HALIFAX — A number of Canadian charities are disrupting traditional ways of giving, with more non-profits innovating and focusing on how they contribute to improving the environment, empowering marginalized communities and addressing deep-rooted social inequalities.

Some of them are large national organizations with abundant resources while others are dedicated to local environmental, educational and community issues. After speaking with experts and analyzing foundations from across the country, here are some of the most innovative non-profits in Canada today, in alphabetical order.

The Boundless School 
Purpose: Help marginalized teens with mental health and education support
Location: Palmer Rapids, Ont.
Founded: 1989

This organization blends its efforts in mental health, education, nature and conservation. For example, last year, it launched a program for Inuit youth that focuses on schooling, addressing the trauma behind higher rates of suicidality, academic apathy and substance abuse. Executive director Steven Gottlieb told The Logic a recent internal study evaluating students’ achievements two years after they left Boundless showed a 96 per cent employment rate and 51 per cent post-secondary schooling rate. Boundless turned the 600 acres in the Ottawa Valley into a conservation area. “We shall protect the land, and use it to teach and heal the youth we serve,” Gottlieb said. Boundless has been chosen as one of Canada’s top 100 rated charities for the past two years by Charity Intelligence, a research organization that assesses over 750 Canadian charities.

Ever Active Schools
Purpose: Supporting school communities to build healthy learning environments
Location: Edmonton
Founded: 2020

The organization works to improve the social outcomes of children and youth through professional-development opportunities for teachers and innovative projects. Programs focus on student wellness and physical literacy. In September, Ever Active partnered with the University of Alberta and the Kitaskinaw Education Authority to provide Indigenous youth with sports-mentorship opportunities. Katie Mahon, assistant director of equity and inclusion at Ever Active, told The Logic the organization integrated Indigenous elders into its formal organization, which signals a “shift in organization structure.” Mahon said, “The purpose of adopting this structure was to decentralize power and decision-making and acknowledge and build the leadership capacity of our staff.”

Foundation for Black Communities 
Purpose: Funding Black-led and Black-serving charities
Location: Toronto
Founded: 2020

This non-profit aims to address the lack of charitable grants given to the Black community, by investing directly in Black-led, Black-serving non-profits. Led by a group of Black professionals within the philanthropic and community-development sectors, it was created on the recommendations of a research report prepared by the Network for the Advancement of Black Communities and Carleton University’s Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership program. The report found that grants to Black-serving organizations only represented 0.7 per cent of total grants by the top 15 community foundations in fiscal 2017 and 2018. “As we turn toward pandemic recovery, we know that Black communities have suffered the devastating and disproportionate impact of COVID-19, the recession and anti-Black racism. It’s a critical time for investment and centring Black people in decision-making,” Rebecca Darwent, the FBC’s founding member and partnerships lead, told The Logic. The Laidlaw Foundation and the Inspirit Foundation committed a combined $3.85-million initial endowment to the FBC.

Indigenous Peoples Resilience Fund
Purpose: ​​Respond to urgent and long-term needs in the Indigenous community 
Location: Canada
Founded: 2020

The IPRF gives money to Indigenous organizations, including those that may not qualify for non-profit status. Wanda Brascoupé, the IPRF’s founding member, told The Logic that this lack of charitable-tax status, which disqualifies organizations from many of the typical funding sources, is a barrier for many Indigenous people who look for financial support from other organizations. “We don’t call it a grant because we do give to non-qualified donees. We call it support,” said Brascoupé. The Indigenous-led fund was launched in the wake of the pandemic. It offers other Indigenous-led organizations that are serving Inuit, Metis and First Nations communities in Canada with funding ranging from $5,000 to $30,000. One of the recipients, the Mittima Food Bank Society, distributes fuel for hunting to Pond Inlet community members. The IPRF also streamlined the application process by eliminating the substantial paperwork that can deter some organizations from applying. According to Brascoupé, the IPRF has supported over 250 organizations and given out close to $6 million to the community.

MakeWay
Purpose: Environmental and social justice 
Location: Vancouver
Founded: 2020 (Began as Tides Canada in 2000)

MakeWay believes in an “all-in” approach when tackling complex environmental challenges. Instead of focusing on a single issue, the non-profit looks at problems more holistically. For example, The Northern Program has four priorities: Northern leadership, land and water stewardship, sustainable livelihoods, and Indigenous cultural preservation. The program aims to empower the Indigenous community by offering comprehensive support that connects the community. The non-profit also created the BC Water Funders Collaborative on its platform, a group of funding organizations that in turn founded the BC Freshwater Legacy Initiative. The initiative invests in water-sustainability projects across the province.

