AWS Imagine Grant Canada

CRA-registered organizations based in Canada but serve beneficiaries outside of Canada are eligible to apply.

Imagine Grant Canada has one award category (Go Further, Faster) providing support for highly innovative projects that leverage the cloud. These projects will have the potential to produce scaled, repeatable solutions and may impact an entire industry or field. They will be force multipliers for organisations and will include the application of and/or seek integrations with advanced cloud services, such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), high performance computing (HPC), Internet of Things (IoT), and more. The Go Further, Faster award includes cash funding, AWS Promotional Credits, AWS marketing support, engagement with AWS technical specialists, and more.

We are not accepting applications from education institutions, including primary or secondary schools, colleges and universities, as they are currently outside of the AWS Imagine Grant priority funding areas. The AWS Education Equity Initiative accepts applications from nonprofits, governments, socially-minded EdTechs and corporate social responsibility teams seeking to build digital learning solutions for underserved and underrepresented communities.

Yes. Organizations who have applied and not been awarded an AWS Imagine Grant are welcome to apply again.

We recommend that organizations wait a period of one calendar year or one cycle before reapplying to the AWS Imagine Grant, with the exception of projects that are clearly and sufficiently different in nature, scope ,or stage than the previous submission. Winners are welcome to reapply to the same or a different category than their initial award, given that the applications should be clearly and sufficiently different in nature, scope, or stage than the previous submission.

No. Each organization may only submit one application per award cycle.

The number of grantees in each award category varies each year depending on several factors, such as the number and quality of applications, and budget availability. The AWS Imagine Grant is one of many resources available to help you achieve your technology goals, and we are committed to supporting you as much as possible.

Imagine Grant Canada has one award category (Go Further, Faster) providing support for highly innovative projects that leverage the cloud. These projects will have the potential to produce scaled, repeatable solutions and may impact an entire industry or field. They will be force multipliers for organisations and will include the application of and/or seek integrations with advanced cloud services, such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), high performance computing (HPC), Internet of Things (IoT), and more. The Go Further, Faster award includes cash funding, AWS Promotional Credits, AWS marketing support, engagement with AWS technical specialists, and more.

No. The use of AWS is not a requirement to apply for an AWS Imagine Grant. As the award package includes AWS-specific resources, the AWS Imagine Grant is best suited for organizations who do plan to incorporate AWS technology into their project design.

We accept proposals once annually. Timeline for the 2026-2027 cycle:

• Thursday, March 19: Official global program launch
• Thursday, March 19: Round One application portal opens
• Friday, June 5: Round One application portal closes
• Friday, July 3: Round One notification, Round Two invitation for advancing applicants
• Monday, July 6: Round Two proposal portal opens
• Friday, September 4: Round Two proposal portal closes 
• Late September/early October: Winner announcement at AWS Ottawa Symposium

An internal AWS adjudication panel will review project proposals. We anticipate communicating the results per the program timeline. We will communicate the decision to the proposal contact listed on each submission. We expect the proposal contact to notify their organization about award decisions and administrative requirements. If your proposal contact changes throughout the application process, please communicate that change to us at [email protected].

We seek to fund a diverse set of projects that leverage cloud technology for mission impact across the nonprofit sector. All mission and cause areas are welcome, excluding ineligible organizations listed above. Visit the Imagine Grant Canada website to learn about the projects from our 2025 winners and the global Imagine Grant website to learn about 2025 winners from other regions.

The Round One application instruction will be available for down on Thursday, March 19. The Round One application portal will also open Thursday, March 19, which you can access through the Imagine Grant Canada main page. We will extend Round Two proposals by invitation only, based on the evaluation of Round One applications. Organizations who are invited to Round Two will be provided instructions to submit full proposals for the Go Further, Faster award category. Organizations may only submit one project. Full proposal instructions will be provided to Round Two applicants only at the time of notification.

AWS will judge proposals based on factors that include:

• Innovative and unique nature of the project
• Impact on mission-critical goals
• Clearly defined outcomes
• Succinctly defined milestones
• Detailing and applicability of AWS services within the project scope
• Viability of proposed sustainability plan
• Comprehensiveness of applicant’s proposal and information requested
• Submission of proposal in correct format and within program deadlines

Yes. AWS Nonprofit Credit Program provides access to AWS Promotional Credit, enabling nonprofits to implement cloud-based solutions and meet their mission goals without upfront investment in physical infrastructure.

Nonprofit organizations around the world may apply for up to $5,000 USD annually in AWS Promotional Credit through the AWS Nonprofit Credit Program.

AWS has a multitude of self-service resources and training resources. If you need support in defining your project scope or writing this application, fill out this form on the AWS nonprofits page and an AWS representative will reach out within 1-2 business days. Please prepare a high-level project outline so our colleagues can connect you to the right resources. View the Imagine Grant application tutorial to get your organization ready to apply.

While only CRA-registered nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply for the AWS Imagine Grant, many winning projects do utilize the support of a MSP/technology partner in implementation. For specific questions, please email us or reach out to your AWS representative.

The AWS Education Equity Initiative accepts applications from nonprofits, governments, socially-minded EdTechs, and corporate social responsibility teams seeking to build digital learning solutions for underserved and underrepresented communities.