Rocket Fund

What Rocket Fund does

Rocket Fund Canada (formerly Shaw Rocket Fund) is a Calgary-based independent charitable foundation and the only fund in Canada exclusively devoted to financing children's and youth media. Founded in 1999 and headquartered at #300, 340 Midpark Way S.E., Calgary, Alberta, the organization functions as a regulated pass-through funding body. It receives contributions from broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs) and audio-visual online undertakings under CRTC frameworks, and redistributes those contributions as grants to Canadian media producers producing children's and youth content. Over 25 years it has supported more than 1,000 Canadian shows spanning preschool, primary, elementary, and youth age groups, and serves independent production companies, broadcasters, and content creators focused on Canadian and Indigenous programming.

The organization operates three core offerings: (1) the Rocket Fund Funding Programs, its primary grant-making vehicle, which as of September 1, 2025 includes a permanent envelope for official language minority community (OLMC) producers and producers from diverse communities, funded by a 10% commitment of overall revenues from BDUs and audio-visual online undertakings per Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2025-201 (50% OLMC, 50% diverse communities); (2) the Rocket Portal, an online self-serve application platform for submitting applications, contracts, and drawdown materials; and (3) the Self-ID Portal, which captures producer diversity self-identification data to inform equity, diversity, and inclusion tracking. Rocket Fund does not sell products or services; its go-to-market is community-led, with grant recipients acquired through engagement with Canadian producers, broadcasters, OLMCs, and diverse communities, and it does not disclose pricing models.

The operating team is small — a President & CEO (Agnes Augustin), VP of Business Affairs and Operations (Becki Brisson), CPA Accountant (Irene Park), and Director of Strategic Communications (Lisa Amato) — supported by a Board of Directors including Christine Shipton (Chair, former Shaw Media SVP Content), Gigi Boyd (Vice Chair), and directors Chethan Lakshman, Nancy Birnbaum, and Gave Lindo. Rocket Fund maintains strategic partnerships with the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (Living Languages initiative launched May 2026), the Black Screen Office, and Green Frame, and participates in CRTC and government policy advocacy on children's media discoverability, online safety, and the impact of AI and global platforms on Canadian children's content. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Rocket Fund

Legal name

Rocket Fund Canada

Website

https://rocketfund.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rocket Fund Canada is a Calgary-based charitable foundation and the only Canadian fund exclusively devoted to financing children's and youth media. Founded in 1999, it distributes CRTC-mandated BDU contributions to Canadian producers via grants and online application portals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Media Funding

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Children's media funding
• Media production grants
• Nonprofit foundation
• Canadian content funding
• Youth programming investment

Headquarters

HQ city

Calgary

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Broadcasting Distribution Undertaking (BDU) Contributions: Rocket Fund receives contributions from broadcasting distribution undertakings and audio-visual online undertakings as mandated by CRTC regulations. These funds are then distributed to Canadian children's media producers.
2. Charitable Foundation Operations: As a charitable organization, Rocket Fund operates as a grant-making foundation that allocates funds received from regulatory contributions toward Canadian children's and youth media production.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Rocket Fund is a Canadian charitable foundation that provides funding and investment for independent Canadian children's and youth media production. It receives mandated contributions from broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs) and audio-visual online undertakings under CRTC regulations and distributes these funds as grants to Canadian media producers through online application portals. The organization also operates permanent funding envelopes dedicated to official language minority community (OLMC) producers and producers from diverse communities.

