Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Polish Heritage Foundation of Canada (PHF)

The Polish Heritage Foundation of Canada is a non-profit charitable foundation dedicated to maintaining and promoting Polish language, history and culture within the Canadian context. Established in the early 1990s in Ottawa and later expanded to operate nationally, the Foundation channels donations and endowment income into direct financial support for individuals and organizations engaged in Polish cultural and educational activities across Canada.

PHF acts as a complement to existing Polish community organizations, schools and cultural institutions. It helps them achieve shared objectives by providing funding when appropriate, necessary and feasible. Over time, the Foundation has disbursed more than $100,000 to Polish organizations, projects and initiatives from British Columbia to the Atlantic provinces.

The Foundation’s mission translates into several recurring forms of assistance. It supports youth engagement and leadership in the Polish community, grants for arts and culture, and funding for educational activities that strengthen Polish heritage. Typical funded areas include music, visual arts, literature, theatre, sport, folk dance, community festivals and public lectures related to Poland and the Polish diaspora.

PHF also assists with the organization of exhibitions and artistic performances, subsidizes the cost of courses that preserve Polish culture and traditions, and helps Polish community libraries purchase books and films. Another important component is support for publications dealing with Poland or the Polish community in Canada.

A key pillar of the Foundation’s work is its scholarship program for university students of Polish background. PHF awards yearly scholarships in its own name and co-finances a number of named scholarships with partner organizations, such as the Jerzy Jarmasz Scholarship, the Dr Irena Michalska Scholarship, the Stanisław Kielar Scholarship and scholarships co-sponsored with branches of the Polish Combatants’ Association and the Polish Canadian Women’s Federation.

These scholarships support studies in a wide range of disciplines and are awarded to students studying at Canadian universities across several provinces. Through this financial assistance, the Foundation aims to encourage academic excellence and ongoing engagement with Polish heritage.

The “PHF in action” portfolio highlights the breadth of organizations and initiatives supported in recent years, including Polish folk dance ensembles, choirs, heritage societies, youth conferences and humanitarian appeals channeled through the Red Cross or Polish community charitable foundations. This mix of cultural, educational and charitable funding reflects the Foundation’s broader goal of fostering a confident, creative Polish-Canadian community that contributes to Canada’s bilingual and multicultural society.

By maintaining strong links with Polish centres across Canada and abroad, and by collaborating with other community organizations, the Polish Heritage Foundation of Canada plays a sustained role in the development and visibility of Polish culture and identity throughout the country.