Artwork by: Amber Waboose Indigenous Youth & Community Futures Fund Supporting Indigenous youth reconnecting with land, language, and community. / Grants & Programs / Indigenous Youth / Indigenous Youth & Community Futures Fund About the Fund Through the Indigenous Youth & Community Futures Fund (IYCFF), we invest in opportunities for Indigenous youth to connect with their land, languages and cultures, and each other. We want to support change-makers to engage in acts of decolonization, nation and community building and cultural resurgence. More specifically, the IYCFF grants are for Indigenous youth to develop and lead projects where they: learn about and are immersed in their lands, languages, rights, laws and cultures participate in acts of resurgence, reclamation and cultural care build relationships within and across diverse Indigenous communities and nations address environmental racism and promote sustainable relationships with land and water Who it’s for Indigenous youth-led groups in Ontario Funding amount Up to $30,000 for one year; up to $60,000 for returning grantees Eligible work Projects focused on cultural resurgence, environmental justice, and community healing Eligible groups Grassroots groups, nonprofits, charities, or First Nations band offices Status Applications currently closed Projects could include: Types of Activities Land-based learning opportunities and land stewardship like seed planting, community gardens, harvesting, etc. Environmental justice initiatives such as climate action, and Indigenous land and water protection Language immersion opportunities Culture camps or culture-based education that includes ceremonies, medicines, arts, and sciences Social justice, law and rights-based education Healing, life promotion and community building Education and community-led responses to the rise of denialism and historical revisionism Other projects that communities deem important to support decolonization reconciliation, nation-building and cultural resurgence Who Can Apply This funding call is open to Indigenous youth-led groups based in remote, rural, and urban territories across Ontario. This means the organization, project leads, and project activities must all be located within Ontario. A youth-led group is defined as a project developed and led by at least two Indigenous young people, 35 years of age or under. We welcome the involvement of adult allies, community members, Elders, and knowledge keepers in supportive roles, as long as the project idea originates from and is led by Indigenous youth. We are committed to inclusivity and strongly encourage applications from First Nations, Métis, Inuit, Afro-Indigenous, 2SLGBTQ+, and disabled young people. Please note that the Laidlaw Foundation is able to support grassroots groups. However all successful applicants who are not part of a registered nonprofit, charity, or First Nation band office must partner with an Organizational Mentor (OM) to receive funding. Laidlaw can assist unincorporated groups in finding an OM. If your group is already a nonprofit organization, registered charity, or First Nation band office, this requirement does not apply to you and no additional steps are needed. Funding details First-time applicants may request funding of up to $30,000 for a one-year project lasting 6–12 months. Repeat grantees who have successfully completed a one-year project with Laidlaw may apply for up to $30,000 per year for a two-year project, for a total maximum of $60,000. Eligible expenses Ineligible expenses Eligible expenses Administrative costs (organizational mentors typically charge between 5% and 15%) Small equipment and technical costs or fees to carry out the proposed project Transportation, food, and childcare expenses for project staff and participants Salaries and honorariums for Youth Staff, Elders, Knowledge Keepers and Facilitators (Please contact us If you’re not sure whether the expenses you anticipate would be eligible for funding or not) Ineligible expenses Purchase of land or real estate Capital expenses for immovable assets, i.e. buildings Fundraising campaigns Microgrant projects Endowments Traveling outside of Ontario Scholarship and bursaries Direct financial support to for-profit enterprises Cultural tourism and participating in powwow competitions (as opposed to hosting a powwow) Projects involving partisan activities for specific political parties are not eligible. However, we do support direct action initiatives and advocacy efforts aimed at changing laws and policies that uplift communities. Projects involving strictly religious purposes or activities. Please note that we do not consider Indigenous ceremonies to be religious purposes. Salaries for non youth led organization and groups How to Apply Create an account on our online grant management portal to access the application form. Application Deadline: March 5, 2026 by 5PM ET Information Session Applicants with Limited Internet Access Oral and Video Submissions Applications from Other Funders Organizational Mentor (OM) Decision Making Process Information Session Laidlaw Foundation hosted a virtual information sessions on the following date: Tuesday, Feb 17 at 12PM ET If you were unable to attend the information session you can check out the 2026 recording by clicking here. Steps to Apply Applications are submitted in writing through our online portal; however, if submitting your application through the online portal is not a possibility due to inadequate internet access, please click here for the link to the Word version of the application. Please share the completed application to [email protected] Steps to Apply We recognize the significance of oral transmission of stories, histories, lessons and other knowledge to sustain identities for Indigenous communities. In keeping with this, we accept oral, video or powerpoint submissions. Video submissions can be uploaded onto the online portal. However please get in touch with us to request an oral application process. Note: An oral application process means staff will write your application word for word rather than someone offering to finesse your application verbally. You can download the application form here Steps to Apply We accept applications that were originally prepared for other funders, provided they address the majority of the questions in our application, including your project idea, who you are, the budget, and the workplan. Organizational Mentor (OM) An Organizational Mentor (OM) is a charitable organization, nonprofit or First Nation band office that provides support to newly incorporated, unincorporated grassroots groups and youth-led initiatives. This support may include administrative assistance, project mentoring, governance guidance, and financial oversight. An OM offers more than a transactional role, they can provide ongoing support throughout your project. All OMs must be located in Ontario, Canada. To learn more about OM services, please review our Organizational Mentor Booklet. Decision-making process Applications are reviewed by an Indigenous Advisory Committee made up of Indigenous youth and community members. The Committee evaluates all eligible proposals, discusses them collectively, and recommends projects for approval to Laidlaw’s Board of Directors. Decisions are guided by Indigenous leadership and values of accountability, reciprocity, and care. Applicants are notified of results by email within approximately three months of the deadline. If you receive funding Successful applicants sign a short funding agreement and receive payments based on an agreed schedule. Reporting focuses on reflection and relationship building rather than formal