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By invitation only, the Foundation accepts applications from qualified donees to support initiatives that align with the vision, mission, values and philosophy of the Foundation, which do not fit within the other grant envelopes.
AO Nest Tutoring Program
600,000 over 3 years
The AO Nest Tutoring Program is designed to support Indigenous children and youth from kindergarten to grade 12 who are struggling academically. Children and youth will be matched with a tutor to work with them to meet academic goals facilitated through the AO Nest platform.
Igniting Capacity for Social Good
$994,160 over 3 years
Capacity Canada will develop a tool to assess non-profits’ capacity. To address needs identified in the assessment, Capacity Canada will formalize a suite of services that support these agencies in doing more good. 12 Waterloo Region non-profits will have subsidized access to the tool and services over the three-year project.
Belonging, System Support & Transformation Post-Pandemic
$460,000 over 2 years
This project seeks to alleviate the destabilizing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic by prioritizing child and youth belonging and youth-centric planning. The project also supports system coordination by providing organizations with resources and capacity building to identify and address community needs, especially for those experiencing systemic barriers.
Building Resilience
$750,000 over 3 years
The Working Centre, as a 40 year old organization, seeks to transition from being a founder-led organization, to continue to lean into the deep issues of poverty and dislocation in the community, reinventing structures, engagement and resilience to ensure they remain true to the deep values base on which they are founded.
The 2022 Stabilization Grants are proactive (no application requested) and unrestricted grants to mission-aligned partners.
$69,000 per year for two years
$69,000 per year for two years
$100,000 per year for two years
$100,000 per year for two years
$1,000,000 per year for two years
$75,000 per year for two years
$20,000 per year for two years
$50,000 per year for two years
$500,000 per year for two years
$60,000 per year for two years
$60,000 per year for two years
$69,000 per year for two years
$250,000 per year for two years
$400,000 per year for two years
$150,000 per year for two years
$300,000 per year for two years
$250,000 per year for two years
$500,000 per year for two years
$150,000 per year for two years
$25,000 per year for two years
$50,000 per year for two years
$60,000 per year for two years
$200,000 per year for two years
$150,000 per year for two years
$250,000 per year for two years
$69,000 per year for two years
$150,000 per year for two years
$20,000 per year for two years
$75,000 per year for two years
$300,000 per year for two years
$500,000 per year for two years
$400,000 per year for two years
$100,000 per year for two years
AO Nest Tutoring Manager
$65,000
Funding will support the hiring of a manager to build the processes and partnerships needed for the AO Nest Tutoring Program. This program is intended to support Indigenous children and youth who are struggling academically, by matching students with tutors to meet academic goals, facilitated through the AO Nest platform.
Harm Reduction in Cambridge
$10,000
This grant supports the short-term continuation of harm reduction services and the multi-agency community space in Cambridge, originally supported by the Foundation in 2020. This provides the organization time to work further on securing long-term funding.
Black Mental Health Campaign
$181,920 over 3 years
The mental health in Black communities is a longstanding concern. Stigma around mental health is prevalent while barriers to accessing culturally relevant and appropriate mental health care exist. AFRO's Black Mental Health Campaign will promote mental health literacy, normalize the conversation about mental wellbeing and improve help-seeking behaviour among community members. The conversation about mental health will start with children and youth who will in turn be encouraged to take these conversations into the family home.
Partnering with grassroots groups led by and serving Indigenous, Black and racialized communities who work with children and families in Waterloo Region, our goal is to develop mutually beneficial relationships and learn together through regular conversations throughout the year. The funds provided to the organizations are unrestricted, two years in length, and are meant to recognize the value of the time and perspectives of the organizations’ team members.
$20,000 over two years (increased to $56,000 over three years in 2022)
$50,000 over two years (increased to $125,000 over three years in 2022)
$100,000 over 2 years (increased to $250,000 over three years in 2022)
$20,000 over 2 years (increased to $56,000 over three years in 2022)
$40,000 over 2 years (increased to $72,000 over three years in 2022)
The 2021 Social Impact Grants are proactive (no application requested) and unrestricted.
$60,000
$100,000
$50,000
$1,000,000
$75,000
$10,000
$50,000
$500,000
$60,000
$60,000
$60,000
$250,000
$400,000
$150,000
$300,000
$250,000
$500,000
$150,000
$25,000
$100,000
$50,000
$350,000
$60,000
$100,000
$200,000
$150,000
$50,000
$250,000
$60,000
$250,000
$150,000
$75,000
$300,000
$500,000
$400,000
$100,000
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the Foundation made a series of grants outside of its regular funding envelopes.
A one-time competitive granting envelope focused on “supporting the pivot”; helping organizations to adapt and rethink for the interim time frame. Open to child, youth and family-serving organizations in Waterloo Region, this envelope was intended to address a gap in support between emergency crisis response and the unclear longer term landscape.
The Volunteer Capacity Building Project
$63,145
The project will incentivize families and youth within the African Women's Alliance of Waterloo Region (AWAWR) community to volunteer within their own communities by providing training opportunities and certification. The addition of a volunteer coordinator will improve the recruitment, supervision and management of volunteers, thereby improving their wellbeing and happiness.
