Communities

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Communities focus area

Supporting communities has been central to the McConnell Foundation since our founding in 1937, with some of the earliest funding going to organizations offering services to Montrealers in need. As our work expanded nationally, this priority grew into what is now our Communities focus area, supporting communities facing systemic barriers to take the lead in addressing the challenges they face. On this page, you will find further information about our funding priorities, and eligibility criteria for potential applicants. 

What do we mean by community?

We take a broad view of community: a group who share common barriers, needs and goals, whether defined by geography, identity, interest, purpose, practice, or other commonalities.

How we support change

Our Communities focus area prioritizes work that rebalances power and centres communities in addressing their own needs. We aim to partner with and strengthen organizations and networks that reflect the communities they serve, and that represent their interests as they seek to address historical and ongoing barriers to social and economic justice.

Proposals will be evaluated not only for the perceived impact that their project is looking to have on a given community, but also on the level of involvement the community has in the design and implementation of the project.  It is important to ask: how is the project fostering long-term systemic positive outcomes for the community?

To drive this focus area, the McConnell Foundation uses the four principles of equity, trust, community self-determination and collaborative engagement. These principles are centred around the belief that communities know what is best for them.

 

What we fund

Line drawing of a woman in a hijab, an unveiled woman, and a man, surrounded by a red version of the McConnell circular logo. Connected to the circle are descriptions of the Communities funding strategies: Collaborative Action (creating spaces of collaboration to address barriers to social and economic inclusion) and policy change (advancing policy changes that favour social justice).
Line drawing of a woman in a hijab, an unveiled woman, and a man, surrounded by a red version of the McConnell circular logo. Connected to the circle are descriptions of the Communities funding strategies: Collaborative Action (creating spaces of collaboration to address barriers to social and economic inclusion) and policy change (advancing policy changes that favour social justice).

We want to help fund activities that support collaborative action and policy change that address barriers to social and economic inclusion. Learn more below.

$8.2M

in contributions

We supported 50 organizations in 2022, allocating over $8 million in funding to partners looking to accelerate and amplify positive change in their communities.

Our funding streams 

With this focus area, we seek to support organizations (non-profits, community groups, charities, and the like) who have community at the heart of their actions and purpose. As a national funder, our role is to offer our resources as a lever for communities working to address the root causes of inequity at a meaningful scale. As such, we are looking to help fund activities that fall in one of the two following categories:

  • Collaborative action: creating spaces of collaboration for multiple organizations to come together to address barriers to social and/or economic inclusion in a bold way. We want organizations to reach together to accomplish audacious goals that they are less likely to achieve on their own.
  • Policy change:  advancing policies or policy changes that favour social justice, build economic resilience and address barriers. We will support policy change efforts at all stages: from advocacy to engagement, communication, consultation and priority setting.

 

To learn more about the questions and criteria for both funding strategies, please read our sample application form.

Recent funding

Below are a few of our most recent Communities funding partnerships. Explore our Funding database to view all our Communities partnerships.

Funding will contribute to the development of a comprehensive national labour force strategy to advance social and economic inclusion for the community and human services sector

$ 1,500,000 2023 - 2026

Funding will contribute to CBMS’s campaign to ban the misuse of sexual violence related NDAs in Canada, as well as advocacy and policy work.

$ 200,000 2023 - 2025

Funding will be used to help women’s services in Quebec to develop the cultural competency to provide more culturally adapted services to Muslim women.

$ 400,000 2023 - 2027

Funding will contribute to ACORN’s national policy platform with tenants and leaders nationwide, using grassroots expertise to enhance climate policy efforts.  

$ 420,000 2023 - 2026

Funding will contribute to the Refugee Centre establishing an Advocacy and Legal Information Dissemination Committee for refugees and asylum seekers.

$ 465,000 2023 - 2026

Funding will contribute to developing public policies for immigrant caregivers through workshops, tools and mutual support.

$ 240,000 2023 - 2026

Learn more about how to apply for Communities funding on our “For Applicants” page.