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Our Funding Strategy

We’re data-driven
and impact-obsessed.

We’re determined to change lives. Since we want to change as many as possible as quickly as possible and are laser-focused on getting bang for our buck, we think strategically about how we target our funding dollars. Here’s the thinking behind our strategy.

Education
Homelessness
Well-Being

Education

Crisis

In Canada, thousands of kids drop out of school annually, resulting in epidemic numbers failing to realize their potential, spiking crime rates, higher poverty, social assistance, and health care costs, and the greatest socio-economic impact in the educational sphere.

We know...

  • 33% of the total dropouts in the country have below a grade nine education, and we can predict which kids will drop out by their grade four test scores in English, Math, and Science.
  • 40% leave school by age 16.
  • 50% of high school dropouts can be identified by the end of grade seven.
  • After grade seven, the greatest predictor of which kids will stay in school or drop out shifts from their academic scores to their attendance levels.
  • After the first year of the pandemic, students’ academic scores and engagement levels were lower than they were pre-pandemic, signaling the dropout crisis may worsen in the coming years.

Strategy

If we target our funding at programs that…

  • Help kids raise their academic test scores before grade four
  • Offer kids who slip through the cracks between grades four and seven ongoing academic assistance, mentorship, and support
  • Keep kids engaged and in class throughout middle and high school and help them obtain their diplomas
  • Offer alternate and continuing education programs for kids who do best in alternative learning environments, help them achieve their high school equivalency diploma (GED) or re-enter mainstream schooling and graduate…

…we’ll help more kids graduate, reduce the dropout rate, and mitigate its exorbitant human and societal costs.

Homelessness

Crisis

Approximately 35,000 people are homeless on any given night in Canada according to the most recent estimates. In addition to the toll the crisis takes on the dignity, health, and well-being of every homeless person, it also exacts a steep economic and social price.

We know...

  • One of the first indicators that a person is on the verge of homelessness is when they access a food bank or community drop-in. Then, prevention strategies are most effective.
  • The first indicator that a person has lost their home or living situation is when they access an emergency crisis shelter. Then, intervention strategies are most effective.
  • When someone has become chronically homeless, i.e., has lived on the streets for 10 years or more, they experience a cascading series of traumas leading to addiction, abuse, and suicide. Then, harm reduction strategies are most effective.

Strategy

If we target our funding at…

  • Food banks, meal programs, and community drop-ins
  • Emergency and transitional shelters and programs providing housing assistance and employment to the temporarily homeless
  • Street outreach and harm reduction programs that offer access to safe injection sites and promote dignity, community-building, and choice…

…we’ll help prevent people from becoming homeless, reduce the amount of time they are homeless, and the harm that affects the health of those who choose to spend their lives on the streets.

Health and Well-Being

Intent

  • Ensure access to basic and crisis health care services regardless of income or circumstance.
  • Reduce harm to a family’s social and economic health and well-being resulting from periods of extreme stress due to unforeseen and often complex, cascading, and chronic stressors.

Strategy

If we fund programs offering crisis relief to individuals and families undergoing severely stressful periods, we’ll help relieve the harm to their health and well-being.

Our Grantees