Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Nova Scotia Hospice Palliative Care Association (NSHPCA)

The Nova Scotia Hospice Palliative Care Association (NSHPCA) is a registered charitable, province‑wide non‑profit dedicated to improving hospice and palliative care for people living with life‑limiting illness across Nova Scotia. In addition to public education, resource development and advocacy, NSHPCA plays a direct funding role by managing community‑based grant initiatives that strengthen grief, bereavement and end‑of‑life supports.

A key example is the Healing Pathways Community Funding Program, through which NSHPCA distributes Community Funding Grants to organizations working in grief, bereavement, emotional wellness and related supports. The site highlights multiple phases of this program, including calls for applications, information webinars for prospective applicants, announcements of application opening dates and references to a dedicated application portal and eligibility FAQ. NSHPCA also publishes lists of Community Fund Grant recipients and collects final reports from Phase One funding recipients, underscoring its role as an active grant administrator.

Through Healing Pathways and related initiatives, NSHPCA focuses funding on community‑based programs that help Nova Scotians prepare for, experience and process loss. This includes grief and bereavement support, mental health and emotional wellness services, and broader hospice palliative care activities that complement clinical care. Funding is directed to community organizations, local hospice societies and other groups that offer education, support groups, navigation services or innovative approaches to end‑of‑life and bereavement care.

Alongside its grantmaking, NSHPCA maintains an online directory, “Healing Pathways – Grieving Well”, and shares tools for advance care planning, end‑of‑life decision‑making and bereavement support. These complementary resources help funded organizations and the public access up‑to‑date information and connect with local services.

NSHPCA’s work targets individuals and families across Nova Scotia who are living with life‑threatening illness, caring for someone at the end of life, or grieving a death. By channeling funding to front‑line community groups, the association helps build capacity for local, culturally relevant and accessible supports in both urban and rural areas. At the same time, NSHPCA convenes stakeholders through provincial conferences, webinars and networks, ensuring that learnings from funded projects inform broader practice and policy in hospice and palliative care.

The association is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors drawn from diverse professional and community backgrounds, supported by staff positions such as an Executive Director, Program Director/Project Manager and other roles. This governance structure provides oversight for its charitable activities, including the design and delivery of grant programs. NSHPCA collaborates closely with provincial partners and local hospice societies, and its communications about application timelines, eligibility criteria, reporting requirements and public announcements of grant recipients reinforce its commitment to transparent and accountable management of community funding.