The Bill 7 Award Trust was established in 1987 to provide post-secondary education scholarships to 2 Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer (2SLGBTQI+) students with demonstrated financial need who are pursuing a first degree, diploma or certification in any Ontario post-secondary institution.
The Bill 7 Award is named after the 1986 Ontario legislation that extended the protection of the Human Rights Code to lesbians and gays.
The Trust was founded by six community groups, predominantly led by women: the UofT Women’s Centre, the Lesbian and Gay Community Appeal (now the CommunityONE Foundation), Lesbians of Colour, The Black Women’s Collective, Zami, and the Toronto Counselling Centre for Lesbians and Gays.
Today, Bill 7 Award trustees are appointed by our two current partner organizations, Supporting Our Youth (SOY) and theCommunity One Foundation, successors to the original founding groups.
Since 1987, the Bill 7 Award Trust has granted over $400,000 in scholarships to over 150 students to help them with the cost of post-secondary education.
All scholarship funds are raised through donations. We have been working hard to increase both the number and size of the available scholarships. Since 2021, we have been able to award around 20 scholarships of $4500 each, as well as supporting two additional students with continuing scholarships.