Granting Criteria
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What We Do
We aim to build long-term partnerships with organizations creating lasting change in the food system. By offering stable, sustained funding, we enable our partners to scale thoughtfully, pursue long-term change, and stay focused on their mission rather than short-term fundraising cycles.
In most cases, we provide unrestricted support, recognizing that our grantees are best positioned to direct funds toward their most urgent priorities. However, when an organization’s programs are expansive or multi-faceted, we may restrict funding to support specific initiatives that align closely with our mission and demonstrate exceptional potential for change.
What We Look For
We seek to fund organizations with the greatest potential to create lasting, systemic change. Our goal is to support work that advances sustainability, equity, and innovation. Some of the criteria we use to evaluate this potential, and an organization’s eligibility to receive a grant, are outlined below:
Registered Canadian Charity
To receive grants from a Canadian private foundation like Hadley Family Foundation, an organization must be a qualified donee. In most cases, this means being a registered Canadian charity.
Evidence of Impact
We look for organizations with strong potential to shift food systems in meaningful and measurable ways. This may be demonstrated through a track record of impact, or through a well-structured proposal backed by strong operators, a demonstrated funding need, and supporting evidence of the likely effectiveness.
We consider whether the project fills a gap, contributes to long-term change, and benefits people, animals and the environment. Our evaluation of impact is different for each program and includes both quantitative and qualitative indicators.
Transparency and Collaboration
We only partner with organizations that demonstrate a high standard of transparency. This includes accessible financial reporting, clear documentation of program activities and outcomes, and a willingness to share information and engage openly. We look for partners with clearly articulated missions and operations, and who can show how their work contributes to a more just and sustainable food system. We especially value organizations that articulate and follow a compelling theory of change, connecting their day-to-day activities to long-term systems impact.
Use of Resources
We look for organizations that use resources effectively and intentionally. We prioritize projects that are unlikely to receive government, institutional, or mainstream philanthropic funding, and where our grants enable meaningful progress that would not otherwise occur. We value lean, focused operations, but we also recognize that bold, system-changing work often requires patient, risk-tolerant capital.
What We Do Not Grant To
- Projects unrelated to food systems
- Work that reinforces extractive or unsustainable production models
- Projects already well-funded by governments, multilaterals, or large institutions
Granting Process
The granting process starts by reaching out to us, or, in many cases, we find you.In your email, please describe your organization and what you do, what project(s) or activities you are seeking funding for, and a dollar estimate of the requested funds. The more data you can provide on your organization’s impact and the proposed use of funds, the better.
We are always open to discussing new promising initiatives with capable non-profit operators. If we are interested in learning more, we will engage in in-depth discussions about your work to help us evaluate your organization’s potential for receiving a grant.
