Black Youth Fund Funding for Black youth-led change in Ontario / Grants & Programs / Black Youth / Black Youth Fund Overview of the Fund BYF prioritizes Black youth-led initiatives. The development of this fund is guided by Black youth advisors representing different regions of Ontario (Windsor, Ottawa, Thunder Bay, Peterborough, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, and Greater Toronto Area) and under the guidance and blessings of Elder Aina Nia-Ayo’dele who grounds our work in African Indigenous practices, Black ancestral teachings, and a decolonized approach to leadership. She reminds us of the importance of moving with intentionality and collective care. The Black Youth Fund is grounded in a framework based on intersectionality –a legal term coined by Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw in the late 80s and through the leadership of the Combahee River Collective– as well as critical race theory to confront anti-Black racism. Blackness in Canada is not a monolith and encompasses many Black communities, identities, and experiences including but not limited to Black ancestry, geography, gender, class, sexual orientation, physical ability, nationality, religion, languages spoken, etc. More specifically, the Black Youth Fund grants are for grassroots initiatives to develop and lead projects where they: Amplify voices of Black youth with lived experiences in identified issue areas Prioritize Black Queer and Trans youth-led initiatives Advocate for Black-led solutions, policy work, and evidence-based research Support initiatives working on, or, advocating for prevention, early intervention, and crisis intervention Focus on initiatives led and informed by Black youth with community buy-in Black Youth Fund Issue Areas Identity-Building Cultivate a sense of belonging through relationships and community from Black-centric approaches and connect to Black identities, cultures, ancestral knowledge, and practices Community Organizing Support direct action and community mobilization on political and social issues impacting Black youth and their communities Legal Rights Advance legal education and access to legal aid for Black young people and their communities (e.g., housing & tenant rights, rights when protesting, etc.) Self-Care and Collective Care Address need for Black-centred and culturally-safe mental and physical wellbeing Environmental Racism Invest in Black youth-led solutions for climate justice Life Skills Building Provide life skills that centre Black cultural practices (e.g., haircare skills for Black youth in care, offer Black-centred spaces for newcomer Black youth) STEM and Technology Advocate for ownership of technology within Black communities and further education in STEM and tech to Black talent (e.g., AI, coding, software development, etc.) Sports and Community Building Teach leadership skills through sports and recreation as a means of engagement and apply a gender lens to ensure Black girls, queer and trans youth are prioritized in sports programming Economic Development Transform financial education beyond literacy, move towards political advocacy to address systems that create conditions for poverty, and support mutual aid and collective care Mentorship Connect Black youth to mentors and networks to combat nepotism, with a particular focus on Northern Ontario and areas with smaller Black populations Eligibility This call is open to Black youth-led groups that are based in remote, rural, and urban areas in Ontario. A youth-led initiative is a project that has been developed by and will be led by at least three Black young people, 35 years of age and under. Youth leads are expected to be the point of contact for the Foundation. Our grant is inclusive of African, Black, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Indigenous, Afro-Latine, Black Arab, Black Asian, and other racially Black communities. Initiatives must be: Led and informed by Black young people supporting Black youth leadership 35 inclusive and under Based in Ontario All group members and expenses must be in the province Proposed by a Charity, Nonprofit, or a Grassroots Group For-profit entities are not eligible for funding Led by Black youth for by Black youth Address issues impacting Black youth in at least one of these issue areas N.B.: People from the Caribbean and African continents (and other predominantly Black areas) who are not racially Black are not eligible for this grant. Priorities Priority will be given, but not limited to Black youth-led initiatives that: Are by and for Black youth that have lived experience with BYF issue areas Take on a Black youth-centred approach Work to confront systemic anti-Black racism Connect service and program delivery with advocacy efforts Address policy and service delivery gaps within BYF issue areas Promote / develop better practices to support Black youth disadvantaged by BYF issue areas Advocate for systemic changes in at least one of the BYF issue areas Focus on predominantly Black areas (e.g., Jane and Finch, Regent Park, Ajax, Vanier, Riverdale West, Meadowlands, Chandler-Mowat, etc.) Funding details Black Youth Fund provides operating and project grants to Black youth-led initiatives working in Ontario. Groups can request up to $100,000 for a one-time project. BYF has a total of $1 Million to grant out, meaning 10 groups will receive funds. Eligible Expenses Ineligible Expenses Eligible Expenses You can apply for funding to cover: Black youth salaries, honoraria, stipends Transportation, food, childcare, Elder honoraria, and other expenses that make project activities accessible to Black young people Project materials and small equipment/technology (e.g., laptops, software, camera equipment) directly related to the project’s administrative costs Ineligible Expenses As a general rule, we are unable to fund: Fundraising campaigns Microgrant projects Capital projects For-profit enterprises Endowments Sponsorship of events and conferences Ongoing operating expenses unrelated to the proposed project Initiatives with a cost to the participants or activities that could generate profits Travel outside of Ontario Projects outside of Ontario Projects involving partisan political activities Projects involving strictly