Inspirit Foundation is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

and granting organization, working to promote inclusion and pluralism through media and arts, support for young change leaders and

impact investing Impact investing refers to investing, investments "made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social or environmental impact alongside a financial return". At its core, impact investing is ...

– specifically addressing discrimination based on ethnicity, race or religion.

History

The Inspirit Foundation grew out of the

S-VOX Foundation S-VOX Foundation was a Canadian non-profit media organization dedicated to producing content on spirituality. The organization is the successor to the non-profit entity that operated VisionTV, and later other related Canadian speciality channel ...

after S-VOX sold its broadcasting assets to

ZoomerMedia ZoomerMedia Limited is a Canadian media company controlled by Moses Znaimer, the founder of the Citytv network. Originally focusing on properties targeting what the company calls "zoomers", or the 45+ demographic, in 2022, the company began expand ...

in 2010. S-VOX was a Canadian

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...

organization that produced content on spirituality. It operated

VisionTV VisionTV is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that broadcasts multi-faith, multicultural, and general entertainment programming aimed at the 45 and over demographic. VisionTV is currently owned by ZoomerMedia, a company ...

and other related Canadian specialty channels from 1988 to 2010. At the time, Vision TV was the only multi-faith network. After the sale of VisionTV, S-VOX’s board of directors used the funds to create Inspirit Foundation.

Activities

Inspirit's vision and mission is focused on building a pluralist Canada. The foundation does this by funding media and arts for social change, supporting the leadership of youth in the media and arts sectors, and investing capital in ways that align with their mission. Inspirit's assets are invested in both public and private investments. The foundation relies on the financial returns earned through the investments to fund granting, programming and operations. The foundation is committed to a 100% impact portfolio, with a goal of activating their full asset base to further the organizational vision. Inspirit has charitable status and is governed by a Board of Directors, with a majority of members at arm's length from one another. Some of the institutions supported by the Inspirit Foundation include the

United Nations Association in Canada The United Nations Association in Canada (UNA-Canada) is an historic, national charitable organization providing the leading policy voice on multilateralism in Canada. Established in 1946, UNA-Canada was a founding member of the World Federation of ...

, the

Canadian Red Cross The Canadian Red Cross Society ()Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC; french: Commission de vérité et réconciliation du Canada []) was a truth and reconciliation commission active in Canada from 2008 to 2015, organized by the parties of the Indian Residen ...

, the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, Hot Docs,

imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is the world's largest Indigenous film and media arts festival, held annually in Toronto in the month of October. The festival focuses on the film, video, radio, and new media work of Indigenous, Abori ...

Apathy is Boring Apathy is Boring (A is B) is a Canadian, non-partisan, youth-led charitable organization that supports and educates youth to be active and contributing citizens in Canada's democracy. History A is B began in January 2004 when founders, Ilona Doug ...

, and the

Atwater Library The Atwater Library and Computer Centre (french: Bibliothèque et centre d’informatique Atwater, officially the Atwater Library of the Mechanics' Institute of Montreal) is an independent community library in Westmount, Quebec, Canada, operati ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. On the 4th anniversary of the Quebec Mosque Shooting, Inspirit Foundation along with Noor Culture Center funded a video series called "Islamophobia is...". The series deals with the topics of hate crimes against Muslims, Gendered Islamophobia, the role of the mainstream media, and other issues related to

Islamophobia in Canada Islamophobia in Canada refers to a set of discourses, behaviours and structures which express feelings of anxiety, fear, hostility and rejection towards Islam or Muslims in Canada. Members of the Sikh, Christian Arab, Jewish and Hindu communiti ...

References

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External links

Official site
Foundations based in Canada Organizations established in 2012 2012 establishments in Canada