Our Giving
2025 Charitable Giving
As a firm, one of our core beliefs and objectives is helping Canadians in particularly vulnerable and difficult situations.
When it comes to difficult and vulnerable circumstances, it is hard to imagine a worse fate than being a victim of human trafficking. Sadly, this is a reality for thousands of Canadians, in one of the country’s fastest-growing crimes.
Based on the available statistics, ~95% of victims and survivors are women and girls, with two-thirds under the age of 25, and a quarter of reported incidents involving girls under 18. In many cases, there are also intersecting vulnerabilities, including prior childhood abuse, poverty, involvement in the child welfare system, homelessness, and coerced debt.
In exploring these problems with frontline workers, one of the biggest gaps and opportunities we identified was in the healthcare system. Not only were victims and survivors receiving inadequate care based on their complex needs, but it also represented a missed opportunity for intervention.
It is estimated that 88% of sex-trafficked women and adolescents have contact with a health care provider at least once during their exploitation. Often, these interactions are the only time they are briefly away from their traffickers, creating a critical but frequently missed opportunity for intervention.
To address this gap, last year we partnered with the Anti-Human Trafficking Division of Victim Services to fund the launch of Care Without Limits: Survivor Healthcare Network.
Over the past twelve months, the program has coordinated a network of 13 partner agencies, including community health centres, hospital clinics, mental health programs, and a mobile bus unit, to build a shared, trauma-informed response to human trafficking. Most importantly, the initiatives and progress have been guided by Survivor Peer Advisors, with lived experience of trafficking, ensuring the program reflects the needs of victims and survivors.
Based on the program’s initial success and to capitalize on the momentum, we are continuing our partnership with Care Without Limits into 2026. We hope that with our continued support, the program can deepen and broaden its impact in creating a sustainable cross-sector network to provide coordinated, trauma-informed healthcare for victims and survivors of human trafficking.
2024 Charitable Giving
As Canadians, we don’t think of slavery as something that exists in our country today. But for the tens of thousands of human trafficking victims, this form of modern-day slavery is a sad reality.
It is hard to imagine a worse predicament than being under the control of a trafficker and subjected to forced labour or sexual exploitation. In Canada, 95% of the victims are women and girls, with the average age of recruitment being 13-16 years old and a disproportionate number coming from indigenous communities.
For those able to escape their traffickers, the road to recovery is long and arduous. Many survivors must overcome severe trauma, physical abuse, substance addictions, and debt. And far too often, this process of rebuilding their lives is endured without the most basic necessities, with one of the biggest gaps being access to adequate medical care.
Unfortunately, our healthcare system is ill-equipped to meet the complex needs of these survivors. These patients require unique medical attention that considers both their physical injuries and psychological trauma. Furthermore, traditional medical settings can be overwhelming and potentially re-traumatizing without proper specialization and understanding.
To help bridge this gap, we have partnered with the Anti-Human Trafficking Division of Victim Services to fund the development of a trauma-informed healthcare network. The objective of this program is to offer tailored medical services to victims and survivors of human trafficking.
Our donation is being used to hire a dedicated coordinator to establish long-term partnerships with healthcare providers, create coordinated service delivery protocols, and provide specialized training for healthcare professionals in trauma-informed care. Once established, this network will continue serving survivors well beyond the funding period, creating lasting systemic change in the care received by those impacted by human trafficking.
To learn more about and support Victim Services’ efforts to help survivors establish independence and heal from trauma, visit their website via the links below. Together, we can break the chains of human trafficking and support survivors in rebuilding their lives.
2023 Charitable Giving
In the spirit of the holiday season, we interrupt our regularly scheduled bond nerd notes to highlight a cause that is near and dear to us.
Every year, approximately 2300 youth across Canada ‘age out’ of the child welfare and foster system. Too often this is a transition from care into poverty and homelessness.
Relative to their peers, youth leaving care are 200 times more likely to experience homelessness and are at significantly higher risk of becoming victims of human trafficking. They also experience much lower rates of high school graduation and enrollment in post-secondary education.
To help bridge these gaps Algonquin has partnered with Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada (CAFDN) to offer 10 post-secondary scholarships and housing supports for 20 youth.
These are just two of the programs offered by CAFDN in their mission to improve the lives of children, youth, and families involved in the child welfare system. By working with over 100 agencies, Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada delivers high-impact, evidence-based programs to help these young people go from surviving to thriving.
To learn more about Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada and how you can stand up for Canada’s kids, please visit their website:
2022 Charitable Giving
For our 2022 charitable giving, we are continuing our partnership with Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada to offer another 20 scholarships and bursaries to young adults transitioning out of the child welfare system.
Last year, we had the privilege of meeting the scholarship recipients and hearing their stories. This experience left us feeling both inspired and compelled to recommit to these amazing and resilient young people.
Every year, approximately 2300 youth ‘age out’ of foster care and are suddenly confronted with navigating life on their own. By reducing the financial barriers to higher education, we hope these scholarships and bursaries help 20 individuals pursue their dreams and fulfill their potential.
To learn more about the great work Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada is doing to improve the lives of children, youth, and families involved with the child welfare system, please visit:
2021 Charitable Giving
For our 2021 charitable giving, Algonquin partnered with the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada to offer 10 post-secondary scholarships and 10 bursaries to young adults transitioning out of foster care.
Every year in Canada, approximately 2300 young people ‘age out’ of the child welfare system and are suddenly confronted with navigating life on their own.
Given the costs and lack of family support, the financial burdens posed by higher education can prevent these youth from earning a degree or diploma.
We hope that through these scholarships and bursaries that we can help 20 young adults break the cycles of abuse, neglect, and poverty for themselves and future generations.
For more information on the great work Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada is doing, you can visit their website:
2020 Charitable Giving
The messaging of the initial pandemic response was simple and clear: stay at home.
Sadly for many Canadians, the home is not a safe place. A situation exacerbated by the increased stresses on individuals and households.
The result has been an increased need for shelter and support services for victims and survivors of abuse and violence. At the same time, the current economic realities mean the organizations providing these services are facing funding uncertainties.
To help bridge the gap, Algonquin Capital has made charitable donations to Nellie’s Shelter, the Redwood Shelter, and the Assaulted Women’s Helpline & Senior Support Line.
To learn more about the great work these organizations are doing and how you can support them, please refer to the information and links below.
The Assaulted Women’s Helpline & Senior Support Line.
The Assaulted Women’s Helpline offers a free 24-hour telephone line to all women who have experienced abuse, providing counselling, emotional support, information and referrals.
The Seniors Safety Line is the only 24-hour crisis and support line for seniors in Ontario who have experienced any type of abuse or neglect, with a live counsellor available to help navigate difficult systems, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Nellie’s.
Nellie’s operates a 36-bed Emergency Shelter and offers support services for women and their children who are leaving situations of violence, poverty, and homelessness.
The Redwood.
The Redwood offers shelter, safety, healing, and opportunities for growth for women and their children fleeing abuse, homelessness, and poverty.