What We Do

The Foundation seeks to achieve its vision, mission and objectives through grant-making, communication, convening and collaboration. Through its initiatives, the Foundation is a catalyst for a Canadian system of early childhood programs.

The Foundation will allocate funds through three grant programs: the Early Childhood Centres, Early Child Development Policy Initiative and Early Child Development Partnership Initiative.

 
Early Childhood Centre Initiative

The Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Foundation, through its Early Childhood Centre Initiative, supports the restructuring of existing child care, kindergarten, family drop-in, parenting, public health and early identification and intervention programs into a well-aligned first tier of public education for children from birth to age five and their families.

The Early Childhood Centre Initiative grants are awarded to demonstration sites in Atlantic Canada with public and community commitment to realign and expand existing early childhood programs. The grants sustain rigorous documentation of the program innovations and impacts on children’s development. They support technical assistance and transitional costs involved in transforming traditional funding and structures into integrated early childhood program delivery. The grants leverage opportunities to learn how to move from a patchwork of programs to an early childhood system. The Early Childhood Centre Initiative identifes the challenges and testing out innovative solutions before scaling up to system-wide delivery.

Demonstration sites will be selected according to the following criteria:

  • Provincial government participation and commitment
  • Established community network of partners
  • Not-for-profit and public governance
  • Neighbourhood school capacity and space
  • School principal involved as a leader
  • Fullday/fullyear options - integrated early learning and child care programs
  • Capacity for early learning program, early identification and intervention and parenting supports
  • Use of curriculum framework that connects to public kindergarten program
  • Staff release time for professional development
  • Willingness to participate in communication, monitoring and evaluation

To support community readiness to transform the local patchwork of services and programs into the delivery of consolidated early childhood programming, the Foundation may provide one-year grants to charitable organizations to build community capacity for integrated early childhood centres.

Early Child Development Policy Initiative

To support the transfer of what we know about early child development into public policy the Foundation provides project grants to charitable organizations for policy briefs, public opinion polling, symposiums, professional networks, internet publications and documentaries that combine the knowledge of scientific and communication experts. The focus of funded projects is to promote the alignment of early childhood programs with public education.

Early Child Development Partnership Initiative

To work with, and support early childhood organizations that share our mission to create a pan-Canadian alliance that promotes policies for integrated provincial/territorial early childhood systems as an extension of public education. The Foundation seeks the guidance of these organizations in its quest to champion effective early childhood programs. Reciprocal relationships allow the Foundation to benefit from organizations’ abilities to tap into local community developments across Canada, international initiatives and new scientific findings.

The Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Foundation is not in a position to respond to unsolicited requests or proposals for funding at this time.

The Foundation does not fund:

  • The direct provision of child care, kindergarten, preschool, family drop-in, parenting or early intervention programs.
  • Capital campaigns or endowments
  • Purchase, construction or renovations of buildings
  • Grants for projects outside of Canada


Director Discretionary Grants

The Foundation Directors may have an individual allocation for annual grants to charitable organizations that benefit children, families and a democratic, pluralistic and prosperous society in Canada.

Communication

Communication is key to leveraging the Foundation’s investments. Circulating new ideas or knowledge emerging from funded projects adds value to the Foundation’s work and helps achieve broader change. In addition to formal mechanisms such as publishing articles and reports, media releases, information on the web, convening meetings and discussions, the Foundation will make use of informal networks to add value to its work. Communicating with non-traditional allies and people with different views opens up potential for engaging champions, achieving greater change and bringing into the Foundation a broader spectrum of views.

Convener

Foundations can leverage the capital of their reputations to realize a common point of contact for different stakeholder groups, even bring together stakeholders who may not know or trust each other. In the same way, foundations can bridge gaps between policy makers and practitioners.

Drawing on its credibility and integrity, the Foundation can be an honest broker on many difficult issues, convening different players to exchange ideas and find new ways to move forward. Utilizing its continuity and durability, the Foundation can take a longer term view and ‘hold’ issues over time.

Collaboration

While not an end in itself, collaboration can provide a platform or united strategy to achieve specific objectives that are of mutual interest and that would be difficult to achieve alone. It can also reduce risks and/or increase return on investments. The Foundation will seek out and make use of collaboration where it offers clear promise of achieving Foundation goals and objectives.