Cultivating leadership. Uniting chapters. Empowering youth.
We create practical pathways for young people to lead, build, and turn their ideas into lasting community impact.
Open Minds started in Vancouver in 2025.
Our founder kept watching students’ ideas stall for lack of guidance, funding, or a way in. We work on that gap directly: mentoring for students with a plan, funding for school clubs and community projects, and competitions where students practise leading in front of real judges.
Our programs
School clubs & community projects
Funding and planning help for school clubs and community events.
How funding works
Non-profit partnerships
Advice, outreach help, and connections for other youth-serving non-profits.
How partnerships workOur values
Diversity
Our teams and events bring together students from different schools, cultures, and backgrounds, including newcomers to Canada.
Inclusivity
Momentum and Velocity are free to attend, so cost isn’t what decides who gets to compete.
Reconciliation
We respect Indigenous histories and communities and ground our work in the First Peoples Principles of Learning.
Empowerment
Students plan and run our events themselves, with teachers, mentors, and volunteers backing them up.
Our largest event
Momentum Case Competition
Momentum was first planned as a 50-person competition at Windermere Secondary. It grew into a free, student-led event at UBC Sauder, where high school teams present a business case to industry professionals.
- Last held
- April 11, 2026
- Place
- UBC Sauder
Our other case competitions
Dec 5–6, 2026UBC Sauder, Vancouver
Lord Byng Case Competition
Teams from across the Lower Mainland compete for a $2,500 prize. Registration is open.
About Lord Byng
Jan 30, 2027UBC Sauder, Vancouver
Inspire Case Competition
A full-day competition with mentorship from professionals and a $1,000 grand prize.
About Inspire
Held Sep 19, 2026University of Victoria
Velocity Case Competition
Victoria’s first high school case competition. More than 180 students took part in 2026.
About VelocityCommunity projects
See all projects
Community building
Open Arms Project
A mock trial workshop, a cultural food exchange, a craft fair, and badminton, run with the BC Youth Volunteer & Charity Society.
Read more
Education
Striders EDU Event
Talks from SFU professor Frederick Willeboordse and Hugo Hu of the Beedie School of Business, with S.U.C.C.E.S.S.
Read more
Literacy
Byng Project 3B Books
A book swap in the Lord Byng Secondary library, with a guest from the Vancouver Public Library.
Read moreWho we work with
The logos here are the school clubs and youth groups we partner with. Our sponsors this year were Ocean Wise, Divercity, Service Canada, and the Frontlines Foundation.
Partner with us
More than 60 young people run Open Minds.
Meet the executive team behind our programs and chapters. We review executive applications on a rolling basis.
Meet the team