The Co-operators Community Funds, or CCF, disbursed a record $1.72 million in grants in 2025, its largest annual payout in its 30-year history, as applications from charities and non-profit organizations rose sharply amid intensifying social and economic pressure across Canada.
The fund received 132 grant applications in 2025, a 30% increase in 2024 and a 128% rise compared to the 2019 to 2023 average. In response, the CCF Board approved $444,500 in additional funding beyond its standard quota, bringing total disbursements to 68 organizations, including 50 one-year grants and 18 multi-year grants.
Since its founding in 1995, CCF has disbursed $14.1 million to 301 organizations across Canada. Co-operators contributed $32.9 million in capital to the fund overall, including $2.3 million in 2025.
Jessica Fisher, associate vice-president, Citizenship at Co-operators, said the volume of applications reflected the strain on frontline organizations.
"Our communities are where connection and opportunity begin, but many organizations that are essential to their stability are facing growing economic pressures," Fisher said. "Through CCF, we're proud to assist community organizations with the resources they need to continue delivering necessary support."
The CCF figures offer a window into how the cooperative model is being applied as a response to growing social risk. Co-operators, which has operated as a financial services cooperative since 1945 and holds more than $71 billion in assets under administration, contributed 4.05% of its pretax profit to Canadian cooperatives, non-profits and charities in 2025, a level that significantly exceeds the 1% benchmark commonly associated with corporate giving in Canada.
The approach reflects a broader argument being made within the cooperative and mutual insurance sector.
At Co-operators' 2025 AGM, Liz Green, CEO of the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation, said the cooperative and mutual insurance sector proves that financial success and societal impact go hand in hand. Co-operators' own CFO Karen Higgins noted at the same event that the industry has an opportunity to close insurance protection gaps for financially vulnerable Canadians and communities.
CCF's granting focus centers on employability skills development for underserved populations.
Of organizations funded in 2025, 66% worked with underserved youth, 9% focused on individuals with mental health challenges and 25% served youth facing intersecting mental health barriers. Programs supported included trades training, entrepreneurship, clean-energy experience, woodworking, mentoring, life-skills development and mental-health-informed employment support.
Among the organizations funded was Bois Urbain, a Montreal-based social enterprise providing paid training and hands-on experience in woodworking, furniture painting, customer service and office maintenance for young people excluded from the labor market. Multi-year partnerships provided sustained support to organizations including Stella's Place, Indigenous Clean Energy, Guelph Community Health Centre and Employ to Empower.
CCF also uses its investment portfolio as a vehicle for community impact.
In 2025, 60% of the portfolio was invested in impact, transition or community impact investments, spanning renewable energy, affordable housing, education, healthcare, water infrastructure and Indigenous economic opportunities. The portfolio included participation in Groupe TAQ's community bond initiative in Quebec, described as one of the largest community bond campaigns completed in the province, supporting employment for people living with disabilities.
The investment strategy aligns with the broader direction Co-operators has set organizationally. In September 2025, Co-operators announced a target to grow its climate solutions investments from a US$2 billion baseline in 2024, representing 21% of its investment portfolio, to US$3 billion by 2030. The company was also the first Canadian insurer to join the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, a group of more than 80 asset owners globally committed to transitioning their portfolios to net-zero by 2050.
Sean Geobey, chairperson of the CCF Board of Directors, framed the record demand as a reflection of wider pressures on community infrastructure.
"The fundamentals that underlie their strengths cannot be guaranteed. Like people, communities need to be nourished with knowledge, resources and time for them to organize and respond to both challenges and opportunities," he said.
