Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Rick's Heart Foundation (RHF)

Rick’s Heart Foundation (RHF) is a Canadian registered charity headquartered in Surrey, British Columbia. It operates as a philanthropic foundation that both leads its own outreach programs and funds or strengthens the work of other charities. RHF focuses on poverty relief, homelessness and addiction recovery, seniors’ wellbeing, child hunger, hygiene poverty, and international emergency and medical relief. Its support takes the form of direct financial contributions, in-kind donations such as equipment and supplies, and extensive coverage of shipping and logistics costs.

In British Columbia, RHF’s flagship initiative is the Heart for Music program, which equips not-for-profit care homes with music tablets, headphones, speakers and customized playlists to reduce isolation and improve quality of life for seniors. The foundation invites donations to sponsor start-up packages for additional care homes across Canada.

Beyond its own programs, RHF channels significant resources to partner charities tackling hygiene poverty, child hunger and food insecurity. It underwrites much of the shipping for Soap for Hope, which redistributes hotel and institutional hygiene products to vulnerable communities across BC, and supports Backpack Buddies by transporting food from suppliers and moving backpacks to Vancouver Island. Through a partnership with GlobalMedic’s McAntony’s Menu, the foundation has helped distribute tens of thousands of pounds of staple foods to British Columbians.

Locally, RHF runs and funds programs aimed at people experiencing homelessness and addiction in Surrey. The Mobile Mission with Impact van, in partnership with John Volken Academy, provides outreach, basic supplies and relational support on the streets, acting as a bridge into shelters and treatment. The foundation also funds an outreach van for Union Gospel Mission in Surrey and provides transport for Surrey Urban Mission, expanding their capacity to serve meals, run shelters and connect people to recovery services.

RHF financially and in-kind supports John Volken Academy, a long-term residential addiction recovery program, by covering shipping, excursions and supplies for students, helping keep treatment free for young adults seeking sobriety.

The foundation backs children and family initiatives such as the Surrey Boys and Girls Clubhouse, sponsoring a safe, low-barrier space where at-risk children can build confidence and life skills. It also sponsors the Ronald McDonald Family Room at Surrey Memorial Hospital, enabling families of seriously ill children to stay close through accommodation, meals and laundry support. For seniors, RHF’s Heart for Music program operates nationally, and the organization regularly launches drives and workshops—such as percussion instrument campaigns—to enrich seniors’ care-home programming.

Internationally, Rick’s Heart Foundation explicitly "supports Canadian Registered Charities reaching the unreached" by funding and helping deliver emergency, medical and relief donations worldwide. It partners with groups like the Kamloops Firefighters Charitable Society to ship used but serviceable fire trucks and ambulances to communities in Central America and Africa, and with the Korle-Bu Neuroscience Foundation to send fully outfitted ambulances and medical equipment to West Africa. RHF also supports Compassionate Resource Warehouse by financing transport of containers filled with household, medical and educational supplies to dozens of countries.

RHF primarily serves marginalized populations—seniors in care, people experiencing homelessness or addiction, low-income families, children facing food insecurity, and communities abroad with limited access to emergency and medical infrastructure. Rather than operating formal competitive grant rounds, the foundation works through strategic partnerships and its own designed programs. Its contributions include direct funding, cost-sharing, donation of vehicles and equipment, logistics and shipping coverage, and program development in collaboration with frontline charities.