Ottawa, ON – August 1, 2024 – The Ottawa Community Foundation (OCF) today announced it is providing $2.2 million in funding to 134 local initiatives during its annual Community Grants Program. The Community Grants Program enables funding for local charities in support of community-based initiatives through a series of grants. Including the funds announced today, the Ottawa Community Foundation has made over $200 million in grants since it was founded.
“These numbers highlight the incredible need in our community and the incredible generosity of our donors,” said President and CEO Michael Maidment.
“Our mission includes making a tangible difference in the lives of Ottawa residents, and the Community Grants Program embodies that commitment. We are deeply grateful for our partnership with local charities in helping to realize our shared goal of creating community impact”.
The Ottawa Community Foundation received a record number of requests for funding during this latest round of the Community Grants program, highlighting the growing needs of the community and the strain on the resources of local charities to keep pace with the demand. Collaborating with our generous donors, the Ottawa Community Foundation stepped up to answer the call from the community through this round of funding.
List of Funded Projects
| Organization (Charitable Partner) | Project Name | $ Grant Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Ottawa Stray Cat Rescue | TNR: Trap Neuter Return, a Proactive Management System for Abandoned and Stray Cats in the Ottawa Community | 15,168.97 |
| Propeller Dance | Planting seeds for celebrating - a new accessible dance theatre creation | 14,500.00 |
| Ottawa Chamber Music Society | ChamberPride! A Queer Celebration of Chamber Music | 15,000.00 |
| Gallery 101 | The Governance of Compassion (GOC) | 18,412.00 |
| BEING Studio | Transformations, Line & Form | 14,525.68 |
| Chamber Opera Company Ottawa (Ottawa School of Theatre) | Opera Connects Families And Communities | 6,200.00 |
| The School of Dance | DragonFly Moving Minds 2024 | 15,000.00 |
| Writers Collective of Canada | Bridging Isolation: Empowering Voice in Ottawa?s Diverse Communities | 18,000.00 |
| PAL Ottawa | Operations Assessment of Creative Spaces | 10,000.00 |
| Svitanok Ukrainian Dance Society | Building Programs and Capacity to Serve Community through Dance | 10,000.00 |
| Ottawa Art Gallery | artWorks | 3,900.00 |
| Multicultural Artists' Coalition (Arts Network Ottawa) | The ART+ Series: Workshops, Shows, and Exhibitions | 15,000.00 |
| Réseau Ontario (Théâtre Action) | Contact ontarois 2025 | 15,000.00 |
| Tone Cluster | All Voices Choir Initiative | 17,000.00 |
| Théâtre de la Vieille 17 | Un beau souvenir d'été | 18,000.00 |
| Black History Ottawa | Black History in the Making | 19,000.00 |
| Odyssey Theatre | CREATE! - Community Arts Engagement Showcase | 14,000.00 |
| Odyssey Showcase | Canada Speaks in Diverse Ways, Les voix du patrimoine, Aki Animitagozig | 18,000.00 |
| Great Canadian Theatre Company | Building Capacity for D/deaf and ASL Interpreters for the Stage | 15,000.00 |
| Burning Passions Theatre | Sharing Stories, Nurturing Roots, Cultivating Community | 10,000.00 |
| Twice Upon A Time | Celebrating Diversity: Books for Ottawa Kids | 8,000.00 |
| Serenity Renewal for Families | Suite of Family Services | 16,000.00 |
| DEEN Support Services | AccessKix Ottawa - Accessible Sporting Program | 18,000.00 |
| Plant Pool Recreation Association | Plouffe Park Summer Park Program 2024 | 13,000.00 |
| Children's Aid Foundation of Ottawa | Home Base Program | 15,000.00 |
| Banff Avenue Community House | Youth Mentoring Program | 16,073.00 |
| Russell Heights Community House (Carleton University) | 1700SPOT | 18,000.00 |
| Operation Come Home | Employment Matters: Peer Support for Youth Experiencing Homelessness | 18,040.00 |
