Recipients for the 2025-2026 round of Anti-Racism Grants and Microgrants
Twenty-two recipients will receive a total of $372,040 in provincial funding for projects that address racism and promote inclusion.
The recipients were announced today, along with the winner of the new Anti-Racism Recognition Award, which honours individuals or organizations committed to anti-racism. Tamara Steele, former executive director and board member of the Black Cultural Society of PEI, received the inaugural award, created as part of the Anti-Racism Action Plan for Prince Edward Island 2023-2028.
“We’re pleased to see continued interest in the Anti-Racism Grants and Microgrants. Community engagement is essential to advancing anti-racism initiatives and we’re grateful to see those living in PEI actively contributing,” said Aaron Sardinha, chair of PEI’s Anti-Racism Table. “We are also honoured to recognize community member Tamara Steele for her impactful leadership and dedication. We hope this award inspires others to continue building a safer, more antiracist PEI for racialized and Indigenous communities.”
Since launching in 2022, these grants have supported 100 projects, with a total investment of more than $1,085,540 to promote equity across the province.
“It is inspiring to see so many recipients leading community initiatives that take real action against hate, inequity, and racism,” said Hon. Rob Lantz, Premier of Prince Edward Island. “These projects strengthen our province and give Islanders meaningful ways to engage with the richness of our diverse communities.”
This year, Canada marks 30 years of officially recognizing Black History Month. It is a reminder that celebrating Black brilliance across generations is essential to building a more inclusive and equitable future for everyone.
The Anti-Racism Grants and Anti-Racism Microgrants support projects that benefit racialized and Indigenous communities and help strengthen racial equality and community connections in the province.
Applications were reviewed and administered by the Anti-Racism Office.
Media contact:
Nicole Yeba
Executive Council Office
ntyeba@gov.pe.ca
Backgrounder
Anti-Racism Grants Recipients
BIPOC Business & Professional Network - $44,780
Mosaic BIPOC Business Expo 2026
The expo will feature a BIPOC Business Exhibition showcasing products and services, a pitch competition with awards in different categories, a food marketplace with BIPOC caterers providing culturally diverse food samples, networking, business-to-business connections with, and professional media coverage ensuring board visibility for participating businesses.
Black Cultural Society of PEI - $44,030
Returning to the Bog: Reacquainting Islanders with PEI's Black History
The project, in collaboration with the PEI Museum & Heritage Foundation (MHF), will provide Islanders and visitors with an opportunity to learn about the history of PEI’s Black Islander community, specifically the Bog neighbourhood located directly across the street from Beaconsfield Historic House (HQ for the MHF). The Bog had faded from historical record and from public memory until a few years ago. There will be public tours, along with an expanded program for public, private and homeschool groups that offers additional tours and resources for students and teachers who want to learn about PEI’s Black community. The final group of visitors will come from a wide range of Island organizations, many of which have long-term partnerships with Beaconsfield Historic House.
Boys’ and Girls’ Club of Summerside - $53,500
Building Belonging: A Blueprint for Anti-Racism and Inclusion
The project will strengthen the ability to welcome and support diverse communities by training and coaching staff to apply anti-racist and inclusive practices in daily programming and interactions; creating accountability and trust through a youth-friendly Code of Conduct and clear, confidential pathways for addressing racism, bias, and harm; enhancing accessibility and engagement for newcomer and racialized families by strengthening staff cultural competence, co-designing programs, fostering peer mentorship, using inclusive learning strategies, and collaborating with community partners; reducing barriers to participation by offering low- or no-fee programs, offsetting transportation costs, and connecting families to wraparound supports such as food and nutrition programs, clothing assistance, and housing supports; empowering youth through a Youth Anti-Racism Mini-Series that fosters reflection, empathy, allyship, and leadership across differences.
Blooming House Women’s Shelter - $34,210
Equity in Action: Developing a Strategic Framework for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The program aims to support Blooming House’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) through the development and implementation of a comprehensive DEI strategic plan. The initiative, running for a full year starting in Spring 2026 will engage frontline staff, community members, and leadership in a series of collaborative workshops, policy reviews, and ongoing capacity-building efforts.
