Ontario Trillium Foundation Invests for Impact

Not-for-profit groups build local community capacity with OTF investments

TORONTO, Nov. 26, 2013 /CNW/ -

NEWS

The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is making this province a better place to live, work and play by investing in 324 not-for-profit and charitable organizations across Ontario.

Through investments announced today, local organizations have the support they need to make their counties, towns and cities stronger. Each unique community in Ontario, with its challenges and assets, contributes to a dynamic and united province.

In addition to community grants, OTF has announced 27 grants that will support larger, province-wide projects. By working with not-for-profit organizations at the local level, and other groups that operate on a larger scale, OTF is maximizing the impact of our investments and helping to build a healthy and vibrant Ontario.

QUICK FACTS

• OTF is the largest granting foundation in Canada, and our participatory model of grant making means that local volunteers in each of 16 areas are responsible for selecting successful grants.
• OTF is a provincial agency that awards about 1300 grants every year, and more than one in five organizations that receive OTF grants are run solely by volunteers.
• The Foundation has a mandate to fund across four sectors: social services, environment, arts and culture, and sports and recreation.

QUOTES

"The Government of Ontario is proud to partner with our diverse and dynamic not-for-profit and charitable organizations through our lead agency the Ontario Trillium Foundation.  Our support for innovative local initiatives helps to build healthy and vibrant communities across the province and enrich the quality of life for Ontarians."

- Michael Chan, Ontario Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport

"The Ontario Trillium Foundation has the unique opportunity to partner with a diverse range of not-for-profits and charities, all of whom are passionate and committed to helping their communities. I am excited to see what this round of grantees will accomplish with our support."

- Andrea Cohen Barrack, CEO, Ontario Trillium Foundation

SAMPLE GRANTS

Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario 

• $391,300 over two years to coordinate and execute community and province-wide events celebrating the 400th anniversary of the French presence in Ontario through the production of promotional materials and the creation of an interactive website.

Canadian Red Cross Society, Ontario Zone

• $147,700 over one year to renovate five utility service trailers into mobile command units, and to purchase registration and administration resource kits, which will enable the organization to deliver relief more efficiently for disaster events in Ontario. Mobile command units will be permanently stationed in Kenora, Sudbury, Ottawa, Barrie and Hamilton.

The 519 Church Street Community Centre , as lead organization on this collaborative 

• $587,400 over three years to implement a comprehensive engagement and activation strategy for the lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer (LGBTQ) communities in Ontario during and leading up to the 2015 Pan / Para-Pan Am Games. More than 650 volunteers will be trained in Toronto and eight other Ontario communities to provide inclusion training to organizations in their communities, and to activate hundreds of events, games and celebrations to engage LGBTQ communities in sport and recreation.

Rural Ontario Institute, Inc # 1815005 , as lead organization on this collaborative

• $138,800 over eight months to document case studies and share knowledge on effective rural regional transportation approaches in Ontario and potential business models and financing sources for cost-shared rural transportation systems.

LEARN MORE

• See all the community grants here
• Learn more about OTF Province-Wide grants here

SOURCE: Ontario Trillium Foundation

Gabrielle Gallant at [email protected] or 1 800 263 2887