Next Canada
Purpose: Supporting Canadian entrepreneurs
Location: Toronto
Founded: 2011

Next Canada helps entrepreneurs launch and scale their businesses through education, mentorship and funding. Its network is made up of over 500 Canadian academics, entrepreneurs, investors and founders. “Our organization’s mission is to build a more ambitious and competitive Canada,” Jainy Tong, marketing and communications director at Next Canada, told The Logic. The non-profit says it has supported over 750 entrepreneurs, scaled more than 300 ventures, raised over $1.8 billion in capital and helped create over 3,000 jobs in the Canadian economy to date. It also has a program for artificial intelligence-based ventures and technology commercialization: Next AI is offered in Toronto and Montreal, and partners with business school HEC Montréal in the latter city, to provide entrepreneurs with capital, mentorship, and networking. The program is currently recruiting for its 2022 cohort, with applications closing Dec. 14.

Nova Scotia Nature Trust
Purpose: Private-land conservation 
Location: Nova Scotia
Founded: 1994

The non-profit protects privately owned land through methods like land acquisition and stewardship agreements. It was awarded a $30,000 grant from RBC in 2020 to incorporate new technologies into its mission. With the funding, Nature Trust plans to create a mobile app with an integrated database that will allow staff and volunteers from anywhere to upload data from the field and access property information. The app will aim to allow users to take action on the ground and make informed decisions, “In our first 25 years of work, we saved 15,000 acres of our most important and treasured natural areas. Through this innovative funding campaign, we aim to double that amount—to a total of 30,000 acres—in just three years,” spokesperson Anna Weinstein told The Logic. In Nova Scotia, 86 per cent of the coastline is privately owned—one of the highest rates in the entire country—and is at risk of being sold and developed.

Reach Foundation 
Purpose: Providing a safe, stigma-free environment for youth with addiction and mental health challenges
Location: Prince Edward Island
Founded: 2013

The Reach Foundation’s 16-week recovery program offers on-site counselling and mental health coaching. It also facilitates work placements for participants at the end of the program, which often turn into job opportunities. In October, Reach launched Yaundr, a socially conscious shopping site. Reach Foundation executive director Dean Constable told The Logic, “I believe it’s important for social enterprises to think big. To make meaningful change in our society, it can’t just be about products; we need to show that the way we do things is an improvement from social, financial and environmental standpoints.” Profits made from sales on Yaundr are reinvested into the people who make the products.

Square Roots
Purpose: Reduce food insecurity and waste
Location: Halifax 
Founded: 2016

Square Roots connects fresh produce that would otherwise be reploughed into fields or end up in landfills to customers in need of healthy produce. The non-profit ultimately aims to divert farmers’ oddly shaped vegetables and fruits from contributing to greenhouse-gas emissions. It has also created physical tokens that can be purchased and exchanged at partner restaurants for meals from surplus ingredients. “We are currently working on scaling our project locally, nationally, and globally,” Susan MacInnis, project manager at Square Roots, told The Logic. MacInnis said last year Square Roots provided 34,000 Haligonians with healthy, affordable vegetables, and diverted 93,838 pounds of food from entering landfills. 

Victoria Women In Need Community Cooperative
Purpose: Programs and services for women, trans, non-binary and Two-Spirit people 
Location: Victoria
Founded: 1991; became a non-profit co-operative in 2006

“We have always innovated by creating and adapting our programs to meet the needs of our community,” Jasmine Philip, marketing and communications coordinator at WIN Cooperative, told The Logic. The non-profit, which had over 1,500 program participants last year, has a program that gives participants gift certificates to purchase clothing, shoes, seasonal items and household items while providing a discreet shopping experience. “No one would be able to tell the difference between a paying customer or one that is using a gift certificate. At the till, they give their information and the gift certificate is applied to their purchase,” said Philip. The non-profit operates three resale shops in Victoria and reacted swiftly to the pandemic by opening an online store in March 2020. The stores’ revenues, together with public donations, are used to fund five programs that support the community.