| Na'amat Canada - Ottawa Chapter | School Supplies for Kids in Shelters | 2,000.00 |
| Nutrition Blocs (Social Planning Council of Ottawa) | Community Flavors Cafe: An After-School Dinner Program for Children & Youth in Priority Neighborhoods | 25,000.00 |
| Ottawa Coalition of Community Houses | Ottawa Coalition of Community Houses Child & Youth Summer Nutrition Programming | 25,000.00 |
| Sandy Hill Community Health Centre | Sisters together | 25,000.00 |
| Camp Quality Canada | Send more Ottawa children affected by childhood cancer to camp in 2024 | 16,000.00 |
| Physical and Health Education Canada | Students Together Moving to Prevent (STOMP) Substance Use | 21,500.00 |
| Children First Canada | Being, Belonging, Becoming | 15,000.00 |
| Volunteer Ottawa | Youth Volunteer Advocates (YVAs) | 15,000.00 |
| Ottawa Child & Youth Initiative (Children's Hospital Of Eastern Ontario Foundation) | Increasing capacity of frontline staff to support the mental health and well-being needs of children and youth through professional development opportunities | 25,000.00 |
| Camp Banting | Camp Banting - 2024 Summer Camp | 10,000.00 |
| Youth Services Bureau Of Ottawa Charitable Foundation | Young Women's Shelter Kitchen Renovation | 15,000.00 |
| Mindtrust Leadership | Mentoring and Coaching Project | 25,000.00 |
| Camp Misquah | Return to Camp: Bringing Back the Counsellor in Training Program | 10,000.00 |
| Children at Risk, Ottawa | Saturday Recreational Respite Program for Children with Autism | 15,000.00 |
| Parent Resource Centre | Parent Resource Centre's 'Incredible Playgroup Finder' | 19,515.32 |
| Upstream Ottawa Mental Health Community Support | Connections: A Safe Space for Black Youth | 25,000.00 |
| Nelson House of Ottawa-Carleton | Part-Time Children's Program Worker | 16,300.00 |
| The Caring and Sharing Exchange | The Sharing in Student Success Program | 15,000.00 |
| Kids Up Front Foundation (Ottawa) | More Than A Ticket - Program Growth | 12,500.00 |
| Hockey Education Reaching Out Society | HEROS Ottawa | 15,000.00 |
| Heartwood House | HR Skills Development Training for Nonprofit Sector Leaders | 11,120.00 |
| Scientists in School | Elevating Equity-Deserving Children Through STEM Enrichment | 16,775.00 |
| JazzWorks Canada | JazzWorks 2024-25 Outreach Programming | 8,800.00 |
| Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation | Out to Learn ? outdoor education support for disadvantaged youth | 15,000.00 |
| Boundless Adventures Association | The Creation of a Multigenerational Indigenous Program | 15,000.00 |
| Planned Parenthood Ottawa | Preventing Teen Dating Violence in Ottawa?s French Schools | 18,550.00 |
| Youth Ottawa | Experiential Learning Pilot Program (ELPP) | 19,000.00 |
| Let's Talk Science | Enriching STEM learning and opportunities for youth in under-served communities | 25,000.00 |
| StoryBook Ottawa | StoryBook Ottawa/Livre de contes Ottawa 2024-2025 Book Campaign | 11,000.00 |
| Aboriginal Experiences Arts and Culture / Madahòkì Farm (Operation Come Home) | Minogin Mishdatim: Improving Program Delivery & Increasing Accessibility to M?dahòkì Farm's Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) | 25,000.00 |
| OrKidstra - Sistema Ottawa | Expanding our welcome - OrKidstra's Heron Gate After-School Hub Launch - 2024-25 | 25,000.00 |
| Bytown Brigantine Inc. - Tall Ships Adventure | Charting New Horizons: Empowering Youth Through Tall Ships Adventures" | 12,500.00 |
| University of Ottawa - Engineering Outreach Office | Empowering youth through STEM: programs for BIPOC, newcomers and at-risk youth | 15,000.00 |
| Carleton University | Building Community Gardens and Social Spaces in Overbrook to Increase the Safety and Resilience of the Community | 17,000.00 |
