The Sonor Foundation is a private Canadian foundation that has been operating since 1979. It focuses on investing philanthropic capital in creative leaders, high-impact organizations and smart ideas that can transform the trajectories of underserved and overlooked communities across Canada. As a national funder, its work is organized around two primary impact areas: trans and gender-diverse communities, and children and youth in care or connected to child protection systems.
Role of The Sonor Foundation in the funding ecosystem
The foundation positions itself as an active, strategic grantmaker that "finds, selects, and supports" organizations addressing pressing social issues. It partners particularly with underresourced and underserved communities, providing multi-year, flexible funding so that leaders can carry out critical work with agility and sustainability. Rather than relying solely on open calls, Sonor leverages networks, targeted searches, field scans and Impact Challenges to identify promising initiatives and entrepreneurial leaders.
Impact areas and funding themes
In the impact area of trans and gender-diverse communities, The Sonor Foundation responds to the chronic underfunding of trans organizations and 2SLGBTQIA+ initiatives. It launched the $2.1M Transcend Impact Challenge in 2023 to invest in projects that help trans and gender-diverse people thrive through safer environments, economic and financial inclusion, housing, education and access to health care. The foundation publicly profiles funded organizations and also supports legal, advocacy and narrative-change work benefiting trans communities.
In the impact area of children and youth in care, Sonor focuses on strengthening kinship bonds, reunification efforts and supportive caregiving for children connected to child protection systems. Its inaugural Impact Challenge in 2021 invested over $1.5M across six organizations, and the $2.1M Reconnect Impact Challenge in 2024 supported initiatives across Canada that help children and youth connect with kin and build strong, empowering relationships. The portfolio includes community agencies, Indigenous organizations, and specialized programs working on belonging, resilience and better long-term outcomes.
Types of funding and supported work
The Sonor Foundation funds both direct services and broader systems-change efforts, including research, policy development, narrative change and legal strategies. Its portfolio highlights a wide range of grantees working on mental health, youth support, refugee and newcomer services, kinship and customary care, and 2SLGBTQIA+ rights. The foundation emphasizes long-term, renewable relationships with around 30 partner organizations, and favors organizations that demonstrate impact, accountability and diligence.
Public learning and insights
Through its Impact & Insights reports, Sonor shares lessons from its investments, such as the report on funding for trans and gender-diverse communities and a 2025 report on building stronger kinship systems in Canada. These publications document sector gaps, promising practices and opportunities for other funders, reinforcing the foundation’s role as both a grant provider and a learning partner in Canada’s philanthropic ecosystem.