religious purposes or activities Projects from for-profit entities Projects that partner with police or other policing institutions (e.g., CAS) Projects from organizations with over $1M annual budget N.B.: Please contact us if you’re unsure if expenses would be eligible for funding or not. How to apply Create an account on Foundant, our online grant management portal to access the application form. Application Deadline: June 29, 2026 at 5PM ET The process Applicants with Limited Internet Access Oral Submissions Video Submissions The process Foundant Portal Submit your application through our online system. You can save drafts and return to your work later. Information Sessions Register for our webinars or Grant Writing 101 sessions to learn about eligibility and timelines. Shortlisting and Review Staff review submissions for eligibility. Strong applications are shared with our Black Youth Advisory Committee for evaluation. Decision and Feedback Applicants are notified of the outcome by email. We provide feedback on all submissions based on the deliberations of our advisors. Applicants with Limited Internet Access Applications are submitted through our online portal; however, if submitting through the online portal is not a possibility due to inadequate internet access, fill out this document and share the completed application to [email protected]. Oral Submissions We recognize the significance of oral transmission of stories, histories, lessons and other knowledge to sustain identities for Black communities. In keeping with this, we accept oral submissions. Please get in touch with us to request an oral application process. N.B.: An oral application process means staff will write your application word for word rather than someone offering to finesse your application verbally. The closer to the deadline, the less likely this option will be available as staff capacity will diminish overtime. Video Submissions Applicants can submit all or parts of the application via video through the portal under attachments. Make it clear which answers are submitted via video and which questions are written directly in the portal (e.g., write in group leads section “see video for details”). After you receive funding Successful applicants sign a funding agreement and receive payments according to an agreed schedule. Our reporting focus is on learning and relationship-building. Grantees are invited to participate in storytelling circles and roundtable reflections to share their impact and challenges. Contact For more information, email Aldeli Albán Reyna, Director of Grants & Community Initiatives. Aldeli Albán Reyna Director of Grants and Community Initiatives [email protected] Helpful Resources Information Session Videos Black Youth Fund Information Session 2026 Frequently Asked Questions What types of initiatives can be funded? Laidlaw grants a variety of projects, e.g., policy & advocacy work, direct action, programs, and community-based research (research cannot be part of a masters or doctorate degree). Can our project focus on multiple regions or does it have to be only one? Yes. Projects can focus on an individual or multiple regions, neighborhoods, and/or cities within Ontario. All activities and expenses must be conducted in Ontario. Laidlaw is a province-wide funder and cannot fund initiatives outside of ON, partial activities in a different province or region, nor salaries for staff outside of the province. How many Black Youth Fund grants does Laidlaw intend to make through the current call for applications? While this depends on the number of eligible applications and the budget that potential grantees need to do this work, about 10 groups would receive $100,000. The total pool of funding is $1 Million. How much can we request? You can apply for up to $100,000 for a one-time project. We need funding to support our core activities, not a project. Can we apply to the Indigenous Youth Fund? No. We do not provide core funding. However, we fund core operating costs associated with a project if they are directly related to the project. Do we need to submit audited financial statements? No. Laidlaw does not require financial statements to apply to our grants. Why am I being asked to demonstrate connection to Black communities? To protect Black grantees and ensure just and meaningful access, Laidlaw operates from a “nothing about us without us” framework. We require that youth leads provide connections to Black community. This can be in the form of photos and/or letters of support from Black-led community organizations to confirm your connection. Why is youth defined as someone 35 inclusive and under? Laidlaw defines young people as someone who is 35 and under at the time of application. In previous years, our definition of youth went up to 30 years of age. However, knowing Black and Indigenous youth who are exiting the child welfare system, surviving environmental racism and the criminal system, and reeling from the impacts of being pushed out of the education system might not have benefitted from the “youth” labeled before aging out. Being mindful of these barriers, we have changed the age criteria from 30 to 35. Does an organization need to be youth-led to be eligible? No. However, the project itself needs to be entirely led by Black youth (35 years old and under). This can be done by youth staff, youth advisors, youth board members, etc. Black youth who are group leads will essentially undertake a project on behalf of the organization. Projects should have a minimum of three Black youth leads. What do you mean by youth-led initiatives? Laidlaw funds projects envisioned, developed, led, and implemented by Black young people (35 and under, at time of application). The image below presents eight levels of youth participation that start from manipulation and tokenism at the lower rungs, to full participation at the top. Black Youth Fund focuses on groups within Rung 7 in the image below, meaning little to no input from adults – e.g., only paying salaries and honoraria for youth (35 and under), no projects that are adult-directed or ideated where youth only implement or participate, and no projects that don’t have enough Black youth with lived experiences. Elders are an important part of