indigenous youth roots

What indigenous youth roots does

Indigenous Youth Roots (IYR), formerly Canadian Roots Exchange (CRE), is a national Indigenous youth-led registered charity headquartered in Toronto, Canada (Registration 832296602RR0001), founded in 2008 and rebranded in September 2023. The organization provides programs, grants, and learning opportunities for Indigenous youth (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) ages 15-29 across Canada, grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Its core offerings include the Creation Community Grants Program (multi-level grants from $2,500 to $150,000 for grassroots Indigenous youth-led projects), the Indigenous Youth Policy School (a tuition-free 9-month virtual program with no academic requirements), the newly piloted Northern Policy School (debuting June 2026 in Inuvik, NT), the Indigenous Youth Advocacy Week, and the Centre for Indigenous Policy & Research, which publishes The Rundown newsletter, IYR Explains policy content, and the Indigenous Youth Reconciliation Barometer 2024.

IYR has a staff of approximately 45 plus a volunteer Board of Directors and operates community advisory circles to guide program design. All programs are delivered at no cost to participants, and the organization is funded through multi-year government grants (primarily from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada for TRC Call to Action 66 implementation, totaling $40.2M committed across 2019-2026), foundation grants (notably a $10M, five-year Mastercard Foundation gift announced in 2025), corporate partnerships (Manulife, RBC Foundation, Gore Mutual, H&M, Deloitte, Suncor, Parks Canada, and others), and individual donations via CanadaHelps.

IYR's go-to-market motion is community-led: it engages Indigenous youth through applications to programs, national gatherings (e.g., Banff 2023, Whitehorse 2025), referrals through community advisory circles, and partnerships with grassroots Indigenous organizations. The underlying technology stack is minimal and non-proprietary: a WordPress-based website, a third-party grant portal (Grant Interface), email/newsletter distribution, and standard social media. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and the organization has no API, no proprietary software products, and no AI/ML capabilities. Notable organizational events include a 2020 workplace investigation and subsequent executive leadership transitions, the closure of the Community Relations and Solidarity Department (and the In Motion program), and the 2023 rebrand from CRE to IYR.

Name

indigenous youth roots

Legal name

Indigenous Youth Roots

Website

https://indigenousyouthroots.ca

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Indigenous Youth Roots is a national, Indigenous youth-led registered charity providing tuition-free programs, multi-level grants, and policy education to Indigenous youth aged 15-29 across Canada. It is funded primarily by federal government grants and a growing roster of major foundations and corporate partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Non-Profit Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Child and Youth Services (62411), Child and Youth Services (624110)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Tribal Online & Distance Learning TCUs (Primarily Online/Hybrid) (EDAHANAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Tribal Research Universities & Research Centers (Research-Active TCUs) (EDAHANAD)

Keywords

• Indigenous youth programs
• Youth grant funding
• Policy education
• Community development
• Leadership training

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: IYR receives significant federal government funding, primarily from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC), specifically for implementing Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action 66. Funding has included $15.2M pilot (2019-2023), $12.5M extension (2023-2025), and additional $12.5M commitment (2024).
2. Foundation and Corporate Grants: IYR receives funding from multiple foundations and corporations including Mastercard Foundation ($10M gift announced), Manulife, RBC Foundation, McConnell Foundation, Max Bell Foundation, and others. These are typically multi-year strategic partnerships.
3. Individual Donations: IYR accepts monthly and one-time donations from individual donors through CanadaHelps platform. The organization promotes monthly giving to support Indigenous youth programming.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Indigenous Youth Roots is a youth-led national registered charity that provides Indigenous youth (ages 15-29) with tuition-free programming, multi-level community grants, and leadership and policy education opportunities grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Its core offerings include the Creation Community Grants Program (funding for grassroots youth-led projects), the Indigenous Youth Policy School and Northern Policy School, Indigenous Youth Advocacy Week, and the Centre for Indigenous Policy & Research. All programs and grants are delivered at no cost to participants across Canada.

