RBC After-School Grants Program calls for grant applicationsDeadline to apply is April 28, 2008
TORONTO, February 27, 2008 — The RBC After-School
Grants Program today announced its call for grant applications
for the 2008-2009 school year. In its 10th year, RBC is offering
up to $2.5 million in grants, $900,000 of which is set aside
to fund as many as 23 first-time grant recipients.
"Research tells us the average child between the ages
of 9 and 12 has approximately 67 hours of discretionary time
each week. This is more time than they actually spend in school,"
said Shari Austin, executive director, RBC Foundation. "We
are very pleased that in our 10th year we will donate almost
$2.5 million to help ensure students in communities across
Canada have better access to positive and meaningful after-school
activities where they can learn and participate in programs
within supervised and safe environments."
The grants are awarded by regional panels made up of youth
and education experts to a limited number of community-based
charitable organizations. Each organization should have a
mandate to keep students in grades K-12 safe as well as positively
engaged through an enriched curriculum after their classes
end each day. RBC After-School Grants are provided by RBC
Foundation and range between $25,000 and $40,000. The deadline
for funding applications is April 28, 2008 and grant recipients
will be advised by July 2008.
To qualify for a grant, after-school programs should offer
structured, supervised activities in an environment that provides
what RBC has termed the "3Ss": safety, social skills
and self-esteem. Other activities that programs should also
offer include computer instruction, sports, literacy tutoring,
music and art lessons, nutrition guidance, and homework-help.
RBC has been funding after-school programs since 1999, with
more than $14.8 million given through 471 grants to 157 different
organizations that have helped more than 14,000 children.
RBC After-School Grant applications can be downloaded from
www.rbc.com/afterschool.
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Media contact:
Jackie Braden, RBC, Media Relations
(416) 974-2124
Charities wishing information about RBC's After-School Grants
program may contact Frances Bedford-Jones at
(416) 974-2176
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