Executive Summary

• Clearmind needed to hire more staff and expand to new markets
• Granted was hired and was able to secure $100,000+ from just 6 grants
• Clearmind received $56,000 in one year alone to expand to new markets

Clearmind International Institute

Clearmind was founded in 1991 by a husband and wife team, Duane and Catherine O’Kane. The company was born after the pair went through difficult personal circumstances, and couldn’t find professional help to walk them through these difficult times, despite being trained counsellors. 

Their values revolve around the REAL: REAL connection, REAL you, and REAL impact. Today, they spread these values through primarily online courses, workshops, and programs including Counsellor Training, Personal Growth, and Leadership Development in 17 countries. 

Clearmind’s team was busy focusing on growing the business so they could help more people. Like many businesses, they didn’t have the time to apply for grants, and needed help navigating the grant process. 

Goal

Like countless small businesses in Canada, Clearmind was impacted by the physical distancing measures imposed as a result of COVID-19. The company was agile and pivoted their course offerings which, at that time, were mostly in-person.  

In shifting to online, they found that they could help more people than ever before at a time that they needed it most. With this discovery came the drive to make people aware of their courses and in 2021, Clearmind was ready for international expansion. 

With the desire to expand, all they needed was the funding to get them there. 

Grant Challenges

Clearmind was aware of grants, however, they perceived the process to be long, difficult, and complicated and therefore not worth it for them. They felt like they didn’t have the expertise or resources required to navigate the grant process, let alone secure enough funding for it to be worth their while. 

Without the time to dedicate to grants, Clearmind knew that there were opportunities they were missing out on. As such, they turned to Granted to come in and help them secure grant funding. 

Granted

Granted was hired in 2018 to fill the role of a grant expert for Clearmind. After a strategy session and some planning, Granted’s research team got to work to identify grants that fit Clearmind’s goals as a business. 

To help Clearmind reach its expansion goals, many grants were found to be a perfect fit. Granted then supported Clearmind through the prep, application, and post-approval steps required to secure grant funding that aligned with their goals.  

Results

To date, Granted was able to secure: 

• 2 Market Expansion Grants
• 2 Hiring Grants
• 2 Training Grants

To date, Granted has been able to get over $100,000 in funding for Clearmind. Of this, $56,000 is dedicated to business expansion efforts, which were secured in under 12 months. This funding has allowed Clearmind to train their team, hire more staff, and expand to new international markets so more people can benefit from their courses. 

“After many successful grant applications, I am very relieved that we have Granted and their wonderful team. They deliver the results we hoped for and helped us attain resources and opportunities we wouldn’t have otherwise had. THANK YOU Granted!”

Cindi Williams

General Manager