Applying for Corporate Grants & Donations:

Corporate grants, sponsorships and donations are a good way to obtain a small or substantial amount of funds for a relatively low amount of time and effort. This section will outline what these programs are and provide you with quick access to the different Canadian corporate sponsorship programs available to sport teams.

Although many businesses contribute mostly to charitable and non-profit organizations, some companies also are committed to community involvement. Most Canadian business are actively involved in supporting the community and thus have developed programs or accept requests for funding from various activities or groups in the areas of education, health, social services, the arts and culture. The following business support sport teams and/or sport activities:

Pizza Pizza: sponsor Community organizations or schools
Rogers Video: sponsor non-profit organisations, school or sports teams.
Forzani Group Foundation: sponsor registered Canadian charities, registered Canadian amateur athletic associations and Canadian municipalities. Click here to view the guidelines for qualifying: http://www.forzanigroup.com/
RBC Financial Group: sponsor culture, amateur sports, youth, seniors, disadvantaged, education and special one-time opportunities
BMO Financial Group: from grassroots aid for tomorrow's Canadian champions, to sponsorship of national championships in skating and women's golf, BMO Financial Group is an enthusiastic supporter of amateur sport and athletics at every level.
From the organizations that contribute to the community, we've segmented their types of corporate sponsorships into 2 categories:

1. Corporate Goodies & Donations

The following companies offer a variety of goodies and donations that can be leveraged when planning your fundraising events:

Pizza Pizza offers prizes & provides pizza to volunteers or guests for team fundraising activities. To obtain a fundraising donation call 310-1111 (toll free from any area code), Mon.-Fri 9am - 5 pm or email fundraising@pizzapizza.ca. For more information on how Pizza Pizza can help, visit http://www.pizzapizza.ca/english/pages/community.htm.

Rogers Video offers community Benefit Books, which are filled with free and money saving coupons to raise funds for your cause. This is only available to youth under 18 years old via school fundraising initiatives. To obtain a fundraising donation, submit a written request to your local Rogers Video store manager. For more information visit http://www.rogersvideo.ca/aboutus/community.asp.


HBC - helps sports team turn everyday shopping at the HBC family of stores - the Bay, Zellers, Home Outfitters and Designer Depot, online at DealsOutlet.ca, and Hbc Rewards Partners, into a variety of great merchandise rewards that meet their objectives. All that is needed is to enrol your team in the Hbc Rewards Community Program. This allows you to sign up parents, coaches, friends so when they shop at these stores, the points are donated to your team. You can then use the reward points for anything from fundraising drives and prizes, to appreciation awards and operational needs. By getting 50 members you get 80,000 bonus points. Fees: one time set up fee of $30, $15 annual fee.

Esso - help Minor Hockey Associations earn up to $750 towards a set of team jerseys through the Esso Extra Hockey Jersey Program. Teams must be registered with a branch of Hockey Canada to qualify. All you need to do is sign up your team in the Esso Extra Hockey Jersey Program. This allows you to rally parents, friends, neighbours, coaches, and teams to donate Esso Extra points to your team. Once 125,000 points have been donated your team will be eligible to receive up to $750 towards a set of team jerseys. For full details, go to: https://www.essoextra.com/hockey/program_info.en.

Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) - MEC supports community organizations involved in outdoor spors. To qualify for a contribution, teams must demonstrate how their initiative is helping people achieve the benefits of self-propelled wilderness-oriented recreation. The value of contributions ranges from $50 - $500 and may be in the form of gear, gift certificates, or cash. Organizations can also request in-store display space, in-store presentation opportunities, the use of meeting rooms, and/or staff volunteers. Request can be done at your local store. For full details on what should be included in the request.

2. Corporate Grants & Sponsorships

The following companies provide sport teams with an opportunity to obtain major contributions that could cover a large portion of your team's fundraising needs:
Pizza Pizza sponsors over 800 large events per year such as the Molson Indy and the Tulip Festival. They come on-site and set up a mini store in which all pizza is cooked on-location. To obtain a donation, you must submit a written request to Pizza Pizza. The following proposal request guidelines indicate what must be included in this request and where it should be sent. For more information visit http://www.pizzapizza.ca/msponsorships.htm

Xerox Canada allocates funds to its offices for local initiatives and projects in their area. For best results, funding requests should be kept under $1000. To apply complete the claim form (http://www.xerox.ca/english/4_0/4_6/forms/local.pdf) by providing a detailed description of the fundraising request (i.e. cash, in-kind gift, or printing/copying services or equipment, etc.) and send it to: Pamela Arora
Public Affairs Manager
External Affairs Office
Xerox Canada Ltd.
5650 Yonge Street
North York, Ontario M2M 4G7
Telephone: (416) 733-6353
Fax: (416) 733-6811
The Forzani Group Foundation provides financial support to other registered charities, Canadian amateur athletic associations and other qualified donees whose activities involve the promotion of physical fitness, health and wellness, the prevention and relief of sickness and disability, or the participation and education in sports across Canada. To obtain a cash donation, your team must submit a written proposal on your organization's letterhead to the Forzani Group Foundation The following proposal guidelines indicate what must be included in this request and where it should be sent. For more information visit http://www.forzanigroup.com/wwwenglish/foundation/index.html

Rogers Video offers a major fundraising program wherein your team sells Rogers Video Movie Coupon Passports and keeps a portion of the sale. To participate in this program, send an e-mail to fundraising@rci.rogers.com. For more information visit http://www.rogersvideo.ca/aboutus/community.asp.

RBC Financial Group offers donations and sponsorship programs:
1. Sponsorships: they sponsor amateur sport, from grassroots events in communities across the country, to Canadian sports associations helping develop amateur athletes and making it possible for them to compete at home and abroad. Their financial support is provided in exchange for marketing opportunities of their brand. In exchange for funds, RBC's standard package includes complimentary tickets to your games, sponsor mention on your promotional materials, program advertising and signage. However, they are looking for breakthrough ideas that would generate new opportunities to promote RBC Financial Group to your targeted audience(s). For more information visit http://www.rbc.com/sponsorship/program.html.

2. Donations: Sports teams must be registered as a charity in order to qualify for a donation. For more information visit http://www.rbc.com/community/donations/index.html. BMO Financial Group provides financial support to Canadian communities whose activities involve the promotion of education, health and welfare, civic and community service, arts and culture and sports. BMO does not support sports activities such as runs, races or tournaments. Prior to submitting a sponsorship proposal request, a brief letter of inquiry is required to determine whether BMO's current focus and funds permit consideration of the request. After reviewing the letter of inquiry, BMO may ask your team to submit a proposal. The following link provides all details regarding the letter of inquiry and sponsorship proposal guidelines, what must be included in this request and where it should be sent: http://www2.bmo.com.