Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Ignite NPS Foundation (NPS)

Ignite NPS Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation dedicated to strengthening governance and leadership in the nonprofit sector, particularly in Canada. It supports and co-leads the creation of practical research, resources and tools designed for nonprofit boards and senior staff. Rather than operating as a traditional large-scale grant program administrator, the foundation focuses its financial and intellectual capital on targeted projects and initiatives that generate sector-wide learning and practical guidance.

The foundation is funded by the Gary Whitelaw and Linda Mollenhauer Foundation, and it works with a range of partners such as sector networks, governance labs and community organizations to design and disseminate resources. Its initiatives include work on reimagining nonprofit governance, building collaborative organizations and strengthening the ability of boards and management teams to respond to complex and rapidly changing environments.

Ignite NPS supports projects and initiatives that build concrete competencies for nonprofit boards and management, challenge the status quo and spur leaders to action, and introduce new and creative ways of working. Funding tends to focus on themes such as governance practices, resource development, network and collaborative structures, shared decision-making, and evaluation approaches appropriate for funders and nonprofits.

Through these projects, the foundation enables the creation of free reports, guides, frameworks and tools that are made widely available to the sector. Examples include publications on trends and forces reshaping nonprofit organizations, collaboration essentials, network organizational structures, and board oversight of collaboration and program evaluation. These outputs provide practical questions, frameworks and checklists for boards and executives across many fields of activity.

Ignite NPS frequently collaborates with other sector leaders and institutions to co-develop content and learning resources. Some initiatives are hosted on partner platforms, such as governance labs or community engagement organizations, extending the reach of funded work. The foundation’s approach emphasizes partnership-based projects over one-off, project-specific small grants, ensuring that funded work is grounded in real practitioner experience and shared broadly with nonprofits, funders and networks.

By investing in projects that generate open, practical resources, Ignite NPS Foundation plays a niche but influential role in strengthening nonprofit governance, collaboration and strategic leadership across the sector.