East Wiltshire Intermediate School - $10,000
“East Wiltshire Anti-Racism Initiative (EWARI): Building Teacher Competency and Visually Inclusive Places”
The program will focus on the identification and intervention of microaggressions and acquire essential resources to make the school visibly inclusive. EWARI will ensure that every student at EWS feels safe, respected, and seen, laying a vital foundation for academic success and well-being.
Filipino Canadian Association of PEI - $17,500
FCNC Convention in PEI
The convention aims to celebrate cultural diversity and unity within our community by bringing together individuals and families from various backgrounds through a day of learning, sharing, and engagement. The event will feature cultural performances, interactive workshops, and opportunities for community dialogue that promote inclusivity, understanding, and collaboration.
Holland College - $15,000
Breaking Barriers: Creating Inclusive On-boarding Guidelines
The project tackles systemic racism in employment by creating actionable onboarding guidelines that dismantle inequities and promote anti-racist workplace cultures. It aligns with the Anti-Racism Grant priorities by addressing systemic barriers, fostering inclusion, and supporting marginalized groups, including Indigenous peoples and racial minorities.
Immigrant & Refugee Services Association PEI - $10,000
Open Doors PEI: Hiring for Success
The project is led by newcomer facilitators from racialized communities. It is grounded in feedback from its Immigrant Advisory Table (IAT)--a diverse group of immigrants, most from racialized communities, who reflect the lived realities of newcomers across PEI. It is supported by the Provincial Immigration Partnership (PIP), bringing depth of expertise and breadth of community voices.
Montague Regional High School and Amherst Cove Consolidated - $15,000
Changemakers Coast to Coast: Raising awareness of Mircoaggressions and Racism on PEI
The project would enable working collaboratively, across curriculums, across grade level and across the island with the Department of Education and Early Years. Students and educators would learn more than facts and knowledge; but also learn compassion, kindness, communication skills and the skill of collaboration.
Oliver’s Song and ArtsSmarts PEI - $12,680
Our Musical Island: Expanding Our Perspectives
The project will develop a new series of participatory music workshops and professionally filmed video resources featuring artists from diverse cultural backgrounds living on Prince Edward Island. The new materials will expand the existing online collection at www.ourmusicalisland.ca, providing educators across PEI with authentic, developmentally appropriate, and culturally responsive music education resources that reflect the province’s growing diversity.
PEI Pride Inc - $41,770
Common Cents Club
The project will host financial advisory sessions for BIPOC providing both group learning and one-on-one time with a professional financial advisor; offer tailored workshops grounded in the lived realities of racialized queer and trans individuals. It will also create and implement workshops and mentorships that address racism and build capacity, promoting social participation and reducing barriers to education and community engagement, enhancing capacity-building for racialized communities, especially racialized women, youth, seniors, gender-diverse individuals, and the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and strengthening organizational programming to integrate anti-racism approaches and long-term sustainability.
The Arts Guild PEI - $19,500
CultureShift - Bringing Cultural Diversity Responsibly to The Guild
The project is intended to be an ongoing initiative at The Guild over several years to increase awareness of and capacity to better serve diverse communities, and to provide the essential training to arts and culture workers in our province. It is designed to strengthen both internal capacity and external impact. Through anti-racism and cultural sensitivity training, staff, volunteers, and collective participants will be equipped with the knowledge and tools needed to foster equity in every aspect of work. By partnering with cultural groups and Indigenous leaders, opportunities for dialogue, knowledge-sharing, and collaboration that amplify underrepresented voices will be created. Importantly, it will open doors and remove financial and structural barriers by providing free or subsidized access to venue, compensating cultural groups for their time and expertise, and hosting accessible social and cultural events that bring communities together.
