Black Opportunity Fund (BOF) Justice Grant Program
Black Opportunity Fund (BOF) is excited to announce the launch of the Justice Grant, in collaboration with the Black Opportunity Fund (BOF), the Law Foundation of Ontario, and the TD Ready Commitment. This grant aims to support Black-led, Black-serving organizations working to address systemic injustices and promote equity within Black communities across Canada.
Grant Objectives
The BOF Justice Grant is designed to strengthen the effectiveness, capacity, and impact of Black-led, Black-serving organizations (B3s) across Canada focused on increasing justice-related services and access to justice for Black communities. The broad priorities for the BOF Justice Grant Program will focus on providing needs-informed capital to support:
- Reintegration Programs: Programs or services that help individuals re-enter society after involvement in the justice system.
- Prevention and Supports: Programs or services that reduce the risk of incarceration.
- Mental Health and Wellbeing Supports: Programs or services that provide access to the necessary tools for healing, self-advocacy, and mental health care.
- Legal System Reform & Equity: Advocacy for legal system reform and expanding access to legal services within Black communities.
- Addressing Racial Discrimination & Inequality: Initiatives that challenge racial discrimination and inequality in the justice system.
- Educational Programs & Policy Advocacy: Leading initiatives that educate the community and advocate for long-term policy change to promote justice and equality.
- Empowerment through Justice Engagement: Empowering Black individuals to fully engage and thrive in the justice system.
Eligibility Criteria
Organizations applying for the BOF Justice Grant must meet the following requirements:
- Must be Black-led, Black-serving, Black-focused organizations committed to advancing justice and equity within Black communities.
- Be a registered nonprofit or charity in Canada with a focus on justice, legal empowerment, or advocacy for Black communities.
- Show a clear commitment to advancing justice and equality through programs and services.
- Have an existing justice project, or a proposed justice project with funding that has been secured.
- Demonstrate a measurable plan for utilizing the grant to expand justice initiatives.
- Maintain an active online presence (e.g., up-to-date website and social media).
- Provide up-to-date financial records from the past two years, including either audited financial statements or unaudited financial statements, tax returns, and bank statements.
- To be considered for annual grant funding that is $50,000 organizations must submit audited financial statements for the past three fiscal years that were completed by a licensed public accountant.
- Organizations applying for annual grant funding of $25,000 are not required to submit audited financial statements for the past three fiscal years completed by a licensed public accountant.
- Submit a project budget for the initiative seeking funding.
- Cannot have outstanding tax debt or must have a current payment plan with at least two months of on-time payments on any outstanding tax debt.
- Cannot have declared bankruptcy.
Grant Details
- Number of Grants: Up to a total of 13 organizations will be selected.
- Geographic Breakdown: 6 organizations based in Ontario will be selected to receive funding provided by the Law Foundation of Ontario. 7 organizations based anywhere in Canada will be selected to receive funding provided by TD Ready Commitment.
- Grant Amount: The funding amount will vary based on the proposed project’s scope and impact.
- Funding Period: Grants will be distributed in 2025, with funds to be used in alignment with the project’s timeline and goals.
How to Apply
Applications are now open and will be accepted until Thursday, January 23, 2025. Before proceeding with your application, please review this applicant guide to help you navigate the SurveyMonkey Apply platform.
To complete your submission, please visit our application portal. Be sure to include all required documents, as incomplete applications will not be considered.
Application Support
If you need assistance or have questions, please contact the BOF Programs Team at BOFGrants@blackopportunityfund.org.
We encourage all eligible organizations focused on justice and equity for Black communities to apply. Together with the Law Foundation of Ontario and the TD Ready Commitment, we are proud to support initiatives that will help build a more just, inclusive, and equitable Canada for Black communities.
BOF Justice Grant Program - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
About Black Opportunity Fund
Black Opportunity Fund (BOF) is a community-led registered Canadian Charitable organization, whose mandate is to dismantle anti-Black racism by establishing a sustainable pool of capital to fund Black led businesses and Black led not for profits and charities, in order to improve the social and economic well-being of Canada’s Black communities.
The fund will catalyze the cultural, socio-economic, institutional, and political change required to enable Canada’s diverse Black communities to thrive. Black Opportunity Fund will prioritize initiatives around education, health, women, criminal justice, entrepreneurship, arts & culture, and youth that impact the quality of life in Black communities across Canada.
Black Opportunity Fund fulfills its mandate by
- Providing grants to Black-led not for profits and charities, who are leading initiatives that impact the quality of life in Canada’s Black communities.
- Facilitating access to capital for Black-led businesses to drive economic empowerment through the disbursement of loans, equity investments and other funding support.
Black Opportunity Fund’s Registered charity #727678070 RR 0001