About Us
The Counselling Foundation of Canada is a private family foundation based in Toronto, ON (the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat, Petun, Haundenosaunee, Anishinaabe and Mississauga Anishinaabe of New Credit) that champions life-long learning and career development for people in Canada. We provide funding to support initiatives in Canada from coast to coast to coast that help young people with their career development.
Our Vision
A day when all people in Canada are able to contribute their skills and talents to help build a more prosperous, equitable and inclusive society.
Our Mission
The Counselling Foundation of Canada champions life-long learning and career development that empowers people in Canada to develop their skills and talents.
Our Values
We believe:
- One person can have a positive impact on many.
- Leaders who inspire action and achieve results can create change in their communities.
- Accessing career counselling and career development opportunities empowers people to make informed decisions.
- When people are able to pursue opportunities to utilize their skills and talents, they contribute to a prosperous, equitable and inclusive Canada.
Our Guiding Principles
- Be bold. Take smart risks and provide leadership to address complex and challenging issues.
- Collaborate. Build partnerships on trust and a shared commitment to learning.
- Foster systemic change. Work with and support partners and initiatives that have the potential to deliver significant change.
- Invest in leadership. Encourage and support visionary leaders.
- Be flexible and adaptive. Change takes time; acknowledge and plan for it.
- Demonstrate respect. Embrace traditions, heritages, and lived experiences of people in Canada.
Strategic plan
In 2024, the Foundation undertook a strategic review process to develop a new plan to carry the Foundation to the end of the decade. Our 2025–2029 Strategic Plan will help guide us and enable conversations and learning to take place so that we may ultimately move one step closer to achieving our mission.
A good strategic plan should provide a roadmap and offer a vision for what could be accomplished by the time the plan is complete. This plan aims to do just that through our aspirations, while building on our experience to incorporate flexibility and a willingness to adapt.
Fortunately, the Foundation has a rich history where flexibility and an openness to change have served the organization well. Since the Foundation’s founding in 1959 by Frank Lawson, the work of the Foundation has continued to evolve. While career development has been the through line since those early days, the specific goals, objectives, and tactics have necessarily changed as new things were learned about the career development field, economic contexts shifted, and the work of the Foundation grew to serve communities from coast to coast to coast. Similarly, the composition of the Foundation has changed as younger generations of family members stepped into leadership roles over time and the Foundation opened itself up to more non-family members.
When we look at the broader context in which we exist, we see a fast-changing world that requires flexibility and nimbleness as well as an openness to learning. We see a philanthropic sector that is growing with more resources and opportunities to make positive change, but a nonprofit and charitable sector that is under increasing financial strain and facing more demand for services. Lastly, we see a career development sector that is diverse with lots of opportunity for further connection and sharing of knowledge, but whose work is greatly challenged by deep-rooted systemic issues facing communities, young people, and job seekers.
This strategic plan aims to take into consideration all these elements as well as be cognizant of our role and the resources we have to advance our mission.
Overall, the Strategic Plan identifies five goals and sixteen objectives that will guide the Foundation’s work during this period.
Strategic goals
- Goal 1: Focus career development funding to create opportunities for equity in communities and build readiness for the future of work.
- Goal 2: Support CERIC to advance the research and learning objectives of the Foundation.
- Goal 3: Strengthen the charitable and philanthropic ecosystems in Canada to advance the Foundation’s impact and reputation.
- Goal 4: Align investment strategy with the Foundation’s values and principles.
- Goal 5: Ensure the governance of the Foundation is future ready and anchored in justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.