TORONTO, 14 March 2025:
Ethics-based investments can extend beyond mere assets that generate profitable returns, by also embracing the human spirit’s capacity to produce a benefit for many – an ethos championed by Canada’s Inspirit Foundation with its latest funding initiative to support Muslim talents.
This idea drives the inaugural New Narratives Fund launched on Feb 25, ahead of Ramadan 2025, which aims “to harness the power of Muslim-led narratives in arts and media to shift public perceptions through the power of pop culture,” programming director Chris Lee explained.
Grants of up to CAD50,000 each will be awarded to chosen applicants to “amplify projects by Canadian Muslim artists that are ready to be launched into the world”. Between five and 10 grants will be issued for performances that can include dance, drama, music, video and more – may it be documentaries, films, podcasts or comedy acts.
With applications closing on April 10, monies received from this CAD250,000 fund can be used for the marketing, distribution and audience development funding in relation to these performances – which must be ready for public presentation by December 2025.
“The fund is part of the broader mission in trying to make capital more accessible and cheaper to communities that historically have not received the same kind of access to capital within Canada,” said Chris. “Since 2016, we have had a strategic priority to address Islamophobia in Canada.”
Inspirit previously supported another Muslim-focused initiative in 2024 with a CAD250,000 Community Bond investment for partner Windmill Microlending – to offer non-interest-bearing loans to those unable to obtain financing due to religious or cultural convictions.
Earlier projects supported by the foundation include Canada’s first Muslim film festival, the first Muslim Canadian theatre company and the first Muslim literary festival, said Chris.
Even though Inspirit supports several projects by Canadian ethnic minorities and disenfranchised communities, spending about 10% to 13% of its available funds annually, this charitable foundation is able to ensure a sustainable financial standing with reasonable returns from its various investments.
“Just from investment earnings, we have endowment that currently sits at about CAD34 million. So, we don’t do fundraising,” said Chris, adding that holdings range from public funds to private investments, with annual returns of up to 8%.
“We will be able to make more money but we are making less of a profit as the focus is to ensure there is a social good attached to those investments.”
The endowment used to be valued at CAD44 million, but “Inspirit spent much higher in the last couple of years because we think there is an urgent community need for some of our the work that we support on the charitable side”.
Inspirit traces its founding to television network Vision TV, launched on the 1st September 1988, with a mix of original current affairs and other programming paid for by more than a dozen faith groups, mainly Christian.
This network was sold to ZoomerMedia and the proceeds became the endowment for the charitable Inspirit Foundation, established on 30 April 2012.