Photo: Nick Iwanyshyn / The Local
Inclusive Local Economies

Opportunities Fund

Our relationship with Metcalf has contributed tremendously to our impact: it enables us to build our capacity, strengthen our strategies, and be connected to a network of organizations that are working on similar issues. They are a partner that is as invested in the well-being of our organization and participants as we are internally.

Executive Director, Building Up

Metcalf grantee Building Up shared how its social enterprise model provides work in the construction trades for people living in poverty and those emerging from the justice system.

Strategic, organizational and partnership support from Metcalf puts us on stronger footing to reach our goals of expanding workers’ rights education and advancing decent work in our communities.

Executive Director, Ontario Employment Education and Research Centre

Opportunities Fund Highlights

Opportunities Fund: Recent Grantee Highlights

More
Tireless Efforts of Advocates and Migrant Student Workers Result in Significant Immigration Changes and Improved Workers’ Rights
Metcalf’s 2022 Opportunities Fund — the Process and Grantees
A Long-Fought Victory for Workers Achieved With $15 Minimum Wage in Ontario
Fair Chances Coalition Building More Equitable Hiring Practices and Better Businesses
Impact Investments Enable Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust Purchase of 36 Affordable Housing Units
Introducing Metcalf’s 2021 Opportunities Fund Grantees
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Recent Grants

Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$1,550,000
Term
60 months
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in collaboration with Workers’ Action Centre, to ensure that they have the communication and digital capacity, and the operational, staffing, and administrative infrastructure to advance...
2022—2027
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$300,000
Term
36 months
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to adapt their programs and services to create more efficient and scalable ways for employers to hire workers and to assist skilled workers to advance in their careers beyond entry-level...
2023—2025
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$315,000
Term
36 months
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to strengthen the Fair Chances Coalition by supporting job developers to leverage employer relationships and by mobilizing professional member-based networks and associations
2023—2025
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$285,000
Term
36 months
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in partnership with the Better Way Alliance, to build partnerships with existing business groups, strengthen capacity among employers to become decent work advocates, and advocate for...
2023—2025
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$148,138
Term
24 months
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in partnership with Cecil Community Centre, to enable CecilVenues to further test its event space social enterprise model and become integrated into Cecil’s organizational structure
2023—2024
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$160,000
Term
24 months
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in partnership with Black Urbanism Toronto, to build momentum for a commercial land trust in Little Jamaica, by focusing on community capacity, growing the membership base, establishing a...
2023—2024
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$75,000
Term
12 months
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to develop and test training for e-bike mechanics and integrating it into their bike hub model
2023
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$75,000
Term
12 months
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to support the Parkdale People’s Economy’s neighbourhood engagement process as it updates the Parkdale Community Plan
2023
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$150,000
Term
24 months
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in partnership with Afri-Can FoodBasket, to work with community stakeholders and the City of Toronto to facilitate coordinated action to achieve food sovereignty for Black communities in...
2022—2023
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$100,000
Term
24 months
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in partnership with Foodsters United Co-op, to develop a co-op delivery model owned by workers to provide customers with on-demand deliveries in key Toronto locations
2022—2023
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$180,000
Term
24 months
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in collaboration with Toronto Community Benefits Network, to support the establishment of a community benefits agreement for the upcoming Downsview redevelopment
2022—2023
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$173,400
Term
24 months
Learn More
in partnership with the Better Way Alliance, to share and amplify their business members’ pandemic experience of decent work being central to their success and viability, cultivate their...
2021—2023
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$159,502
Term
24 months
Learn More
in partnership with the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, to analyze the experiences of care workers arriving under the new government pilot programs, develop recommendations and build...
2021—2023
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$177,092
Term
24 months
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in partnership with the Toronto Shelter Network, to support shelter employers to advance organizational development approaches and test a training and support program for hiring people with...
2021—2023
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$75,000
Term
12 months
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to work with entrepreneurship training providers to examine the ecosystem of entrepreneurship mentorship and funding models, and develop recommendations to strengthen impactful mentorship...
2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$50,000
Term
12 months
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in collaboration with Greenbelt Markets, to test out their model of supporting low-income food entrepreneurs as part of the Neighbourhood Food Hub partnership
2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$60,000
Term
12 months
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in partnership with Cecil Community Centre, to develop the capacity of CecilVenues, its events space social enterprise to enable income generation opportunities for community members...
2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$28,480
Term
12 months
Learn More
in partnership with the Toronto Shelter Network, to develop a workforce policy framework to guide the shelter sector to undertake a focus on hiring, retaining, and promoting people with...
2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$75,000
Term
12 months
Learn More
to develop meaningful engagement strategies with employers in high-demand industries to support displaced hospitality workers to transition into good jobs
2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$60,000
Term
12 months
Learn More
to continue the groundwork and employer engagement for the Fair Chances Coalition campaign that encourages businesses to endorse inclusive hiring practices for job candidates with criminal...
2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$20,000
Term
12 months
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to establish and deepen relationships with employers within the basketball industry to increase understanding of employment opportunities and develop career pathways for youth
2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$18,000
Term
12 months
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to strengthen its role as an intermediary among residents, Toronto Community Housing, and organizational partners to build new opportunities that strengthen the neighbourhood economy
2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$57,000
Term
12 months
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to support the Parkdale People’s Economy to develop a workforce planning strategy focused on the local health care sector
2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$70,000
Term
12 months
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in partnership with Building Up, to expand financial advisory and case management supports for alumni and workers to address the barriers they face in gaining financial security
2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$40,000
Term
12 months
Learn More
to support its network to explore how to invest their organizational assets in ways that improve economic inclusion of residents living on low incomes
2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$60,000
Term
12 months
Learn More
to develop and test a local workforce approach that connects and leverages existing networks and economic development initiatives with community benefits opportunities from the ongoing...
2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$130,000
Term
24 months
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to develop a framework for its employer engagement to strengthen industry engagement and partnerships with employers working in social services, entertainment, trades, information...
2021—2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$97,860
Term
24 months
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to develop partnerships with employers in the cycling industry to inform their youth employment program model in the Black Creek neighbourhood
2021—2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$150,000
Term
24 months
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in partnership with East Scarborough Storefront, to deepen their local workforce development strategy with anchor institutions to respond to local employers’ hiring priorities
2021—2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$189,106
Term
24 months
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in partnership with Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust, to develop and strengthen long-term partnerships focused on social procurement, workforce development, climate resilience, housing...
2021—2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$225,569