Alison Neighbourhood's After School Club Program
$5,050
Adapting activities in Alison Neighbourhood's After School Club program to focus on improving the unique educational, social and mental affects the Covid-19 pandemic has on children and youth participants; and in doing so achieving early intervention in the prevention of long term effects the pandemic would have on this community.
Connecting Mentors and Mentees with Virtual Engagement
$117,500 (two year grant)
With innovative recruitment and mentor training strategies, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Waterloo Region will recruit and train volunteer mentors to build long-lasting virtual developmental relationships with children and youth.
Building capacity for youth career development
$10,000
Through this project, the Business and Education Partnership of Waterloo Region will undertake community action planning to determine how they can best adapt their programming to proactively support K-12 students as they prepare for their future career paths.
Equine Assisted Support
$36,922 (two year grant)
Combining hands on experiential learning with horses. Working with horses provides opportunities to teach and enhance critical life skills such as trust, respect, confidence, honesty and communication. Programs and activities are personalized to the individual or group, length of session(s) is very flexible.
CMSWR Virtual Program Pivot
$7,365
CMSWR has embraced an entirely virtual program for 2020-2021. They are offering both individual lessons and ensembles for children and youth ages 4-18, with an emphasis on musical skills, self-confidence, connection and increased opportunities for collaboration and creative exploration.
Adapting community engagement through collaborative operational infrastructure to support sustainability across 3 neighbourhood agencies in Cambridge, ON to support future sustainability.
$78,500 (two year grant)
This pivot funding will support and further develop back bone supports to increase engagement within these Cambridge neighbourhoods. It will increase agency capacity of existing systems and create new opportunities for capacity building and engagement for all ages to further adapt in the new post pandemic space.
Riding the Wave - From Crisis to Pivot
$83,000
Riding the Wave - From Crisis to Pivot will take a grass roots Community Development approach. Children and their families will be engaged with addressing needs, brainstorming solutions and implementing ideas answering how to continue building relationships and respond to community in a socially/physically distanced pandemic environment.
Enabling Youth & their Families to Shift from Surviving to Thriving
$92,430
A community collaborative approach to increasing capacity for offering children and family focused programming post-Covid in Cambridge and North Dumfries. Moving beyond the initial pivot, to creating environments that support social support networks, connection to school and community, address inequities with internet access as well as enhance overall well-being for children and families.
Supporting the Pivot, helping Monica Place adapt our high school and childcare for the next 1-2 years.
$15,500
This project will enable young women and their babies to return to Monica Place's school and nursery safely through Covid-19.
rare ECO Program Strategic Pivot
$49,939
Providing land-based environmental learning virtually during a time when in-person gatherings are restricted.
Connecting refugees to virtual Waterloo Region
$138,500
Digital literacy is increasingly essential for refugees settling in our community - as health, education and community services have transitioned to virtual in response to Covid-19. This initiative will ensure refugee families have technology access and support to build their digital literacy from the point of arrival.
Adapting Empowering Pregnancy
$70,611
Covid-19 changed the realities of pregnancy and parenting for many people, and SHORE must adapt to support the emerging needs of their clients. This funding will allow SHORE to adjust, respond and continue to ensure that families are supported during this incredibly trying time.
TREE Classrooms
$22,163
The Ripple Effect Education (TREE) is adapting their school program, TREE Classrooms, by shifting their in-person workshop programs to virtual, physically-distant programs to continue to equip youth with the tools they need for healthy conflict resolution in their classrooms, families and communities.
Virtual Field Trips for Students in the Region of Waterloo
$37,203
THEMUSEUM will partner with the Waterloo Region District School Board and Waterloo Catholic District School Board to offer curriculum-based virtual field trips for the K-12 age range using Desire2Learn's BrightSpace platform for the upcoming school year and beyond. This initiative will provide engaging hands-on learning opportunities to local students meant to address skills gaps in classroom learning while in-person field trips are not feasible due to health/safety concerns.
Empowering Proactive Youth in Communities Virtually
$25,000
The EPYC Virtually program is a ten week program engaging a team of youth through weekly challenges that connect with values related to volunteering and community involvement. This program builds skills and value development, gamifies volunteering and community education, and fosters reflection and connection through weekly meetings facilitated by a VAC staff team member for youth participants.
Re-imagine the delivery of programming to meet the needs of families and children, eliminate barriers for 123 families and children by adapting to new ways to virtually connect families to long-term community services.
$88,779
Offer IT resources and programming to assist an average of 123 families and children over 15 months to virtually connect with long-term community services such as education, health care, counselling, mental health services and parenting programs. Empower families and children to connect remotely to community services particularly in a time where physical isolation has become a necessity.
Proactive (no application requested), unrestricted grants intended to provide program grant recipients, from the last several years of both the Children’s Initiatives and invited Community Support envelopes, with some flexibility and stability through 2021.
