Inspirit Foundation is a public foundation headquartered in Toronto, Canada, dedicated to building a more inclusive and pluralist country. The foundation advances racial, social and economic justice by investing its assets and funding media and arts for change. Its work focuses on narrative power—shifting the stories and structures that determine whose voices are heard and whose experiences are reflected in culture, policy, and public life.
Role of Inspirit Foundation in the funding ecosystem
Inspirit provides grants to Canadian-based organizations, particularly within the arts, media, and journalism sectors. Each year, it typically distributes up to 30 grants across several categories, ranging from small seed amounts of around $10,000 to larger, multi-year organizational grants that can exceed $100,000 per year. The foundation funds research and sector-building projects, innovative seed and major projects, and unrestricted organizational development for high-impact groups that advance narrative change.
Grant programs and priority areas
Inspirit’s grant portfolio is structured around three main priority areas: building equitable narrative ecosystems, advancing Indigenous narrative sovereignty and reconciliation, and challenging Islamophobia. Within these themes, it prioritizes organizations led or deeply shaped by Indigenous, Muslim, Black, and other racialized communities. Grants support research on inequities in arts and media, convenings and sector-building events, pilot initiatives in screen-based industries and public-interest journalism, and major collaborative projects that create pathways to leadership and influence in narrative ecosystems.
Grant categories and typical recipients
- Research and sector-building grants fund studies, reports, and convenings that address equity barriers and develop shared strategies for advocacy and systems change.
- Seed and major project grants support early-stage and large-scale initiatives that build infrastructure, skills and capacity for communities to shape media and cultural narratives.
- Organizational grants provide multi-year, general operating support—by invitation—to organizations that are key drivers of narrative change in their fields.
Inspirit works with a mix of registered charities, non-profits, grassroots groups and other non-qualified donees across Canada, using flexible structures such as charitable trustees when needed. Its grantmaking explicitly excludes individuals, scholarships, most capital projects, and projects outside Canada, and focuses instead on systemic, narrative and sector-level impact.
Specialized funds and initiatives
The foundation also designs targeted funding streams. The New Narratives Fund, for example, supports marketing, distribution, audience development and presentation for ambitious works by Canadian Muslim artists, emphasizing projects ready to launch into pop culture markets. Inspirit’s Narrative Change Lab and journalism work further invest in narrative infrastructure and equitable journalism ecosystems, including digital, community-led and public-interest media.
Impact investing and holistic mission delivery
Beyond grants, Inspirit pursues a 100% impact investment portfolio, leveraging its entire asset base for both financial returns and positive social and environmental outcomes. Its investments are evaluated for contributions to conditions that support pluralism, such as livelihoods, climate solutions, community infrastructure and access to arts and services. The financial returns from this impact portfolio fully fund the foundation’s operations and granting programs.
Publics served and overall impact
National in scope, Inspirit supports smaller and mid-sized organizations—often with budgets under $1 million—that demonstrate strong community grounding and the potential to influence industry norms, policies and resource flows. Through grants, initiatives, and partnerships, the foundation helps re-balance narrative power in Canada so that Indigenous, Muslim, Black, and other racialized communities can shape the stories that define public understanding, culture and democracy.
