Foundation Focus Areas

RBC After School Grants Project

The RBC After-School Grants Project offers funding to programs that provide a range of structured, supervised activities for K-12 students in the critical hours after the school day ends.

Grant Guidelines

The RBC After-School Grants Project focuses on programs that:

Improve academic achievement of students;
Increase students’ self-esteem through skill development activities rather than free play time;
Reinforce basic social skills such as cooperation, team-building and conflict resolution to help youth begin to develop workplace competencies;
Focus on activities such as mentoring, tutoring, literacy education, music and art lessons, computer instruction and homework help;
Encourage and develop partnerships between home, schools and the community;
Are financially accessible with no or very low participation fees;
Provide a safe environment;
Assist at-risk or underserved communities.

Funding Criteria

Preference will be given to community-based organizations with multiple program partners and volunteers and that have broad participant appeal within a community.

After school programs must operate five days per week, Monday through Friday inclusive.
The majority of participants must attend the program Monday through Friday throughout the school year.
Programming must be provided in the after school hours from the close of the regular classroom schedule until at least 5:00 pm.
RBC After-School Grants may not be used to fund morning, lunch, evening or weekend programs.
Organizations may deliver programs in multiple locations, but funding will be directed to only one program location.
After school programs must begin no later than October.
Organizations must demonstrate a commitment to diversity and inclusion and must actively respect cultural and other differences in program participants.