paperwork. Grantees are invited, but never required, to share learnings through storytelling or other community-based knowledge exchange. Videos Guides & Tutorials IYCFF Information Session 2025 IYCFF Information Session 2026 FAQ Frequently Asked Questions Who can apply for grants through the Indigenous Youth Community and Futures Fund? The IYCFF program supports Indigenous, youth-led groups that are based in traditional territories spanning Ontario. This means the organization, project leads and project activities should be located in Ontario. We acknowledge the hard work of adults, aunties, uncles and other older community members, however the application will be stronger if coming directly from the youth. What’s an Indigenous, youth-led group? Young people, who identify as Indigenous Peoples, came up with the project idea and will lead the project with community mentors and/or Elders playing supportive roles as needed and defined by youth. Youth-led is intergenerational, as often there are members older or younger that play important roles in the work. The key thing is that Indigenous, young people under the age of 35 are at the core of decision-making and leadership. 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. IYCFF focuses on groups within Rung 7, 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 Indigenous youth with lived experiences of the system(s). E.g., A mentorship program where youth will benefit from one-on-one 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. Can an unincorporated group apply for a grant? Yes, we welcome applications from unincorporated groups. However, to ensure we can continue providing grants to communities in compliance with CRA regulations, all individual applicants must work in partnership with a registered nonprofit, charity, or First Nation band office acting as an Organizational Mentor (OM). This helps us maintain our ability to support grassroots, youth-led projects across Ontario. Why am I being asked to provide proof of my First Nation/Métis/Inuit Citizenship? To protect Indigenous grantees and ensure equitable access, we require proof of Indigenous identity for youth project leads only. Not all participants need to provide documentation, only the project leads. We require at least two project leads to submit proof of identity, in case one individual is no longer able to continue with the project. Accepted forms of identification include: Status Card Métis membership card Inuit beneficiary card If you do not have one of the above, you may instead submit two letters: One letter from your First Nation, Métis, or Inuit governing body or band council One letter from an Elder or Knowledge Keeper confirming your connection Please note: Knowledge Keepers may also be young adults. Family trees will no longer be accepted as documentation. 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 the IYCFF grants designed to support? The IYCFF grants are for projects that provide opportunities for Indigenous young people to increase or regain access to their culture, land and languages; strengthen and deepen relationship building within and across diverse Indigenous people and communities; address environmental racism and promote sustainable relationships with the land and water and support the transmission of cultural practices and knowledge to future generations. Some examples include Indigenous language projects such as running language immersion classes in the community; land- and culture-based projects for Indigenous youth to increase their knowledge of and access to traditional skills and teachings, such as culture camps organized by Indigenous youth with the support of their community members, Elders and knowledge keepers. Which projects will get priority? Projects located in remote areas or northern Ontario will get priority. As well, Indigenous-led organizations will take priority over non-Indigenous-led organizations. An Indigenous-led organization is defined as having Indigenous identity at the center of the organization’s programming. As well, the majority of the governance structure is held by Indigenous people including their executive, senior and staff level. To read about The Circle’s definition of Indigenous-benefiting, Indigenous-informed, Indigenous Partnerships and Indigenous-led please click here: https://laidlawfdn.box.com/s/2alq2b0it30yc2albpwy2nmtnf0c3nq7 What is the amount we can request? You can apply for up to $30,000 for small-scale, short-term projects that can last between 6 to 12 months. IYCFF applicants that have successfully completed a one year grant can apply for multi-year funding of $30,000 per year for a two year period, totaling up to $60,000. 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. What happens after we submit an application? We’ll send you an email confirming receipt of your application. We will review each application and create a shortlist. Applications that meet the eligibility criteria and align well with the priorities of the IYCFF program will be shared with Laidlaw’s Indigenous Advisory Committee. If we and/or the Indigenous Advisors have follow-up questions about your application, we will let you know. The Indigenous Advisors will first conduct individual reviews of the shortlisted applications and then meet in person to consider each application. Advisors will decide together which projects should be recommended for funding and the amount of funding that should be provided. The Indigenous Advisors recommend projects to the Foundation’s Board for ratification Following the Board’s ratification, we will get in touch with you to share information about the decisions made about your application. In general, expect 3 months from deadline to decision. Applications go through a series of evaluation: What is the decision-making process? How do you decide which projects to fund? The IYCFF grants are assessed by an advisory committee made up of Indigenous young people and community members. After reading all grant applications that meet the eligibility criteria and align with the Fund’s priorities, the Indigenous Advisory Committee meets as a group to discuss, score and award grants with the support of the IYCFF Program Director. Projects that are recommended for funding by the Advisory Committee are then forwarded to the Foundation’s Board of Directors for ratification. How many advisors sit on the Committee? The Indigenous Advisory Committee currently consists of six individuals. You can read about their work here. 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. We have some questions. Who can I contact? For more information, please contact the IYCFF Program Director, Amanda Bernard, at [email protected] 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.) 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 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. 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 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). 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. 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. 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. We’ve already received funding from Laidlaw before. How does this affect our new grant application? Every application is evaluated on its merits. Previous funding status has no bearing on your new application unless you have an active grant (your project is still going on), and you’re seeking support for the same project and activities. If that’s the case, you’ll be asked to communicate clearly how your new application will be building on your learnings from the previous project. 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.