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Grants

Community Fund (Formerly Smart and Caring Community Fund)

The Community Fund (formerly Smart & Caring Community Fund) provides grants to support a wide range of grassroots community programs across the province that have a direct and lasting impact. In 2022, CFNL only had resources to fund 30% of applications submitted. This set us on a journey to evolve the Community Fund process to meet emerging needs and opportunities in the province while respecting the time and energy of grant applicants to the fund. 

In 2023, CFNL utilized the 127 applications it had received over that year to make granting decisions from the Community Fund guided by a group of volunteer community leaders from across the province. This included $2,000 grants to the following:

  • St. John’s Tool Library: Purchasing specialty supplies for furniture refinishing and the materials to construct a portable paint spraying booth and a sanding station, with dust and fume control for safety and quality, to be located at the St. John’s Tool Library. Using this new equipment, the St. John’s Tool Library will provide upgraded used furniture for Home Again’s Again and Again store to sell. 
  • GNP Community Place: Supporting GNP Community Place’s operating costs to continue the Community Kitchen Project to host seniors lunches and suppers, engage in age-friendly community planning and surveys in the area and building communities through arts, culture and crafts.
  • Town of Robert’s Arm: Support the community garden with raised beds to be cared for by local residents. Vegetables raised would be used to supply soup kitchen to help those in need.
  • Planned Parenthood of NL and Sexual Health Centre: Supporting the overall work of Planned Parenthood NL, including access to safe and inclusive services and its 2SLGBTQIA+ library and creating a literacy, education and recreation program for and by 2SLGBTQIA+ folks.
  • Best Buddies Canada: Reactivating four NL Chapters that were put on hiatus during the pandemic. These chapters create one to one friendships for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (including autism) by providing leadership, life skills, and belonging and inclusion.
  • End Sexual Violence NL: A weekly skill building and peer support program focusing on strengthening mind/body connection through healthy living practices.
  • Mokami Status of Women Council: Supporting the ongoing work of Mokami in the community, including its supportive housing and community programming.

In 2024, CFNL made a grant of $22,125 to Sharing Our Cultures for a free Summer Program for youth newcomers in St. John’s. This built on the invite-only process for the Kia Communities in Motion program, which focused on innovative programming by nonprofits and charities led by and serving equity-deserving communities in the province. Learn more here.  

CFNL is continuing to evolve its granting processes to align with the principles of trust-based philanthropy. We expect to have more to share on that process in 2025. You’re welcome to contact us to share feedback on this anytime. You can find full details of all granting facilitated by CFNL in 2023 in our annual report. 

Community Services Recovery Fund

Now more than ever, Community Service Organizations (charities, non-profits, and Indigenous Governing Bodies) are playing a key role in addressing persistent and complex social problems faced by all Canadians. The Community Services Recovery Fund is a $400 million investment from the Government of Canada to support charities, non-profits, and Indigenous Governing Bodies as they focus on how to adapt their organizations for pandemic recovery.

Community Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador is proud to be working with community foundations across Canada as part of the Community Services Recovery Fund. Applications closed on February 21, 2023. Results can be found here. 

Investment Readiness Program

Funded by the Government of Canada, the Investment Readiness Program (IRP)  supports social purpose organizations as they contribute to solving pressing social, cultural and environmental challenges across Canada.

Its goal is to help social purpose organizations build their capacity to participate in Canada’s growing social finance market and prepare themselves to take on investments. IRP is currently open for an additional round of applications thanks to the renewed $50 million investment from the Government of Canada. The IRP is supporting social purpose organizations as they recover from the pandemic and build more resilient communities for the future.

Applications closed on November 22, 2022 for Round 3 of this fund. Funding Decisions can be found here.