Term
24 months
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in partnership with the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, to form college and community chapters that build the capacity of migrant workers on college study permits, share legal...
2021—2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$179,987
Term
24 months
Learn More
building on previous Metcalf-funded research by The Upstream Lab, to establish the Empower Personal Support Workers (PSW) Network to serve as a platform for PSWs to organize for better work...
2021—2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$400,000
Term
24 months
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in collaboration with the Workers’ Action Centre, to continue their ongoing efforts in securing and raising the floor of working conditions during the pandemic by highlighting workers’...
2020—2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$150,000
Term
36 months
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in partnership with the Parkdale People’s Economy Network, to develop a workforce planning strategy in the health sector, working with local hospitals to advance their community benefits...
2020—2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$200,000
Term
36 months
Learn More
in partnership with Building Up, to strengthen its workforce model by integrating financial advisory and case management support for alumni and workers
2020—2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$100,000
Term
36 months
Learn More
to support the Ryerson Indigenous Work Experience program, a model to overcome systemic barriers for Indigenous people to access quality employment at the university
2020—2022
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$37,998
Term
12 months
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in partnership with the Institute for Change Leaders, to recruit and build new leadership in the early childhood workforce and strengthen existing networks to mobilize and advocate for...
2021
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$50,000
Term
12 months
Learn More
in partnership with Foodsters United Co-op, to develop a co-op delivery platform owned by worker members to provide on-demand delivery for businesses
2021
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$25,450
Term
12 months
Learn More
in partnership with Vivimos Juntxs, Comemos Juntxs, to research how entrepreneurship opportunities can further enable migrants to participate in the economy
2021
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$85,000
Term
12 months
Learn More
in collaboration with Mizwe Biik Aboriginal and Employment Training and IKEA, to develop a furniture repair model that advances the circular economy and creates good jobs and meaningful...
2021
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$45,000
Term
12 months
Learn More
in partnership with Black Urbanism Toronto, to explore community control and ownership models to retain and expand the diverse range of Black businesses that supports Little Jamaica’s...
2021
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$75,000
Term
12 months
Learn More
in partnership with Hospitality Workers Training Centre, to develop meaningful engagement strategies with employers in high-demand industries to support displaced hospitality workers to...
2021
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$50,000
Term
12 months
Learn More
in partnership with the Native Child and Family Services of Toronto, to provide young Indigenous GED learners digital skills training, wraparound supports, and mentorship to build pathways...
2021
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$71,083
Term
12 months
Learn More
in collaboration with the Nail Technicians Network, to research and develop a set of voluntary standards and nail salon owner champions to improve health standards and working conditions in...
2021
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$116,000
Term
24 months
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to customize its home-based childcare business training model into an accessible, affordable on-line curriculum. It will test this model with up to 140 low income immigrant newcomer women...
2020—2021
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$60,000
Term
24 months
Learn More
to develop relationships and build the groundwork for an inclusive hiring campaign that encourages businesses to hire job candidates with criminal records
2020—2021
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$105,000
Term
24 months
Learn More
in partnership with Toronto Community Benefits Network to support member organizations in developing community benefits strategies for emerging neighbourhood development
2020—2021
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$28,000
Term
12 months
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to strengthen their engagement with Personal Support Workers and use storytelling to share the impact of this crisis and visions for decent work
2020
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$40,000
Term
12 months
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to educate and engage their communities of faith in the Toronto region on the best practices surrounding social innovation, impact investing, and social finance to encourage investments in...
2020
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$168,133
Term
24 months
Learn More
in partnership with the Toronto Shelter Network, to develop a workforce development strategy focused on hiring, retaining, and promoting people with lived experience of homelessness for...
2019—2020
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$154,540
Term
24 months
Learn More
in partnership with the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, to build the capacity of migrant workers on college study permits to learn about their employment rights, learn about their...
2019—2020
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$166,526
Term
24 months
Learn More
in partnership with Better Way Alliance, to develop partnerships and resources on the business case for decent work, and grow its networks of business owners
2019—2020
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$142,000
Term
24 months
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in partnership with Caregivers’ Action Centre, to support care workers to access and understand the program changes, analyze issues caregivers are facing, and propose policy...
2019—2020
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$10,000
Term
12 months
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in partnership with Free Geek Toronto, to research grassroots tech repair models to inform the feasibility of a Toronto Repair Incubator pilot focused on Indigenous youth
2019
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$28,751
Term
12 months
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to work in partnership with Ralph Thornton Centre, to develop an adult education model for peer workers employed in drop-in programs
2019
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$49,777
Term
12 months
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to partner with Indigenous leaders and organizations in co-designing and testing new strategies to launch Indigenous youth into digital careers
2019
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$58,650
Term
12 months
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to explore how their retail social enterprise can support the formation of a retail workforce development intermediary
2019
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$90,000
Term
24 months
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in partnership with the Toronto Community Benefits Network, to apply the learnings from the Eglinton Crosstown LRT Community Benefits process to advocate and negotiate for meaningfully...
2018—2019
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$119,749
Term
24 months
Learn More
in partnership with the Better Way Alliance, a network of decent work employers, to outreach to Toronto employers, develop educational materials for both employers and workers, and conduct...
2018—2019
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$183,333
Term
24 months
Learn More
in partnership with East Scarborough Storefront, to build on previous work that identified access to training centres as a systemic barrier for local residents to access good jobs within...
2018—2019
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$80,000
Term
24 months
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to enable its network to explore investment strategies that are aligned to improving economic inclusion of low-income people. The project will develop investment toolkits for non-profit...
2018—2019
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$133,400
Term
24 months
Learn More
