Role of SUS Foundation of Canada in the funding ecosystem
SUS Foundation of Canada is a federally incorporated charitable foundation dedicated to the preservation and advancement of Ukrainian culture and education in Canada. Operating as an endowment-based funder, it invests donations, contributions and legacies, and uses the investment income to provide grants primarily to other Canadian registered charities and educational organizations whose projects align with its cultural and educational mandate.
The foundation maintains registered charitable status with the Canada Revenue Agency and administers its programs according to CRA policies and its own by-laws. Its core directive is to use or grant income to other charitable or educational organizations for activities that support Ukrainian cultural heritage and educational initiatives across Canada.
Main funding themes and types of support
SUS Foundation focuses its grantmaking on several key areas:
- Youth programs support for Ukrainian camps, language and culture schools, and youth associations that build leadership skills, faith formation and cultural identity among children and young adults.
- Museums funding for Ukrainian museums and collections to improve storage and collections management, acquire artifacts, and develop exhibitions and educational tools that document Ukrainian immigration and heritage.
- Cultural and educational initiatives grants to institutes, research and documentation centres, arts organizations and theatres for projects such as language courses, archives digitization, concerts, festivals, and new Ukrainian Canadian artistic works.
In addition to project grants, the foundation enables donors to establish designated funds within SUS Foundation. The capital of these funds is invested and the annual income is distributed according to the donors instructions, allowing long-term, targeted support to specific organizations, causes or program areas related to Ukrainian education and culture.
Grant programs, timelines and intermediaries
The foundation runs recurring grant cycles and publishes application deadlines and decision dates; for example, one cycle specifies a May 31 deadline with grants awarded on June 30 of the same year. Capital works and infrastructure projects are excluded under its policies, and funding requests must be submitted before a project begins. SUS Foundation may also work through non-registered intermediaries, but in those cases it requires budgets, progress and final reports, and maintains active control to ensure resources are used for approved charitable purposes.
Through its portfolio of grants to youth camps, museums, institutes, research centres and arts organizations across multiple provinces, the SUS Foundation of Canada plays a specialized role in sustaining Ukrainian-Canadian cultural life and educational programming nationwide.