What We Fund
Racial Justice
We fund organizations working to reform the laws and policies that shape the lives of Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities. Justice is not inevitable. It is built, case by case, community by community.
Activate Grants call will open in September 2026. Sign up to our mailing list to be informed when this opportunity opens!
Our Work in Racial Justice
Our Racial Justice grants support lasting change through law and policy reform, strengthening structural inclusion and systemic access to justice across BC. Since the portfolio’s creation in 2021, we have distributed over $25 million to community organizations and non-profits across the province.
Our grantmaking is guided by the Racial Justice Grants Advisory Committee, an advisory group with diverse lived, volunteer, and professional experience across academia, law, arts, government, and the non-profit and community sectors. Advisors review applications, make funding recommendations to the Board, and provide ongoing input on our grantmaking structure and future opportunities.
Grantmaking Framework
We use the following understanding of racial justice to build shared language and guide our work. Racial justice:
- Decentres whiteness and acknowledges historical and current systems of harm
- Creates deliberate systems that support the transformation of laws and policies
- Generates collective power to access, build, and uphold rights – including those set out in the Charter, Indigenous legal orders, and international law – for Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities
Guiding Principles
These principles reflect how we believe racial justice work must be done – not just what we fund, but how we show up in that work.
Community accountability
Racial justice work is led by, focused on serving, and accountable to racialized communities and what matters to them.
Use of anti-racism lens
The work of racial justice requires an understanding of how race and structural racism impact the lived experiences of racialized communities. The work calls on collective actions to examine, identify, and address the harmful impacts of structural racism.
Intersectionality
To create holistic solutions or strategies, racial justice work considers race with other factors such as sexuality, age, gender, class, disability, geography, and culture, to better understand the priorities of the most marginalized members of racialized communities.
Meaningful engagement
The work of racial justice should be by and for racialized communities. It is done by engaging them through accessible, inclusive, trauma-informed, and culturally appropriate approaches.
Collaborative community advocacy
Racial justice cannot be achieved by a single organization working in isolation. It requires an effort to engage those with power and the broader society in addressing systemic injustices while promoting an alternative vision or solution. This work may require a range of overlapping approaches over a longer period, involving groups working in collaboration.
Types of Racial Justice Grants
Innovation and sustained investment are both essential to lasting systemic change. Our Racial Justice portfolio includes three grant types to support organizations at different stages of their work. Additional funding opportunities may also become available through invitational grants outside of regular cycles.
Activate Grants
Activate Grants support early-stage ideas or projects in development, working toward a long-term vision of advancing racial justice. These grants are up to $50,000 per year for two years, for a total of $100,000. Activate Grants are made available through an open call.
Iterate Grants
Iterate Grants follow upon completed Activate Grants, supporting grantees who are ready to deepen or sustain their work. These grants are administered by invitation only, with up to $100,000 per year available for up to three years, for a total of $300,000.
Generate Grants
Generate Grants are the largest investment in the Racial Justice portfolio. At $1,000,000 in multi-year funding, they are designed for organizations with long-term strategies that require sustained investment. Generate Grants are made available through an open call every five years.
