including foundations, files an annual information return with the Canada Revenue Agency. Gifts to other charities are reported on a schedule (form T1236), and that information is public. You can look up returns on the CRA's Charities Listings, and the full data is downloadable on the Government of Canada's open data portal.

The most useful approach is to find two or three charities doing work similar to yours, in your region, and see which foundations gave to them. A foundation that funded a food bank in your province last year is a far better lead than one that matches a keyword.

Two cautions:

• These records show past giving, with a delay of a year or more. A gift last year doesn't mean the foundation is accepting applications now.
• Some foundations only fund charities they choose. A history of gifts doesn't mean you can apply.

Step 4: Check each funder's current rules on its own website

This step is where most of the risk is, and where most research stops too early. For each foundation on your list, find its current guidelines and check six things:

1. Is it open, or when does it next open?
2. Does your project fit its current priorities?
3. Does your area fall within where it gives?
4. Can your organization apply? Some require registered charity status. Some exclude religious activities, schools or groups with an overdue report.
5. Are your costs allowed? Many funders exclude things like operating costs, travel, research, capital or buying food for distribution.
6. Does the timing work? Many won't fund work that starts before their decision.

A few real examples from our own checks of official funder pages this month:

• TD Friends of the Environment Foundation excludes research projects, travel, capital costs and projects already underway.
• First West Foundation excludes buying food for direct distribution.
• Canada Post Community Foundation's application page shows the 2027 dates in one place and older dates in another.

Read the guidelines yourself, note the date you checked, and keep a copy of anything important. Websites change.

Step 5: Talk to the funder before a full application

Many foundations ask for a short enquiry or a letter of inquiry (LOI) before a full application, and some won't consider anything else. For example, the Stollery Charitable Foundation asks charities to contact its executive director first, and only invited groups submit a letter of inquiry.

A good first enquiry is short. It says who you are, what the project is, who benefits, what it costs and how much you'd ask for. Then it asks two or three specific questions about fit and timing. Don't send a full proposal unless you're invited to.

Step 6: Put it on a calendar

Foundation deadlines cluster in two seasons: fall (September to December) and late winter to spring (January to April). Plan your research four to eight weeks before the deadlines you're aiming for.

Keep a simple list of each funder, its next deadline, what it needs from you and when you'll follow up. Recheck each funder's page shortly before you apply.

The short version

1. Define one project, with real costs.
2. Start with your community foundation.
3. Use CRA records to find foundations that funded work like yours.
4. Check six things on each funder's current guidelines.
5. Ask before you apply.
6. Track deadlines, and recheck before you submit.