CFIR · The Foundation
The Foundation.
Canada deserves more entrepreneurs. We believe it starts with the knowledge of how to build a business. That is the mission — and this page is the record: every fact about the Foundation, in one place.
Registration
Corporate registration.
- Legal name
- Canadian Foundation for Innovation and Research (CFIR)
- Legal form
- Federal not-for-profit corporation, Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act
- Corporation no.
- 1674045-6 · Verify in the federal registry (Corporations Canada, opens in a new tab)
- Business no.
- 718160229RC0001
- Incorporated
- 11 February 2025
- Registered office
- 909 Alness St, Toronto, ON M3J 2J1, Canada
What we fund
Scholarships, seed grants, and research.
- Scholarships
- Full tuition for the three programmes at YEDIThe scholarships ›
- Seed grants
- Capital for ventures out of the Incubator, decided at YEDI's Venture FairThe grants ›
- Research
- Applied research, published open-accessThe studies ›
How it works
The Foundation and its designated institution.
CFIR is the funding side: it raises capital from corporate partners and funds full scholarships, seed grants, and open research.
The education happens at the York Entrepreneurship Development Institute (YEDI) in Toronto — the Foundation’s designated institution. YEDI reviews the applications, admits the people, educates them through the three programmes, and runs the Venture Fair where seed grants are decided.
Funding sits with the Foundation; admissions sit with YEDI. The companies that fund the education play no part in selecting who receives it.
The board
Directors and management.
- Director
- Anna Svirski
- Director
- Benjamin Peleg
- Director
- Aleksandr Vinokurov
- Corporate Partnerships Manager
- Nikita Tiurin
- Directors’ compensation
- Voluntary — the board serves without remuneration
The partners
Corporate partners.
- The partners
- Companies that agree with the mission and provide the capitalOur partners ›
- Become a partner
- Every partnership began with a short conversationPartner with us ›
Financials
Financial statements.
- Latest annual report
- Annual Report 2025 · PDF ›
- Operations
- Statement of Operations 2025 · PDF ›
- Financial position
- Statement of Financial Position 2025 · PDF ›
Contact
Contact information.
- Partnerships
- partnerships@research.ca
- Press & general
- info@research.ca
- Apply to a programme
- yedi.ca (opens in a new tab)
- Working languages
- English and French
- Registered office
- 909 Alness St, Toronto, ON M3J 2J1
Questions
Frequently asked questions.
- Is CFIR part of YEDI?
- CFIR and YEDI are two separate corporations. CFIR funds the work; YEDI admits the people and educates them.
- Does CFIR fund other organizations or projects?
- CFIR’s funding goes to the work at its designated institution — the scholarships, the seed grants awarded at the Venture Fair, and the research it publishes.
- Can our company direct its sponsorship to something specific?
- What a partnership funds is settled in conversation and recorded in the framework agreement. Start at partnerships@research.ca.
- Can I apply to CFIR for a scholarship or a seed grant?
- Applications go to YEDI: it admits the people and awards the seed grants at its Venture Fair. Start at yedi.ca (opens in a new tab).
- Where does the operating budget come from?
- A small slice of sponsorship income covers operations; the Statement of Operations shows it to the dollar. Everything else goes to the programmes.
- I received an email saying CFIR awarded me money. Is it real?
- CFIR writes only from @research.ca and never asks for fees. Scholarships and seed grants are administered by YEDI — when in doubt, forward the message to info@research.ca.
Date modified: 2026-07-06