Environment Initiatives Grant Program

Environment Initiatives Grant Program

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Catherine Donnelly Foundation
Last Updated: December 20, 2025

Summary

The Catherine Donnelly Foundation's Environment Initiatives Grant Program aims to foster a diverse and inclusive climate justice movement. It supports initiatives that empower underserved communities to lead in creating a climate-safe future. By promoting social, economic, and environmental justice, the program seeks to address inequities and encourage collaboration across various sectors. The foundation prioritizes Indigenous-led projects and those that engage marginalized voices, advancing sustainability and resilience in the face of climate change.

Overview

Environment Initiatives The Catherine Donnelly Foundation seeks to foster a diverse and inclusive climate justice movement, where communities and voices that are under-served lead the path forward to a climate-safe, resilient, caring, and socially-just future. Our Environment funding strategy is aimed at promoting climate justice and supporting initiatives that mobilize to accelerate the transition to a post-carbon world. Our approach recognizes an inseparable bond with nature, intersections with other social movements, and a desire to address the root causes of climate change. Funding Focus Social, economic, and environmental justice are intimately connected and integral to our collective well-being and survival. We recognize many challenges such as: climate impacts that are borne unequally by different communities including those who are racialized, low-income, and who are unhoused; the need to address inequity and polarization in ways that promote dialogue, mutual understanding and shared action; and the importance of building reciprocal connections between people, communities, and with the land and waters from coast to coast to coast. This moment is a reminder that the status quo must be disrupted. We see an opportunity to support and catalyze climate justice to build the future we need by being bold, imaginative, collaborative, and inclusive. Funding Objectives The Catherine Donnelly Foundation seeks to foster a diverse and inclusive climate justice movement, where communities and voices that are under-served lead the path forward to a climate-safe, resilient, caring, and socially-just future. Our Environment funding strategy is aimed at promoting climate justice and supporting initiatives that accelerate the transition to a post-carbon world. Our approach recognizes an inseparable bond with nature, intersections with other social movements, and a desire to address the root causes of climate change. We are committed to building an inclusive society where no one is left behind, upholding UNDRIP, respecting inherent Indigenous rights, and to reconciliation with First Nation, Inuit, and Métis people. Our Priority Areas We support initiatives that address climate change and climate justice through a wide range of approaches and disciplines, including: community ways and knowledge, civic engagement, law/policy reform, finance/ economics, ecosystem health, communications, and working alongside labour and other social movements to build power. What We Fund: Support for climate justice leaders and innovative initiatives that build a diverse and inclusive movementProjects that demonstrate to people in positions of decision-making power that there is an appetite for fast action on climate solutions.Projects that inform and seed public opinion and/or support public engagement and mobilization, including grassroots or organizing work.Creation and sharing of positive and empowering narratives that offer hope and a vision for how we want to live together in a post-carbon world.Broadening a collective power base through collaboration and mutual learning across diverse communities, sectors, disciplines, geographies, and messengers

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Applicants to the Catherine Donnelly Foundation can be Canadian registered charities or qualified donees under Canada Revenue Agency guidelines. Non-profit groups working in partnership with a Canadian sponsoring charitable organization or a qualified donee can also apply.We also accept applications from registered non-profit organizations without charitable status.Organizations and submissions that are rejected at one stage in the granting process, can re-apply at the next grant cycle.

Ineligibility

The Catherine Donnelly Foundation will not consider funding the following:Retroactive fundingFundraising campaignsOperating deficitsProjects outside of CanadaEmergency appealsPurely commercial recordings or film projects