Our mission is to promote social and economic justice in the tradition of our founder, Joseph E. Atkinson.  In the categories of health, social welfare, economic justice and education the Foundation has granted more than $55 million since its inception. The Foundation has a focus on three priority areas in 2011:   Early Learning and Child Care: Ontario-based innovative projects that demonstrate how to improve the futures of children and youth at risk through more effective early years programming and policies.   Poverty Reduction: Ontario-based innovative projects--including community organizing, research and educational activities—geared to increasing community and policy capacity to tackle poverty.    The Canadian Index of Wellbeing: A new approach to measuring how Canadians' lives are getting better – or worse – in areas that matter: health, standard of living, quality of the environment, time use, education and skills, community vitality, civic engagement, and arts and culture.   The Foundation also awards the annual Fellowship In Public Policy and the annual Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh Award.   The Atkinson Economic Justice Fellowships support social change leaders to continue to think and act for a more just future for all Canadians. Previous winners include immigrant-rights activist Uzma Shakirprogressive economist Armine Yalnizyan, former premier Roy Romanow and housing activist Cathy Crowe.  Applications are not accepted.    For Information about the Foundation's funding criteria and proposal process click here.  Please note that given our priorities and committed resources to current partners and initiatives in 2011, we are not accepting unsolicited applications.   For a complete list of our funding partners, check out our Annual Reports or review the latest e-bulletin Spotlight articles.