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Funding FAQ

What are your funding interests?

The Foundation focuses on supporting career development and career counselling for youth between the ages of 12 and 30. In our 2020 Strategic Plan, we identify four focus areas within the Career Development in the Fourth Industrial Revolution bucket:

  • Youth leadership and empowerment
  • Workforce development
  • The spectrum of employability skills to career competencies or 21st century skills
  • Indigenous youth career transitions

In particular, the Foundation is interested in programs and projects that:

  • Eliminate barriers to the pursuit and attainment of meaningful work. These include significant, but surmountable obstacles whether they be financial, academic, language, lack of networks, location, access to services, discrimination, mental health and addictions, disabilities, familial circumstances, or socio-cultural expectations.
  • Promote employability. This includes fostering the attainment of appropriate education, motor, and soft skills (attitude, teamwork, motivation, adaptability, presentation, stress management, time management, accountability and confidence) for the purpose of being job-ready.
  • Raise career awareness. This includes promoting a shared understanding of: skills and talents, interests, values and passions; learning and educational pathways; labour market realities (e.g., trends, opportunities); and promoting personal hope, belief, optimism, self-esteem, personal agency, confidence, resilience, adaptability, motivation, aspiration, and possibilities as important aspects in the career development journey.

We also suggest looking at our Funding Database to get an idea of some of the projects and programs we have previously funded.

What types of requests are NOT funded?

The Foundation does not support the following types of requests:

  • Proposals from organizations that are not registered charitable organizations recognized by the Canada Revenue Agency or registered not-for-profit organizations or are not recognized as Qualified Donees under the Income Tax Act of Canada
  • Capital campaigns and capital expenditures
  • General fundraising requests and campaigns
  • General administration or operating costs as the main focus of the request (We fund programs and projects, but allow for administration and operating costs as part of the request)
  • Emergency funds or deficit financing
  • Endowments, awards, fellowships, internships, sabbaticals, scholarships, or bursaries
  • Event sponsorships
  • Support for non-Canadian organizations
  • Disaster relief
  • Addictions or trauma counselling
Where do you fund?

We are a national funder and we will consider initiatives from coast to coast to coast that support youth in Canada.

How many funding requests are successful in receiving funding?

Approximately 10% of the Letters of Intent we receive lead to a full Funding Application. Approximately 80% of funding requests are awarded funding by the Board of Directors. Typically, the Foundation supports between 7 and 12 funding requests each year.

When are funding decisions made?

Letters of Intent (LOIs) can be submitted any time throughout the year. If staff see strong alignment, the applicant may be invited to submit a full funding application. The Board of Directors typically reviews funding applications quarterly in February/March, May, September, and December. Only the Board approves funding requests. All decisions are final and there is no appeal process for requests that have been declined. Notification of Board funding decisions, both positive and negative, are usually provided within 48 hours of the Board meeting.

Once funding has been awarded, the funding recipient will be asked to complete a Funding Letter of Agreement. This document details the payment schedule, reporting expectations & timetables, and knowledge dissemination benchmarks that align with the funding recipient organization’s timing and project milestones. This process is typically completed within 30 days of notification of a successful funding application.

What is your typical funding amount?

It depends on the needs of your project/program. In recent years, our average (mean) funding amount per year has been approximately $50,000. On the higher end, we have funded some organizations at $100,000+ per year and on the lower end, we have funded some organizations at $15,000 per year. We suggest you look at our Funding Database and recent Activity Reports for examples of specific types of projects/programs that we have funded and amounts.

My organization is working with another organization, can we submit a joint letter of intent?

Yes! We encourage collaboration and welcome joint submissions. In one Letter of Intent you should indicate all the partner organizations that are involved and how the requested funding will be split between the organizations.

Can I submit more than one program/project for funding?

We would prefer that applicants choose one program/project that they feel best aligns with our funding interests per year. Given the volume of requests we receive, we are unable to provide support to all requests. Foundation staff are available to discuss your ideas in advance to help with your decision-making.

Are there other sources of funding you can recommend?

The following funders have similar funding interests to ours. Please note, we can’t speak to their funding capacity or process.

The Counselling Foundation of Canada acknowledges the Huron-Wendat, Petun, Haundenosaunee, Anishinaabe and Mississauga Anishinaabe of New Credit share a special relationship to the territory in which our office is located. Toronto's long history of being a meeting place and centre of trade & commerce began thousands of years ago. Today, it is home to Indigenous Peoples from across Turtle Island and many who have come from away. We are grateful to have the opportunity to work in this territory and commit ourselves to learning the truth of our shared history and to engage in the process of reconciliation.

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