It is a program that supports our active employees, their family members and retired employees who are personally involved in the community. The CN Railroaders in the Community program recognizes these efforts by providing funding to those selected the community groups.  Volunteering efforts in the following categories are eligible for a grant:

• Volunteer Program: If you volunteer a minimum of forty (40) hours per year for a recognized charitable organization (as approved by either the Canada Revenue Agency or the Internal Revenue Service) as an active employee, CN will donate a grant of $1,000 to the registered, charitable or community organization. As a retired employee, CN will provide a grant of $500.
• Youth Amateur Sports Program: If you volunteer as a coach, manager, trainer or scheduler for a community-based non-profit organization that organizes recreational and/or competitive amateur youth sports activities, CN will donate a grant of $500 to the association, provided you volunteer a minimum of forty (40) hours per year.
• Matched Fundraising Program: If you participate in a recognized/sanctioned fundraising initiative (walk, run, cycling, etc) for a recognized charitable organization (as approved by either the Canada Revenue Agency or the Internal Revenue Service), CN will match up to $250 of your individual fundraising efforts or up to $1,000 for those of a team comprised of at least three (3) CN employees.
• CN Family Program: A member of your family (spouse, partner, or child 25 years of age and under, still living at home) who donates at least forty (40) hours of their time to a recognized charitable organization (as approved by either the Canada Revenue Agency or the Internal Revenue Service), will now be eligible to apply for a grant of $250.
• Retired Employee Program: CN will donate $500 to a recognized charitable organization (as approved by either the Canada Revenue Agency or the Internal Revenue Service) at which you have volunteered at least forty (40) hours of your personal time per year.
  

The goal of the program is to help make CN communities better places to live and work, by encouraging and supporting the involvement of our employees, their families and our retired employees. We believe that by recognizing and supporting community volunteerism through donations to the charitable organizations, CN can help to strengthen and improve the fabric of our communities.

1. Permanent active employees who are either:
(a) full-time employees who have worked for at least six (6) months for CN; or
(b) part-time who have been employed by CN for at least twelve (12) months are eligible for the CN Railroaders in the Community program.

2. Family members such as spouse, partner or child (25 years of age and under still living at home), of active CN employees, as specified in (a) and (b) above.

3. Retired employees

Temporary and contract employees are not eligible.

To qualify, you must meet eligibility criteria as stated in question 3 (see above). You must also volunteer for at least one eligible organization (approved by either the Canada Revenue Agency or the Internal Revenue Service) in an eligible capacity for a minimum of forty (40) hours in a given calendar year.

Yes, but only once per category per year.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) assign eligible status to thousands of not-for-profit organizations. Each agency's review and approval process is rigorous and establishes the legal requirements by which charities must abide, including provision of annual audited financial statements. CRA/IRS status provides a degree of assurance that an organization is operating within accepted performance standards. For this reason, CN requires that volunteer grants go to CRA-eligible organizations or IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations.

Yes, as long as the organization for which you volunteered is a registered charitable organization in the country where you work.

Religious and faith-based organizations are the cornerstone of many CN communities. Often, these organizations deliver programs that support people in need without regard to their faith or other affiliations. Some groups, however, limit access to programs based on membership, faith or affiliation. In the spirit of our CN Railroaders in the Community program, CN provides grants only to those organizations or programs that do not discriminate and provide open access to all members of the community, regardless of their faith or affiliations.

You may apply for grants under the CN Railroaders in the Community program through our on-line application form.

Yes. You must submit all requests for volunteer grants no later than November 30 of the current calendar year in which the volunteer service was provided.