Canadian Charities now have an easier way to find new funding sources.

[PDF Version]

Thursday, December 6, 2012 – Imagine Canada is pleased to announce the launch of grantconnect.ca, an innovative and comprehensive bilingual tool that connects charities with funders who support their causes. Grant Connect is the next generation of the Canadian Directory to Foundations & Corporations -- an online directory and publication with a 45-year legacy in the charitable sector.

Grant Connect is a searchable database with detailed information on all Canadian grantmaking foundations, hundreds of corporate community investment programs, government funding programs as well as American foundations that fund Canadian charities.

The breadth of research offered through Grant Connect strongly supports Canadian charities. “One of the biggest issues charities face is finding sustainable, diversified sources of revenue,” says Marcel Lauzière, President and CEO of Imagine Canada. “With Grant Connect, any organization can instantly analyze every major Canadian funding source and see comprehensive details on each funder. With Grant Connect, collaboration with colleagues and funder tracking are made incredibly simple with relationship management tools that are often too expensive for many charities.”

Connect to Funders
Subscribers of Grant Connect can use four intelligent search tools to explore and zero-in on funders that are most likely to support their work. Included in this is the Imagine Canada Prospect Index -- an algorithmic system that reveals the best funder matches for each charity. This proprietary system uses a multitude of variables to analyze the capacity of each funder as well as their connection to the charity itself.

Cultivate Connections
Developing relationships is crucial to effective fundraising. This is why Grant Connect offers charities a set of relationship management tools as well as multiple search tools. Grant Connect allows charities to efficiently manage their relationships – from the identification of a new funder to the stewardship of their successful grants!

Connected with Funders
As with its predecessor the Canadian Directory to Foundations & Corporations, all funders listed in Grant Connect have an opportunity to edit and confirm their published information. Given that over 75% of private Canadian grantmaking foundations are without a website, this process of funder collaboration allows Imagine Canada to publish funding preferences for thousands of foundations that are not available elsewhere.

Grant Connect is Imagine Canada’s social enterprise. It is available for use through the purchase of a subscription or access for free by visiting one of hundreds of libraries across Canada.

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Imagine Canada is a national charitable organization whose cause is Canada’s charities and nonprofits. We strengthen the sector’s collective voice, serve as a forum and meeting place, and provide a supportive environment for organizations to build stronger communities. www.imaginecanada.ca

For futher information:

Marnie Grona [English media]
Director, Marketing & Communications
mgrona@imaginecanada.ca
1.800.263.1178 x244 or 416.597.2293 x244

Amanda Mayer [French media]
Imagine Canada - Ottawa
amayer@imaginecanada.ca
1.800.263.1178 x239 or 416.597.2293 x239

For more information, visit: http://grantconnect.ca