Product overview

Indigenous Youth Roots (IYR) is a national Indigenous youth-led organization operating as a platform of interconnected programs and services rather than a single product. The core offerings include: (1) Creation Community Grants Program - a multi-level funding initiative providing grants ranging from $2,500 to $150,000 to Indigenous youth-led projects; (2) Indigenous Youth Policy School and Northern Policy School - tuition-free policy education programs for Indigenous youth ages 18-29; (3) Indigenous Youth Advocacy Week - government engagement programming; (4) Centre for Indigenous Policy & Research - providing policy research, The Rundown newsletter, and IYR Explains content series; and (5) supporting programs including the Peer Program, Research Hub, and LandBackLeaders Journal. The organization also previously operated the In Motion community program through its now-closed Community Relations and Solidarity Department. All offerings are grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and being and designed to strengthen and amplify Indigenous youth voices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Creation Community Grants Program A multi-level funding program supporting strengths-based, community-focused and youth-led projects across Canada. Grants range from $2,500 to $150,000 per project for Indigenous youth-led groups (ages 15-29) implementing community programs, with mentorship, training, and capacity-building opportunities.
• Indigenous Youth Policy School (IYPS) A tuition-free, 9-month virtual program providing Indigenous youth ages 18-29 with baseline understanding of policy development and engagement. Participants learn through interactive sessions divided by time zones across coast-to-coast cohorts, developing policy recommendations and presenting solutions to policymakers.
• Northern Policy School A program within the Centre for Indigenous Policy and Research designed specifically for Northern Indigenous youth to strengthen skills in policy, leadership, and governance. Rooted in Northern realities and community priorities, it creates space for youth to explore how policy can be a tool for self-determination.
• Indigenous Youth Advocacy Week A program providing Indigenous youth opportunities to connect with government leaders and policymakers to share ideas, visions, and priorities. Includes skills-building sessions, mentorship, and networking opportunities to equip youth to engage meaningfully with elected officials and senior policymakers.
• Centre for Indigenous Policy & Research (CIPR) A center prioritizing youth policy development and research to support Indigenous youth in advancing their vision of meaningful reconciliation. Creates space for new leadership and provides tools and resources including The Rundown newsletter and IYR Explains policy content series.
• Indigenous Youth Reconciliation Barometer 2024 A research initiative engaging 1,125 Indigenous youth from coast-to-coast-to-coast to understand how they envision their own empowerment and futures through exploring themes like culture, wellness, education, meaningful work, solidarity, and reconciliation.
• Peer Program A 4-year program aimed at advancing the personal and professional capacity of Indigenous youth ages 18-29.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,125 Indigenous youth engaged through Indigenous Youth Reconciliation Barometer 2024
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Right To Play International: Right To Play is a globally scaled Canadian-founded youth-development charity using sport and play for education and empowerment. Comparable to IYR in youth-empowerment programming and federal/corporate fundraising profile, but operates internationally and via sport rather than policy and grants.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada: Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada is a federated national youth-services charity delivering after-school programming, leadership development, and grants-in-aid for youth — operating at a far larger national scale than IYR with broader beneficiary scope, but covering comparable leadership and capacity-building programming.
• YMCA Canada: YMCA Canada is a long-established national charity delivering youth development, leadership training, and community programming across the country — broadly comparable as a multi-program, federally and foundation-funded youth-serving charity, but at a much larger scale and without Indigenous-specific mandate.

Direct peers

• Indspire: Indspire is a national Indigenous-led charity in Canada that funds Indigenous youth through scholarships, bursaries, and educational programming — directly paralleling IYR's grant-plus-education model, but focused on post-secondary education rather than policy and grassroots community projects.
• Frontier College: Frontier College is a Canadian national literacy non-profit that delivers education and training programs for youth and communities — overlapping with IYR's educational programming and volunteer-driven delivery model, focused on literacy rather than policy and Indigenous-specific programming.
• Pathways to Education Canada: Pathways to Education is a national Canadian charity delivering multi-year educational programming, financial supports, and advocacy for youth facing barriers — directly comparable to IYR's blend of tuition-free education, programmatic support, and youth advocacy, but serving low-income rather than Indigenous youth.
• TakingITGlobal: TakingITGlobal is a Canadian youth-led non-profit focused on civic engagement, leadership, and education for young people globally. It shares IYR's youth-led, programming-centric DNA and was organizationally adjacent to CRE (IYR's predecessor) in its early years.
• 4Rs Youth Movement: 4Rs Youth Movement is an Indigenous-youth-led organization in Canada focused on mental health, wellness, and cultural programming — sharing IYR's Indigenous youth-led model and national scope, but with a mental-wellness rather than policy/grant focus.

Others

• CanadaHelps: CanadaHelps is the donation platform IYR itself uses to process individual giving. As the dominant Canadian online giving infrastructure for registered charities, it is adjacent ecosystem infrastructure that channels individual donor revenue to IYR and comparable Indigenous and youth-focused charities.

Emerging players

• AFOA Canada: AFOA Canada is an Indigenous-led organization delivering professional development, training, and capacity-building for Indigenous finance and management professionals — comparable to IYR in Indigenous-led, training-focused programming for Indigenous beneficiaries, but targeting professional rather than youth cohorts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about indigenous youth roots