University of Prince Edward Island Student Union - $12,070
RISE UPEI
The program will directly impact underrepresented and equity-deserving student populations at the University of Prince Edward Island, including women, 2SLGBTQIA+ students, BIPOC students, international students, and students with disabilities. The program is designed to reach approximately 50 students across three events over the 2025–2026 academic year. By focusing on inclusive leadership development, confidence-building, and mentorship, RISE UPEI will support students who often face systemic barriers to participation in leadership roles. Participants will gain practical leadership tools, a stronger sense of belonging, and connections with community leaders. The program will also aim to communicate with specialized speakers on unconscious bias and microaggressions in the workplace, as well as how to respond to these. The program will be delivered in 3 sessions, in the completion of which students will obtain a certificate.
Anti-Racism Microgrants Recipients
Colonel Gray Newspaper Club - $4,000
Anti-Racism Short Story Contest
The contest will invite students to share their perspectives on diversity, equity, and inclusion through creative writing, while creating space for meaningful dialogue on anti-racism in our school community. Entries will be accepted from Colonel Gray Senior High School, Rural Senior High School, West Royalty Elementary School, Spring Park Elementary School, and Queen Charlotte Intermediate School.
Early Childhood Development Association of PEI - $5,000
Anti-Racism Education for Early Years Professionals
The project will build on the momentum and insights gained from previous grant cycles to deepen anti-racism learning through the use of skilled facilitators and a responsive, evolving curriculum. It will engage community members in guided workshops that center lived experience, reflection, and action. This phase will focus on optimizing the learning foundation already laid and co-creating new learning with participants.
Filipino Canadian Association of PEI - $5,000
Untied Hoops
The basketball program will primarily impact youth aged 12–25 across six PEI regions, with an estimated reach of 360 young people (about 60 per region). It will also engage ~90 coaches and volunteers, ~60 mentors, and reach ~1,200 family and community members through community nights and the province‑wide festival.
Immigrant & Refugee Services Association PEI - $5,000
Amplify: Youth Voices Against Racism
IRSA Summerside will create a Youth Podcast Hub: a permanent, accessible space where newcomer and local youth can record, edit, and share their own podcasts. This project will give racialized and newcomer youth a platform to share their voices, stories, and perspectives on anti-racism, inclusion, and community life in PEI.
Native Council of PEI - $5,000
Supporting Youth Resilience against Anti-Racism
NCPEI’s Youth Council welcomes Indigenous youth ages 10 to 29 to take part in its monthly meetings. Some parents and children outside this age range may also attend. Each monthly meeting usually includes 5 to 10 youth in the target age group, while larger yearly gatherings can have up to 20 participants. Indigenous youth experience racism, microaggressions, and colonialism in their everyday lives. Creating a peer support network that builds anti‑racism resilience will help them stay strong, connected to their culture, and live with dignity. As peer role models, youth council members will share what they learn with other youth, both within and outside the Indigenous community, creating a wider impact.
Peers Alliance - $5,000
The Waiting Room Library
The project aims to support diversity across the island and counter hate, stigma, and misunderstanding by increasing access to education on diversity, equity and inclusion topics. It will support island residents in gaining knowledge and ultimately new behaviors about diversity by partnering with local organizations across the province (with priority to rural regions) to provide free books on these topics. Five picture books will be provided to each organization for use in their waiting rooms and community spaces. Goal is to expand the number of organizations this project can support, prioritize the purchase of books by authors with diverse voices, and increase diversity of languages offered.
Peggy Doughan - $3,500
My Accent, My Voice: Podcast and Social Media Campaign
The project will address glottophobia—discrimination based on language and accent. This project will create a safe platform for Africans to share stories while raising awareness about accent-based racism.
University of Prince Edward Island Student Union - $5,000
The Shared Space
The program will organize, host and facilitate three informational sessions for international students and one closing networking event for students and professionals.
Women’s Network PEI - $4,500
Addressing the Unspoken: A Microaggression Reporting Framework for Inclusive Workplaces
The project development of a microaggression reporting template and process to support safer, more inclusive workplaces. The project will create a clear, accessible, and supportive reporting process for microaggressions in the workplace.