The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) has announced another round of funding for not-for-profit and charitable organizations in the province, including eight in the Guelph and Wellington County area.
In addition to local community grants, OTF announced 35 province-wide grants.
“Supporting not-for-profit and charitable organizations through the Ontario Trillium Foundation is part of our government’s plan to strengthen the economy and create jobs,” Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, said in a Dec. 4 press release.
“With OTF’s support, community organizations are able to enhance their programs and services so that even more Ontarians can receive benefits from learning, social inclusion and recreation.”
OTF officials say the grants support community organizations that are responding to local needs and forging stronger communities.
They add the funding “will be used to expand programs for people of all ages and abilities, and to increase public participation in community activities and programs” and “to create more economic, cultural and social opportunities for the benefit of families and individuals across the province.”
Crista Renner, chair of the OTF grant review team for Waterloo, Wellington and Dufferin, said, “OTF invests for impact in the community and will be looking more and more for organizations that can work together, making the most of investments through partnership, collaboration and inclusive programs.
“It is the best way to serve Ontarians and their communities across the province.”
Grants in the Guelph And Wellington area, ratified by the OTF board of directors on Nov. 1, include:
– $12,600 over one year to BreastStrokes, to purchase a new dragon-boat, thereby increasing the capacity of the organization to enter more races to increase dollars raised and serve more women who are survivors of breast cancer in Wellington County;
– $61,000 over three years to the Abbeyfield Houses Society of Guelph to increase capacity by providing training, staffing and renovations to a drop-in center for homeless and difficult to house youths in Guelph;
– $89,800 over three years to The Julien Project, which uses gardening to enrich lives, to develop a comprehensive horticultural internship program in Guelph for marginalized youth facing social and economic barriers which will help them acquire entry level employable horticultural skills to contribute to the strength of the local economy;
– $92,700 over two years to the Guelph Arts Council to increase the organization’s capacity to assume the lead role in developing a community arts hub in Guelph and hire a staff person to coordinate partnering organizations, community artists and arts organizations as well as landlords;
– $103,600 over two years to the Guelph Chamber of Commerce to increase the sustainability and impact of large cross-sector projects in Guelph by broadening the reach and strengthening the capacity of the Guelph Sustainable Solutions initiative;
– $119,000 over three years to the Hills of Headwaters Tourism Association, as lead organization on this collaborative, to increase the capacity to promote the Headwaters region as a centre of equine excellence in the province of Ontario, thereby strengthening the local economy;
– $141,500 over two years to Dunara Homes for Recovery Inc. to support salary and program costs in order to build the capacity of partner organizations to develop a county-wide protocol and community response to the problem of hoarding in Wellington County; and
– $204,000 over three years to the Headwaters Communities in Action group to increase the capacity of the organization to convene and support collaborative initiatives around sustainable farming and community development in the Headwaters Region. The OTF press release also noted the foundation has a new strategic framework designed to enable it to better measure its outcomes and to be more transparent in how funding decisions are made. The new framework includes sector priorities that will help OTF achieve its mission while maximizing investments for public benefit.
