The Healthy Communities Initiative was a $60 million investment from the Government of Canada to support communities as they create and adapt public spaces to respond to the new realities of COVID-19 and find long-term solutions.
Below, learn more about the projects and organizations that received funding through CFC for all rounds of funding, which are now complete.
Funded Projects and Organizations
Through the Healthy Communities Initiative, community foundations from coast to coast to coast received over 6,000 applications. Projects funded will support communities as they continue to adapt and navigate through the pandemic, and as they find long term solutions to inequalities seen within their communities. The initiative highlights the incredible work of local governments, charities, Indigenous communities, and nonprofits as they showcase resourcefulness and resilience in the face of COVID-19.
These projects looked within their communities to solve the challenges that were amplified by the pandemic. This included:
Nova Scotia Sea School Breaks Down Barriers to Outdoor Recreation for Black, Indigenous and Newcomer Youth
As well as a youth-led community garden in northern Ontario that’s addressing food insecurity and a national organization based in Manitoba that brought their healing and reconciliation spaces online.
Introducing Canada’s Placemaking Community
Through the new Placemaking website, projects funded by the Healthy Communities Initiative will continue to connect and inspire.
Healthy Communities Initiatives’ projects support their communities in impactful ways. The pandemic has demonstrated the value of community and the need for partnerships. Canada’s Placemaking website is a new space of support and connection for placemaking projects and for the legacy they’ll leave. Community leaders are using this space to share stories, get inspired through gatherings and events, and discover new resources.
Community-led organizations are helping their communities adapt and flourish
Almost three quarters of the Healthy Communities Initiative projects funded are being carried out by registered non-profits including charities.
Community organizations have taken on the major task of supporting their neighbours as they continue to adapt to the realities of a global pandemic, and the aftermath of it. Projects funded by the Healthy Communities Initiative are looking within their region to find pathways forward in the face of adversity.
Organizations are creating adaptable safe community spaces
Digital Solutions are the second most common type of solution in the Healthy Communities Initiative.
Each funded project falls within one of three project themes in the Healthy Communities Initiative: creating safe and vibrant public spaces, improving mobility options, and digital solutions. Solutions proposed by organizations demonstrate the critical role that digital infrastructure plays in allowing us to gather and connect safely, especially during the pandemic. Like the Forests of the Future project by the Fundy Biosphere Reserve. They’ve been finding solutions to safe, adaptable outdoor spaces, and subsequently ensuring their community stays involved in the fight for climate change—an issue that has fallen off the public radar slightly due to the pandemic, but remains just as critical as before.
Serving communities most impacted by the pandemic
People experiencing low income or living in poverty, persons with disabilities, and newcomers are amongst the most served communities in the Healthy Communities Initiative.
Some communities, including low-income and marginalized communities, feel the pandemic’s impacts more than others. These communities may face systemic barriers, including racism and colonization, that make it difficult to access public spaces safely. The following data indicates which communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 have been supported through the Healthy Communities Initiative.
Communities Served
Age Group Served
Please Note: The charts show all projects who selected an age group, community group or population served. The charts show the primary group selected in each category. Many projects are intersectional and are serving multiple groups.
Projects will continue to be added to the map as funding agreements are signed. Please note, this map indicates the organization’s location and not necessarily the location of where the project will take place. Project descriptions within this map are in the language they were written in by recipients.
Download the results as a spreadsheet here:
