Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Steps Together Foundation (STF)

Steps Together Foundation is a charitable family foundation founded in 2011 by the Safaya family in Coquitlam, British Columbia. Its primary role in the funding ecosystem is to advance education and relieve poverty for young people and vulnerable communities across BC. The foundation does this mainly by providing scholarships, bursaries, awards and other forms of financial assistance to students in need, and by gifting funds and in-kind supports to qualified organizations and communities.

A flagship element of its grantmaking is the Steps Together Fund, created in partnership with the Coquitlam Foundation. Through this fund, bursaries are awarded annually to youth from the City of Coquitlam who demonstrate financial need, strong academic performance and a commitment to community service. The foundation publicly highlights cohorts of bursary recipients year by year, underscoring its sustained financial support to students.

Beyond the dedicated bursary fund, Steps Together Foundation operates and supports several youth-focused programs that incorporate financial awards. It co-delivers a Youth Public Speaking Contest for young people aged 12–18, where the overall winner receives a $500 bursary and a trophy, and multiple finalists are recognized. The foundation is also a supporter of the Youth Leadership Challenge and partners closely with the Youth Leadership Society of BC to provide experiential leadership and communication opportunities for K–12 youth.

During and after the COVID‑19 pandemic, the foundation expanded its mandate into food security, health, wellness and school supplies, particularly for BIPOC and First Nations communities. It has organized emergency food distributions, community meals, school lunch programs and provision of basic necessities such as care packages, educational supplies and digital devices. These initiatives are financed through a mix of the foundation’s own resources, public donations and external grants from programs like FoodRescue.ca and the Good Food Access Fund.

The foundation primarily supports youth in Coquitlam and broader British Columbia, especially those facing financial barriers to education. It also focuses on low-income families, First Nations on reserve and urban Indigenous and vulnerable populations who require food security and essential supplies. By combining bursary funding, contest-based awards and community projects, Steps Together Foundation aims to empower youth leadership, improve access to education and respond to urgent community needs.

Steps Together Foundation works through strong partnerships with local institutions. Key collaborators include the Coquitlam Foundation, which administers the Steps Together Fund, and the Youth Leadership Society of BC, which co-runs youth leadership and public speaking programs and helps award bursaries. The foundation also collaborates with school districts, hospitals, First Nations organizations and community groups, and leverages external grant programs such as Rising Youth / Canada Service Corps to mentor youth in designing and leading their own community service projects.