RBC After-School Grants Program Calls For Grant Applications

The RBC After-School Grants Program today announced its call for grant applications for the 2008-2009 school year. In its 10th year, RBC is offering up to $2.5 million in grants, $900,000 of which is set aside to fund as many as 23 first-time grant recipients.

"Research tells us the average child between the ages of 9 and 12 has approximately 67 hours of discretionary time each week. This is more time than they actually spend in school" said Shari Austin, executive director, RBC Foundation. "We are very pleased that in our 10th year we will donate almost $2.5 million to help ensure students in communities across Canada have better access to positive and meaningful after-school activities where they can learn and participate in programs within supervised and safe environments"

The grants are awarded by regional panels made up of youth and education experts to a limited number of community-based charitable organizations. Each organization should have a mandate to keep students in grades K-12 safe as well as positively engaged through an enriched curriculum after their classes end each day. RBC After-School Grants are provided by RBC Foundation and range between $25,000 and $40,000. The deadline for funding applications is April 28, 2008 and grant recipients will be advised by July 2008.

To qualify for a grant, after-school programs should offer structured, supervised activities in an environment that provides what RBC has termed the "3Ss": safety, social skills and self-esteem. Other activities that programs should also offer include computer instruction, sports, literacy tutoring, music and art lessons, nutrition guidance, and homework-help.

RBC has been funding after-school programs since 1999, with more than $14.8 million given through 471 grants to 157 different organizations that have helped more than 14,000 children. RBC After-School Grant applications can be downloaded from www.rbc.com/afterschool.