OUR FUNDING PRIORITIES

 The Definity Insurance Foundation is a national philanthropic organization that works with charitable partners across Canada to advance community-led solutions that further climate, health, and socio-economic justice, with a particular focus on those faced by Black, Indigenous, and other racialized communities.

Anchored by our values of community, justice, and integrity, we seek to address historic and ongoing inequities. Relevant and lasting change can only be achieved through cooperative and collective action, and so we work with others to create the conditions for access, well-being, inclusion and equity.

We listen to communities disproportionately impacted by barriers and energize collective power to move toward a more just and equitable​​ society.

We proactively seek partnerships built on relationships, and collaborate with intermediaries and funder and community collectives. 

Our focus areas and strategies guide our granting partnerships. We make use of our social and financial capital as a philanthropic foundation in a manner that is dynamic and adaptive through the flow of resources, building the field, and leveraging networks and expertise. We flow resources to our partners through grants and investments, without holding to a preconceived notion of the form that the investment might take. What matters is that we are committing resources to solutions that address systemic barriers.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR WORK AND STRATEGIC DIRECTION

OUR FOCUS AREAS

Visit our YouTube page for highlights of our current partnerships

 
 
 

HEALTHY PEOPLE

We aim to increase the health and well-being of equity-deserving and Indigenous peoples and their communities. We are driving toward solutions that consider the broad range of personal, social, economic, and environmental factors that determine individual and population health, in order to achieve more equitable health outcomes.

  • Solutions we support:

    • Supporting more community food strategies to bring about solutions to food insecurity and increase access to healthy food and community resilience
    • Enhance the level of control and influence over the factors that impact health and wellbeing through public policy, advocacy, civic engagement, and/or grassroots mobilization

    THRIVING COMMUNITIES

    We aim to reduce the effects of social and economic inequality, by advancing greater civic and social inclusion and more inclusive economic opportunities, especially for equity-deserving and Indigenous peoples and their communities.

    • Solutions we support:

      • Communities, equipped with the tools and resources to solve social challenges and implement change
      • More representative community leadership
      • Creation of green jobs
      • Increase access to financial tools and services
      • Entrepreneurs have the supports needed to start and scale their business
      • Advancement of decent work
      • Facilitates the use of private capital for social good
       
       
       
       
       
       

      LIVABLE PLANET

      We aim to build community resilience to the negative impacts of climate change. We are looking to support solutions that contribute to slowing the speed of climate change while supporting community-led adaptation, thereby leading the way to a more just and equitable future for everyone.

      • Solutions we support:

        • Advancing solutions at the intersection for climate and health
        • Indigenous-led climate action
        • Communities equipped to engage in grassroots efforts for environmental advocacy
        • Equipping communities to influence an equitable transition to a low carbon economy

        OUR MISSION, VISION, AND VALUES

        OUR MISSION & VISION

        Our mission: To advance community led solutions that further climate, health, and socio-economic justice.

        Our vision: A just and equitable society

        OUR VALUES

        The work of the Foundation is grounded in:

        COMMUNITY AT THE CORE

        • We listen to understand, which informs our action
        • We believe self determination leads to better solutions
        • We believe that cooperative and collective action leads to relevant and lasting change

        DRIVEN BY JUSTICE

        • We seek to address historic and ongoing inequities, including the imbalance of power and privilege
        • We work with others to create the conditions for access, well-being, inclusion and equity
        • We push ourselves to uncomfortable truths and act with courage

        INTEGRITY THROUGH ACTION

        • We take action and make decisions guided by our mission, vision and values
        • We act with respect, openness and honesty
        • We take accountability for our actions