$68,425
$329,224.30
$40,980
$490,917
$210,816.85
$308,899.20
$439,467.90
$30,000
$32,715.45
$305,428.50
$175,898.25
$96,186
$108,399
$338,876.25
$374,012.20
$141,547.75
$168,834.95
$112,500
$36,800
$304,750
$256,132.25
Harm Reduction in Cambridge
$25,000 (one year grant)
In response to urgent need, ACCKWA will hire a full-time Harm Reduction Worker to be based in Cambridge. The need in this area predates the pandemic, but with the emergency measures things have been worsened considerably. The newly hired Harm Reduction Worker will take over all Cambridge harm reduction outreach (two of three encampments, Cambridge mobile outreach, Cambridge drop-in). This will expand ACCKWA’s pre-COVID capacity of 20 hours/week in Cambridge to 40 hours/week, serving approximately 600 individuals.
Internet Connectivity for Students in Waterloo Region
$51,500
This grant will purchase hotspot devices and/or four months of internet access for students in the Waterloo Region District School Board.
Internet Connectivity for Students in Waterloo Region
$24,255
This grant will purchase hotspot devices and/or four months of internet access for students in the Waterloo Region Catholic School Board.
Proactive, unrestricted emergency relief
$50,000
Proactive, unrestricted emergency relief
$50,000
Proactive, unrestricted emergency relief
$25,000
Proactive, unrestricted emergency relief
$25,000
Proactive, unrestricted emergency relief
$10,000
The Lyle S. Hallman Foundation contributed $150,000 to the total pool of over $800,000 distributed to 43 charities across Waterloo Region in response to applications to the COVID-19 Community Response Fund.
Smart Waterloo Region – Healthy Children and Youth
$1,000,000 over four years
Smart Waterloo Region (SWR) is the community’s plan to apply technology- and data-enabled solutions to challenges facing Waterloo Region’s children and youth. By leveraging Waterloo Region’s growing technology sector, the goal is to work with partners to make Waterloo Region the best community in Canada for child and youth well-being. This grant, coupled with matching funding from the municipalities, will allow the Smart Waterloo Region initiative to continue.
Youth Getting Connected
$545,000 over three years
Youth Getting Connected (YGC) supports Grade 8 students identified as being at risk of not graduating from school. Building on learnings and implementing key components of Carizon’s successful delivery of the Pathways To Education program, YGC will provide the care, coaching and support youth need to effectively transition through their school years into adulthood.
Children & Youth Planning Table
$465,868 over two years
The Children and Youth Planning Table (CYPT) is a community-wide collaborative that includes over 500 service providers, researchers, planning bodies and funders serving children, youth and families in our community. As a collaborative we are working for happy, healthy children and youth - today and tomorrow. This funding supports backbone functions of the Table.
Our Sustainable Network
$354,076 over three years
The CNO will build sustainable network capacity through two simultaneous processes: 1) Implementing our theory of change to help our work focus directly on grassroots community development; and 2) Undertaking work-related transformation, re-organizing our assets and resources, to achieve our collective purpose.
Enriching Environmental Education through Indigenous Knowledges
$123,085 over two years
Enriched education modules will be designed and made available for groups of children and youth. These groups will be able to visit rare or their surrounding neighbourhoods and learn about Indigenous knowledges, truthful histories, and take part in reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and the land. rare is undertaking an institutional commitment to creating a welcoming, reciprocal space where Indigenous Peoples can engage in traditional land stewardship, learning and teaching, while non-Indigenous children can learn about truth and reconciliation and Indigenous ways of knowing and being.
Close to Home – Transforming Men’s Addiction Services
$250,000
The renovation of 562 Concession Road, Cambridge will provide men’s addiction treatment in a healing place of greater dignity, with expanded programming and access, as a start to a journey of transforming the way addiction treatment is delivered in Waterloo Region. Along with offering residential services to men, day treatment and community programming services will be available to both men and women. The facility will include private, quiet meeting spaces for families, outdoor recreational space, and family counselling space.
Growing the Hub@1145
$250,000
The expansion of the Langs facility will increase the number of partners on site at the provincially-recognized Hub@1145 that is currently co-located with 20 organizations. This means better and timelier access to essential services for families and children in Cambridge. The expansion will include a new community arts space for children, more group spaces and much needed additional parking.
CNO Capacity Building
$73,250 (2 year grant)
This project will continue to build the capacity of the CNO to learn, define and organize itself as a strategic table, and to maximize and demonstrate impact in its community.
UNICEF Canada Children's Observatory
$225,000
An observatory for and with Canada's children will foster comprehensive and innovative approaches to child well-being and belonging, and address the underlying drivers shaping childhood in Canada, with the singular mission to elevate the well-being of children from a middle position in the international Index of Child Well-Being.
Children's Planning Table of Waterloo Region
$422,912 (2 year grant)
The Children's Planning Table of Waterloo Region is an integrated planning table representing over 60 organizations with close to 350 members supporting children and families. As a community collaborative, we work together towards building a community of coordinated and effective services that supports the optimal developmental health of all children in Waterloo Region.
Fostering Social Enterprise
$398,400 (3 year grant)
Over 3 years this project helps establish an Enterprise Facilitation hub at 256 King Street, supports the long-term sustainability of this creative enterprise and digital media space, and extends the strategy for sustainability of the Community Enterprise projects of The Working Centre.
