Established January 2021, the Adult Education and Literacy Fund is committed to supporting community organizations that are engaged in working with adult learners who seek to improve their literacy. Many of the adult literacy learners are racialized, low-income or receive social assistance. They face barriers to learning, resulting from food insecurity, poor housing conditions, lack of access to digital resources and chronic physical and mental health challenges.
Many community-based adult literacy programs receive funding from the provincial government, but funding is rarely sufficient and often comes with strings. While it is impossible to replace provincial funding with private funding, we hope that the unrestricted support from this fund would supplement the good work being done by community organizations in some small way.
We take guidance from a quote attributed to Lilla Watson, an Indigenous activist from Australia: “If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”
Granting decisions from the fund will be guided by active collaborations with community organizations. The fund is committed to disbursing at least $5,000 each year. We hope that you will help us grow the fund allowing us to provide further support to these important community organizations.
For more information about the Fund, please go to https://adultliteracyfund.wixsite.com/home
This Fund’s granting purpose is subject to change at the request of the Donor Advisor. To enable the Donor Advisor to properly recognize donors for their contributions, Toronto Foundation will share your contact information and donation amount with the Donor Advisor unless you have checked the anonymous box on the donation form.