the ecosystem and can provide guidance and mentorship for the group but not lead the project themselves. E.g., A mentorship program where youth will benefit from 1:1 coaching with mentors who will get an honoraria but the mentors are over 35 would not be seen as youth-led as the dynamics become top-down knowledge transfer from adult-to-youth. We are a social enterprise / a for-profit business, can we get funded? No. We do not fund for-profit entities. Additionally, we do not fund initiatives that come with a cost to the participants or activities that could generate profit (e.g., markets with vendors, event fee, program fee, fee for services, etc.) We’re asking for funds to have our own microgrants program. Could this get funded? No. We are unable to fund projects that give out microgrants to other participants, as well as fundraising campaigns, capital expenses, for-profit activities and business/social enterprises, endowments, sponsorship of events and conferences, partisan political activities, religious activities, projects outside of Ontario, and projects that partner with police or other types of policing institutions (e.g., CAS) as it can create unsafe spaces for young people. We are a grassroots group. Can we apply to receive funds directly? No. Currently, the Foundation requires non-incorporated grassroots groups to partner with a registered charitable organization or registered nonprofit to act as a trustee and provide organizational mentorship and administrative support. The Organizational Mentor (OM) will receive funds to distribute to the grassroots group. Depending on capacity, one organization can be an OM for one or multiple groups. While we strongly recommend having a partnership agreement between the grassroots group and the OM, this is not required to apply. Laidlaw developed this Organizational Mentor Booklet, which outlines expectations, offers a partner agreement template, and lists Black-led and Indigenous-led organizations that can be contacted. We are a large charity / registered nonprofit. Do we have to factor admin costs into our budget proposal? What is a Power Imbalance Fee? For charities and registered nonprofits, the admin budget line can be between 10-15%. To acknowledge the power imbalance that grassroots organizations are in, we require that registered charities and nonprofits with an annual budget of over $1,000,000 provide 10-15% of their proposed budget towards a Black youth-led grassroots group that aligns with the workplan. Due to CRA guidelines, grassroots groups are often forced to partner with larger organizations and release administrative fees. To flip the script, Laidlaw has instituted a Power Imbalance Fee to ensure large organizations who apply to the fund identify small Black youth-led grassroots groups to redistribute unrestricted funds to, which would total 10-15% of the grant amount. This amount should not come with expectations for grassroots groups to do additional labour but rather as a first step in flipping the usual granting power dynamics. What is the usual percentage for admin fees, especially if working with an Organizational Mentor? Do we have to factor admin costs into our budget proposal? The admin fee for grassroots groups generally goes towards the OM and we don’t encourage more than 10% of the budget to be allocated to this line item, which you would factor into your budget proposal. For charities, and nonprofits not working with an OM, the admin budget line can be between 10-15%. Our project benefits Black youth but little to no one in our group shares this racial identity, would our application be competitive? No. We do not fund projects where the “by and for” is not a structural component of the group. Echoing South African disability activists, Laidlaw espouses the “Nothing about us, without us” slogan. Black youth know how best to support their own communities. Laidlaw is not interested in funding projects that parachute into communities and perpetuate a saviour complex. Which projects will get priority? Black youth-led groups will be funded over non-Black-led groups. Read the Foundation for Black Communities’ definition of a B3 organization (Black-focused, Black-led, and Black-serving) here. Can we pay ourselves through this grant? Absolutely! As long as salaries and honoraria only go to Black youth and no one above 35 gets paid. Projects must pay Black youth staff at least a living wage within your area. Find rates calculated by Living Wage Ontario. If reviewers gauge that the salary / wage is too low, applicants might be asked to rework their budget. Applicants can opt to do salaries or hourly wages for staff and honoraria for participants, whichever method works best for your group. Remember to add Mandatory Employment Related Costs (MERCs) to your wage calculations. Am I able to accept a grant if I’m currently on ODSP? Folks can keep their ODSP benefit while gainfully employed. Earnings are capped at $1,000 per month on top of what you receive from ODSP. In 2022, the ODSP earning cap increased from $200 to $1000 per month. For every dollar earned past the $1,000 cap, ODSP claws back $0.75. After the $1,000/month cap, you are entitled to $10,000 in-kind compensation annually. Visit ontario.ca/page/ontario-disability-support-program. If you have questions regarding programming and ODSP, contact the IYCFF Program Director. Will letters of support increase the strength of our application? We don’t require letters of support, however, providing recent youth testimonials vouching for the initiative could increase the validity of your application. We are more interested in youth validation over institutional validation so providing letters of support from adults/school boards/institutions does not strengthen applications. We understand that the Foundation will not fund capital expenditures. Is computer equipment considered to be capital expenditures? We will not fund capital expenditures for immovable assets (i.e., buildings, furniture, infrastructure, etc.). Small equipment including tech equipment relevant to the project could be included in the budget. What are some common mistakes applicants make when submitting proposals? Here is a non-exhaustive list of general mistakes people tend to make when applying: