How to get funding for an Innovation Grant

We have introduced a new Innovation Grants channel this year. Funding is available to registered charities that offer programming that promotes the well-being of youth and provides them with opportunities to succeed, both today and in the future. In particular, we are interested in supporting initiatives that advance some of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); specifically, good health and well-being, quality education and climate action. Programs must focus on reaching youth experiencing obstacles to reaching their full potential and incorporate the innovative use of technology.

As one of our goals is to support as many registered charities as possible, charities may only apply once per calendar year and must choose between the Innovation Grants channel or the Community Board Grants channel. Applications may not be submitted to both grant channels in the same calendar year.

Funding criteria

For many of the most pressing social and environmental problems we now face, the solutions require a new way of thinking. Our intention is to offer funding for those “moonshot” ideas that will enable charitable organizations to create breakthrough change in their communities.

In 2022, our Innovation Grants will focus on two areas of interest:

1. Youth mental health

The percentage of children and youth experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety has doubled during the pandemic. Eating disorders and substance use has been on the rise. Young people across the country have been impacted by school closures and the lack of in-person connection with friends, mentors and loved ones. The last two years have taken its toll on our youth affecting their mental health, well-being and ability to learn. Charities offering innovative solutions to promote youth mental health and build community will help to meet the needs facing young people today and build their capacity to thrive in the future. 

2. Environmental education or climate action programs for youth

Today’s youth have come of age during a time of rapid climate change, and they have the most at stake in how society responds to it. Climate change brings economic and environmental challenges as well as opportunities, and youth who understand the issues will be better prepared to act and respond with innovative solutions. Climate education is a necessary building block for action, helping youth to understand and tackle the complex issue of climate change. Charities offering creative approaches to climate education and action will help youth to build skills and knowledge and to be inspired to address the urgency of the climate crisis. 

Your project must address one of these focus areas and meet the following criteria: 

• Projects must serve children or youth who face obstacles to reaching their full potential. This may include youth from marginalized communities and members of equity-deserving groups.

• Requests for support of a new approach, or a significant change to an existing model to improve outcomes. Funds can be used to explore, test or launch innovative ideas or initiatives or to scale a program to reach a new region or audience.

• We will give priority to projects that use technology in innovative ways to meet the needs of project participants and your community. 

• We’re looking for impact. Your project must have clearly defined and measurable outcomes, but we understand that when testing or exploring new ways of solving a problem, you may not get it right the first time. That’s what innovation is all about.  

• What you learn and discover through your project is important, as it sets the stage for future opportunities to hone your idea. You will be expected to share your lessons learned, successes, failures and things that changed through your project. 

Innovation Grants are available for up to $100,000 for a single-year grant or $200,000 for grants that span two years (with the second year of funding subject to organizations making sufficient progress on their identified milestones). However, not all big ideas require big budgets. We are looking for the best ideas, regardless of budget size. 

To qualify for funding, your organization must meet the following criteria:  

• Your organization is a Canada Revenue Agency registered charity with a stated focus on serving youth

• Your organization has not applied to any TELUS Friendly Future Foundation funding channel in the past calendar year and your organization has not received a grant from any TELUS Friendly Future Foundation funding channel within the past 24 months

Requests considered ineligible for Innovation Grant funding include: 

• Fiduciary intermediary relationships, where a non-profit organization leverages the charitable status of another registered charity that isn’t involved in the delivery of the project

• Community-based programs of religious organizations that are unable to show a history of non-denominational participation by the broader community

• Programs with an active application for a TELUS Community Board grant

• Requests for TELUS products and services or laptops, tablets and mobile phones

• Requests for sponsorships, advertising, retroactive funding and international programs

• Requests for capital campaigns, endowments or debt reduction campaigns

Application process:

We have a three-step application process, as follows: 

1. The first step is to submit a Letter of Intent which provides a short outline of your project and how it meets the criteria outlined above. 

2. For projects that most closely align to our criteria, charities will be invited to submit a detailed funding application.

3. A shortlist of charities may then be invited to deliver a 10 minute presentation followed by Q&A with our Granting Committee at a virtual meeting.  

Application deadlines:

Letters of Intent may be submitted on an ongoing basis. You can expect to hear from us within 20 days of submitting your Letter of Intent. If you are invited to complete a full application, it must be submitted by midnight in your local time zone on or before the following dates:

May 17, 2022

September 15, 2022

Following a successful application:

Charities that receive an Innovation Grant will be expected to provide a mid-project and final report on their outcomes, what they learned through the project, next steps, and whether our grant helped them to obtain funding from other sources.