Product overview

Rocket Fund is Canada's leading investor in children's and youth media content, operating as a funding organization rather than a technology product company. The organization offers a unified funding program that provides financial support to Canadian producers of children's media, along with two supporting digital platforms: the Rocket Portal for managing funding applications and contracts, and the Self-ID Portal for producer diversity self-identification. The funding programs support content across multiple age groups (preschool, primary, elementary, youth) and prioritize Canadian and Indigenous children's programming. As of September 2025, Rocket Fund established permanent funding envelopes specifically for official language minority community (OLMC) producers and diverse community producers, representing 10% of total revenues.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rocket Fund Funding Programs Investment and grant funding for Canadian children's, youth, and family media content across television, streaming, and digital platforms. Includes a permanent envelope dedicated to official language minority community (OLMC) producers and producers from diverse communities, funded by a 10% commitment of overall revenues from broadcasting distribution undertakings and audio-visual online undertakings. For Canadian independent production companies, broadcasters, and content creators producing children's programming.
• Rocket Portal

Quantifiable outcome

• Supported over 1,000 Canadian children's shows
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 May 2026APTN and Rocket Fund launched the 'Living Languages' initiative to strengthen Indigenous language learning for children and families through culturally grounded children's media. The initiative develops family-focused language education series and accelerates creation of children's content in multiple Indigenous languages. Living Languages focuses on languages with strong speaker communities but limited access to children's educational media.
• CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission)coreOthersRocket Fund operates under regulatory frameworks established by the CRTC, which mandates contributions from broadcasting distribution undertakings and audio-visual online undertakings. The CRTC defines OLMCs and diverse communities for funding eligibility purposes.
• Black Screen OfficeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRocket Fund team members participate in the Black Screen Office collaborative network as part of industry engagement and EDI initiatives.
• Green FrameminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRocket Fund participates in Green Frame sustainability certification initiative for the children's media industry.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Canada Media Fund (CMF): Canada's largest independent production fund, also financed through BDU contributions under CRTC policy. Directly comparable to Rocket Fund in mandate, funding source, and producer-application model, though CMF funds all genres rather than exclusively children's.
• Harold Greenberg Fund: Canadian non-profit fund supporting theatrical feature films, television, and digital content. Operates a similar industry-funded grantmaking model under CRTC framework and serves comparable Canadian producer constituencies.
• Telefilm Canada: Federal Crown corporation that funds Canadian film and television productions. Operates a similar grantmaking model for Canadian content, though broader in scope than Rocket Fund's children's-only mandate. Gigi Boyd, Rocket Fund's Board VP, is a former Telefilm Canada executive.
• Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN): Canadian Indigenous broadcaster and APTN's Living Languages initiative is a core Rocket Fund partnership. APTN both produces and funds Indigenous children's content, making it both a peer in mandate and a strategic partner for Rocket Fund's expansion into Indigenous media.
• Bell Fund: Independent Canadian production fund financed by Bell Canada's BDU contributions under CRTC policy. Closest direct peer to Rocket Fund in funding mechanism and broadcaster-tied contribution model, with comparable digital portal infrastructure for applicants.
• Independent Production Fund (IPF): Canadian non-profit fund that supports independent digital media content creators through BDU-derived contributions. Direct peer to Rocket Fund given shared regulatory funding source and grantmaking structure for Canadian content.

Regional players

• Ontario Creates: Provincial funding agency that supports Ontario-based media production including children's content. Comparable grantmaking function to Rocket Fund but operates regionally within Ontario rather than nationally, with different funding sources.

Broad incumbents

• Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC): Canada's national public broadcaster that commissions and funds children's programming including CBC Kids. Rocket Fund's board director Gave Lindo led CBC's digital and OTT offerings, evidencing the operational overlap between public broadcasting and children's media funding.
• National Film Board of Canada (NFB): Federal producer and distributor of Canadian films including animated children's content. Comparable in publicly-mandated Canadian content production, though NFB operates as a producer rather than a grantmaking fund like Rocket Fund.

Others

• Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA): Industry association representing Canadian independent producers, including those Rocket Fund finances. Comparable in serving the Canadian production ecosystem and Rocket Fund's Board VP Gigi Boyd is a former CMPA BC executive.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/RocketFund
• Facebookfacebook.com/rocketfund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rocket-fund-canada
• Instagraminstagram.com/rocketfundcanada
• Xx.com/rocketfund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rocket Fund