We are pleased to share that we have updated the strategy for our Communities focus area. Going forward, we aim to support community resilience through amplifying the leadership of equity-denied groups to address systemic barriers to economic and social justice.
Supporting healthy, resilient communities has been central to the McConnell Foundation since our founding in 1937. As we enter the next phase of our work, we look to the past for lessons learned and to community partners for guidance about the future. Through consultations and conversations over the past year, a common theme emerged: equity-denied communities have the best knowledge of the challenges they face, and the solutions they need. Overcoming economic and social inequities requires collaboration, collective action and policy work, and healing and recovery from historical injustices. This is where we will focus our support.
This strategy aims to address the underlying causes of systemic inequities, supporting the leadership of equity-denied groups who face systemic barriers to economic and social justice.
Updated strategy and funding criteria
Our aim is to support community agency, respecting local knowledge and strengths. We seek to partner with organizations that are looking to accelerate and amplify positive change.
Grounded in our experience that communities know what is best for them, instead of prioritizing issue areas (eg: food security or youth), we are prioritizing work that re-balances power to equity-denied groups and supports community driven solutions.
Our funding criteria focuses on three strategies:
- Collaboration and collective action: supporting organizations to come together to achieve shared outcomes.
- Policy change: supporting organizations to advance policies that favour economic and social justice and reduce barriers for equity-denied groups.
- Regeneration: Empowering communities to create solutions that foster healing and recovery from historical injustices while building a more equitable future.
Learn more at our webinar
2024 Communities Strategy Webinar
We will be hosting a webinar on November 26, 12pm EST/9am PST for those interested in learning more about our updated Communities strategy. The webinar is hosted on Zoom with ASL interpretation and auto captions. In this webinar, our program staff will explain our new approach and how we got here, share resources for applicants, and be available to answer any questions you may have.
In the meantime, we invite you to reach out to communications@mcconnellfoundation.ca with any questions you may have or other accessibility needs not already supported through Zoom, captions and ASL interpretation. We will do our best to include these questions in the webinar and our website’s FAQs. We look forward to seeing you there!
Resources for applicants
We have developed resources for organizations seeking funding from the McConnell Foundation. You can also learn more on our Focus Area and Apply pages. If you have questions about if your work has sufficient alignment with our focus areas, you can book a 15-minute virtual conversation with a member of our program team.
