The Fund has sponsored many different types of projects with funding amounts ranging from $5,000 up to a multi-year project funding of over $100,000. Below is a sample list of projects we have funded.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society – 2010
The Investor Education Fund partnered with the MS Society of Canada to fund the development (and adaptation from the US MS Society) of financial planning tools and resources for individuals affected by Multiple Sclerosis. The resources were delivered to the society’s members, their caregivers and/or families through a publication, adding a financial management component to MS Society’s
MS Answers' website, and enhancing their
corporate website with financial management tools.
The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada was founded in 1948. Its core support comes from tens of thousands of dedicated individuals, companies and foundations in communities across Canada. It has a membership of over 28,000 and is the only national voluntary organization in Canada that supports both MS research and services for people with MS and their families.
Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN) – 2010
The Investor Education Fund partnered with PLAN to fund the Reaching Out to Ontarians program to educate individuals with disabilities about the new Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP). The program was delivered through research, development and distribution of two plain-language information bulletins on RDSP (specific to Ontario and plain language in Chinese) development of a plain-language step-by-step guide to opening, investing and managing an RDSP account; and distribution of the resources through workshops, presentations across Ontario and through their national website.
PLAN began in 1989 when a small group of parents gathered to consider how they could best support their son or daughter with a disability. The families who founded PLAN searched and discovered solutions to securing the future for loved ones with disabilities. PLAN is a Canada-wide and International organization, providing a model for over 40 family-led organizations.
Jewish Vocational Services (JVS) - 2008-2010
The Investor Education Fund partnered with JVS to fund the Financial Literacy: Lessons for Life program, a money management program that educated individuals in low-income communities. The program was delivered through workshops for youth and adults as well as through direct counseling and problem solving.
Originally founded by the Jewish community at the end of the Second World War, JVS has evolved into a broad-based community organization whose name is synonymous with helping people of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds to meet their educational and employment goals. JVS Toronto operates out of 14 locations in the GTA. Its clients and staff are the true mosaic of the changing face of Toronto.
St. Christopher House - 2008-2010
The Investor Education Fund partnered with St. Christopher House for two years to fund the delivery of a multi-faceted financial literacy program for low-income people through the Financial Advocacy and Problem-Solving (FAPS). The program was also shared across neighbourhood networks and delivered through direct service – one-on-one counseling, public education and training – workshops, presentations, dissemination of educational materials and public policy development – to provide improvements or new approaches to systemic problems.
St. Christopher House has been a neighbourhood centre in the downtown west end of Toronto since 1912. The organization works with diverse individuals, families and groups to promote personal and social change in order to achieve a safe, healthy and accepting society for all. St. Christopher House has recognized charitable status, is a secular organization and is strongly committed to community development in all aspects of its work.
Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (CCMBC) – 2008
The Investor Education Fund partnered with the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (CCMBC) and the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) to deliver 24 seminars to over 600 community leaders, seniors and church members in the Niagara and Waterloo regions. Staff of the OSC presented the seminars to address the increasing investment frauds and scams issues targeting seniors and religious affinity groups.
Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (CCMBC) is a Christian church denomination consisting of approximately 267 churches in Canada with about 55,000 members and attendees. CCMBC is part of a world-wide Mennonite Brethren denomination of over 400,000 people.
Calgary Chinese Cultural Society – 2005
The Investor Education Fund, together with the British Columbia Securities Commission and the Alberta Capital Market Foundation, sponsored the development of an Online Investor Education Program for Chinese immigrants.
Six online video segments were produced focusing on investor education messages such as understanding the Canadian capital market, the basics of investing, how to choose a financial adviser and how to avoid frauds and scams. This program is presented in video format in English, Mandarin and Cantonese. It targeted about 300 Chinese associations across Canada, 100 organizations in B.C., 80 in Alberta and 120 in Ontario.
The Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) – 2005
The Investor Education Fund has sponsored the creation of the Investor Education Fund Collection for the CNIB Library. Funding was provided to make the Fund's web content accessible to three million Canadians who cannot read ordinary print. The information was translated into audio-book, Braille and electronic formats.
The Canadian National Institute for the Blind is a national, voluntary, not-for-profit organization that provides services at no cost to anyone who is print disabled. It is one of the most pre-eminent rehabilitation agencies and a world leader in the development and delivery of mobility, library and other special technologies. CNIB offers services to anyone who needs them, from young children, to working-age adults and senior citizens who have a vision problem that cannot be corrected using ordinary lenses.
Financial Capability Symposium – 2005
The Investor Education Fund sponsored Canadians and Their Money: A National Symposium on Financial Capability. Social and Enterprise Development Innovations, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada and the Policy Research Initiative partnered to host this first-ever national symposium on financial capability to discuss what is currently being done and what can be done by the private and public sectors to improve financial capability in Canada. Approximately 150 participants attended the symposium. Participants were senior level decision makers within the government, non-profit and business circles, as well as senior researchers.
Toronto District School Board - 2005
The Investor Education Fund sponsored the Financial Securities Portfolio Competition for high school students. The competition challenged students' money management skills, and ability to apply assessment strategies to client portfolios. A total of 119 students participated in the competition and 14 students won cash prizes.
The Toronto District School Board is the largest school board in Canada and among the largest in North America. The Board's mission is to enable all students to reach high levels of achievements and to acquire the knowledge, skills and values they need to become responsible members of a democratic society.
Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) – 2004
The Investor Education Fund provided funding to develop a
newcomers investor education kit. The kit was translated into 6 languages: Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Urdu, Arabic and Filipino. Having access to investment materials in their own language will increase newcomers’ interest in investing and help them become better informed about the investment environment in Ontario. Over 1500 copies of the kits were made available for distribution through OCASI’s 160 member agencies.
OCASI is a broadly based coalition of immigrant service agencies from all regions of Ontario. The Council was formed in 1978 to act as a collective voice for immigrant serving agencies and to coordinate responses to shared needs and concerns. The Council also facilitates the exchange of information and training among its member agencies, reinforcing their common goals.