in partnership with the CEE Centre for Young Black Professionals, to develop and test effective alumni engagement strategies for their Career Program graduates, in order to better support...
2018—2019
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$589,000
Term
36 months
Learn More
to support ongoing efforts in advancing decent work conditions for people through research and policy development, public education and awareness specifically among the community-based...
2017—2019
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$161,571
Term
24 months
Learn More
to support The Upstream Lab to examine working conditions, job security, and the health of precariously employed health sector workers in Toronto, and to engage precarious health sector...
2017—2019
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$30,000
Term
12 months
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in partnership with Toronto ACORN, to build on previous work that established a city-wide working group of workers affected by Employment Insurance policy to engage in policy debate around...
2018
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$30,000
Term
12 months
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to develop a targeted recruitment plan and test new recruitment techniques to support the rapid scaling and expansion of their workforce development program
2018
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$40,000
Term
12 months
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in partnership with the Parkdale People’s Economy Network, a network of over 30 community organizations collaborating to build decent work, shared wealth, and equitable development in...
2018
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$50,629
Term
12 months
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in partnership with Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee, to develop the operational model for the new shipping container café in the R. B. Burgess Park; second year of two-year commitment
2018
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$174,050
Term
24 months
Learn More
to develop a neighbourhood-based local economic development strategy, for the Moss Park community, leveraging the proposed $100 million dollar redevelopment of the John Innes Community...
2017—2018
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$195,000
Term
24 months
Learn More
in partnership with the Hospitality Workers’ Training Centre to cultivate and grow a partnership with large contracted food service companies to create an employment pipeline for...
2017—2018
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$220,000
Term
24 months
Learn More
in partnership with Building Up, to improve apprenticeship completion rates by further testing three approaches that contribute to financial stability and employment continuity for its...
2017—2018
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$125,000
Term
24 months
Learn More
to strengthen industry engagement for its logistics and forklift workforce development strategy
2017—2018
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$150,736
Term
24 months
Learn More
in partnership with the Caregivers’ Action Centre, to advance and document its organizational model to enable worker leadership, research, resource development, and knowledge...
2017—2018
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$129,921
Term
24 months
Learn More
in partnership with DUKE Heights BIA to develop career pathway strategies for low-income job seekers and workers in food and furniture manufacturing
2017—2018
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$52,829
Term
12 months
Learn More
in partnership with Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee, to develop the operational model for the new shipping container café in the R. B. Burgess Park; first year of two-year commitment
2017
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$51,000
Term
12 months
Learn More
to support East Scarborough Storefront to advance its current place-based workforce development strategy with the University of Toronto’s Scarborough campus by identifying key levers...
2017
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$30,000
Term
12 months
Learn More
to develop and disseminate information and tools for low-income informal economy workers; and to increase awareness of the risks and implications for workers, consumers, and employers...
2017
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$84,000
Term
24 months
Learn More
to create a mini-micro loans program in communities across Toronto that enables low-income people to access financing in order to improve their employability skills or pay for employment...
2016—2017
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$140,000
Term
24 months
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to develop and implement a local economies strategy that leverages the economic development opportunities that are occurring in the Jane Finch neighbourhood
2016—2017
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$105,580
Term
24 months
Learn More
in partnership with the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, to enable migrant workers’ leadership and organizations to share best practices and stay informed about current public policy
2016—2017
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$59,832
Term
12 months
Learn More
to deepen knowledge within community health centres about the health and social impacts of precarious jobs, to strengthen institutional capacity to promote good jobs for client communities,...
2016
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$47,250
Term
12 months
Learn More
in partnership with ACORN Canada, to engage its members who are affected by Employment Insurance policy and support members’ leadership development to engage in the policy debate around...
2016
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$40,000
Term
12 months
Learn More
to conduct research on the sharing economy to explore the sector’s impact on the labour market and inequality
2016
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$42,533
Term
12 months
Learn More
in partnership with La Passerelle – I.D.É., to research the labour market gaps and skills shortages for bilingual talent in the Toronto Region in order to expand their training program...
2016
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$67,000
Term
12 months
Learn More
in partnership with the Flemingdon Hub Steering Committee, to design, develop, and implement the first stage of a local employment and economic development strategy, creating a...
2016
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$45,000
Term
12 months
Learn More
to work with key stakeholders on advancing a local jobs strategy for school cafeterias
2016
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$75,000
Term
12 months
Learn More
in partnership with the Toronto Community Benefits Network, to builds its organizational capacity to champion, advocate and monitor Community Benefits on the Eglinton Crosstown and Finch...
2016
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$50,000
Term
12 months
Learn More
in partnership with Building Up, to strengthen the construction industry engagement in its curriculum design in order to improve trainees and apprentices outcomes
2016
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$60,000
Term
12 months
Learn More
to advance the next stage of its Workforce Strategy Initiative by replicating its employer engagement model in IT related careers in health care and insurance
2016
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$62,100
Term
12 months
Learn More
in partnership with the Caregivers’ Action Centre, to map the challenges caregivers experience under the new 2014 federal immigration rules, to identify policy recommendations for...
2016
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$17,000
Term
12 months
Learn More
in partnership with the Migrant Worker’s Alliance For Change, to develop a digital media campaign to build a broader movement in support of migrant worker rights
2016
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$105,810
Term
24 months
Learn More
in partnership with Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee, a grassroots group of women focusing on improving the social and economic opportunities for Thorncliffe Park women by harnessing...
2015—2016
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$50,000
Term
24 months
Learn More
to conduct research examining the scope and frequency of police record checking practices and the impacts of this on employment in Toronto, recommend best practices and policies for both...
2015—2016
Initiative
Opportunities Fund
Amount
$220,000
Term
24 months
Learn More
to support ongoing efforts related to advancing decent work conditions for people including research and policy development, public education and awareness specifically, capacity building...
2015—2016
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