Forgetting to mention group leads’ lived experience of the system(s), ages, and racial identity Parachuting into a community and perpetuating saviourism Passion doesn’t come through or has been diluted Project plan & budget don’t match – there’s no budget breakdown or enough details Alignment to the system(s) is not strong enough Project isn’t youth-led but just youth-serving Not reading the FAQs, guidelines, and eligibility criteria Non-youth (over 35) write the application and are the only group’s contact Youth leads writing the application don’t attend / listen to the info session Using AI as a primary tool and not checking content We got funding from Laidlaw before, does this affect our new grant application? Applications are evaluated on merits. Previous Laidlaw funding has no bearing on new applications unless you are a current grantee, and you’re seeking support for the same project and activities. If that’s the case, you’ll need to communicate clearly how your new application will build on your learnings from the previous project. N.B.: If it comes down to a decision between a project/organization that is currently being funded vs. one that isn’t, reviewers might opt for the one that has not yet gotten a Laidlaw grant. Can you explain what you mean by environmental racism? Environmental racism refers to the disproportionate exposure of Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities to polluting industries and environmentally hazardous activities (The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2020). Examples include mercury contamination in Grassy Narrows First Nation, boil water advisory on reserves, resource extraction on Indigenous lands, waste management inequalities, and displacing families and communities. Black communities face environmental racism whereby landfills, waste dumps, and other environmentally hazardous activities are disproportionately situated near neighbourhoods of people of African descent, creating serious health risks (Coutinho, A. and Ramesh, H., 2022). Community displacement through renovictions, infrastructure development like the LRT in Little Jamaica, which gentrifies and decimates long-established communities and neighbourhoods. How do we submit an application? Submit an application online through Foundant, the Foundation’s online grant management portal. If you have limited access to the internet, you can contact us and request an oral application process or submission via email. When using the portal, can we leave the application unfinished and return to it later? Yes. Your application will remain in draft form until you hit submit. You can return to your draft application at any time. Try not to leave the application in draft until the last minute as the system times out. On deadline day, can we submit our application past deadline time? No. Foundant times out as soon as the deadline time hits (e.g. 5PM). If you don’t submit before the time, your application will stay in draft and not go through evaluation. There is usually a 30-mins grace period built into the system (e.g., 5:30PM) and due to the volume of applications, making exceptions to submit after the deadline will not be possible. What happens after we submit an application? You will receive an email confirming receipt of application. Laidlaw staff review each application for eligibility. Strong eligible applications that align well with the Black Youth Fund priorities will be shared with Black Youth Advisors. If staff and/or Advisors have follow-up questions, we will reach out. Advisors review shortlisted applications and then meet to consider them. Together, they decide which projects to recommend for funding. Advisors recommend projects to the Foundation’s Board for ratification. Following the Board’s ratification, we will contact you to share decisions made. How do I learn about the outcome of my application? After a decision is reached on your application, you will receive an email notification. We do not release results by phone unless you went through an offline application process. Our grant application has been approved – what happens next? Congratulations! You will be asked to review and sign an agreement, which may have special conditions attached that are specific to your grant. Generally, the first installment is paid soon after the receipt of the signed agreement and remaining installments are paid in accordance with the payment schedule drawn up to suit your particular project. What is a payment schedule? A payment schedule outlines dates and grant amounts made to your group by the Foundation for the approved budget. It is developed by taking into consideration the information provided in the work plan, and often also in consultation with the grantee. Our application did not get accepted. Is there somewhere I can get feedback? You can contact us directly. We will provide you with feedback on your application based on Granting Committee deliberations. What happens if COVID-19 or similar pandemics impact my project? BYF grantees are encouraged to see which activities could be conducted virtually i.e., over Zoom or other similar platforms. We also approve budget reallocations to allow for the purchase of equipment for online communication, where possible. What adjustments did the Foundation make during the pandemic? Laidlaw adjusted monitoring of grants and program delivery to alleviate stress. Funds should still align with the grant’s focus, however, flexibility is extended for budget reallocation, project deliverables, granting deadlines, and project start dates. If you need to adjust project plans or make changes to your grant, please reach out to discuss. Information Sessions & Grant Writing Support Need support to write your grant application? Access the following resources: Watch our past Grant Writing 101 recorded webinar Check our website and register for an upcoming information session Find in-person info session details on our socials and website While staff can’t tell you what to apply for, we offer pointers and answer questions more specific to your project idea We have some questions. Who can I contact? For more information, please contact the Director of Grants & Community Initiatives, Aldeli Albán Reyna, at [email protected].