| Petrie Island Turtle Project (Ottawa Riverkeeper) | Turtle Conservation and Community Engagement - Petrie Island Turtle Project | 25,000.00 |
| Ecology Ottawa (Succession) | National Capital Environmental Youth Project | 22,000.00 |
| First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa | Ajashki Food Security and Climate Change Learning Centre | 20,000.00 |
| Canadensis Botanical Garden Society | CANADENSIS: A Garden To Discover | 15,000.00 |
| CAFES (Succession) | Building Environmental and Climate Leadership in Ottawa | 23,500.00 |
| Beth Donovan Hospice | Expanding services for rural Ottawa South | 10,000.00 |
| Hope Air | Medical Travel Arrangements for Low-Income Ottawa Patients | 10,000.00 |
| Cornerstone Housing for Women | Harm Reduction Peer Worker Program Expansion | 23,299.08 |
| Community Veterinary Outreach | Capacity, Community, Care: a project to increase sustainable, accessible veterinary and human health care for homeless people and pets in Ottawa | 25,000.00 |
| Housing Help | Rooming House Tenant Fan Program | 5,000.00 |
| Counselling and Family Service Ottawa | Caring dads: working with fathers to promote the safety and wellbeing of children and their mothers. | 22,598.00 |
| Ottawa Rowing Club (Special Olympics Ontario) | Special Olympics Ottawa Rowing Program | 10,511.40 |
| Queensway-Carleton Hospital Foundation | Improving Pain Management and Patient Safety at Queensway Carleton Hospital | 15,400.00 |
| Friends Of Humane Society International | Increasing access to healthy food for underserved populations in Ottawa | 14,725.00 |
| Bruyère Foundation | Specialized equipment to enhance quality patient care at Bruyere | 25,000.00 |
| Carefor Health & Community Services | Advancing Carefor's Infrastructure: Client-Centered Evolution | 17,174.00 |
| Montfort Hospital Foundation | Voyce - Medical Remote Interpretation | 25,000.00 |
| Tetra Society of North America | Tetra Ottawa Chapter - Devices Breaking Barriers | 10,000.00 |
| Pinecrest Queensway Community Health Centre | Connecting Nepean | 14,956.70 |
| Aphasia Centre of Ottawa | Building capacity to support families with aphasia | 15,250.00 |
| YMCA of the National Capital Region | Y Lifeguard Training Program | 16,623.75 |
| Psychiatric Survivors of Ottawa | Virtual Care Project | 17,000.00 |
| Ottawa Network for Borderline Personality Disorder | A needs assessment to support targeted education and outreach program development by the Ottawa Network for Borderline Personality Disorder | 20,000.00 |
| AIDS Committee of Ottawa | Wellness Circle for Healing | 16,000.00 |
| Community Addictions Peer Support Association | All People All Pathways: Proving Support Along the Substance Use Spectrum | 15,000.00 |
| Hopewell Eating Disorder Support Centre | Nourishing Circles: A Path to Recovery | 12,100.00 |
| YouthNet (CHEO) | Co-creating Connections: Integrating community, education, and mental healthcare through for-youth-by-youth programming | 16,792.00 |
| Centre For Treatment Of Sexual Abuse And Childhood Trauma | Group Therapy for Processing Abuse and Childhood Trauma (Women's, Men's & 2SLGBTQIA+) | 15,000.00 |
| Carlington Community Health Centre | Women in the Wild | 22,830.00 |
| Watson's Mill, Manotick | WMMI Bathroom Accessibility Upgrade | 5,500.00 |
| Osgoode Township Museum | Digital Heritage Content Mapping | 15,969.35 |
| Bytown Museum | Bytown Museum Website Redevelopment Project | 18,000.00 |
| Capital Heritage Connexion | Capital Heritage Mentorship Program 2024-2025 | 25,000.00 |
| Perley Health Foundation | Comfort at the Final Journey: Enhancing Palliative Care Through Sleeper Chairs | 10,000.00 |
| Dementia Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County | Le Café Marguerite | 23,340.00 |
| Dancing with Parkinson's | Bringing Movement and Dance to rural Ottawa Region Seniors | 15,000.00 |
| Canadian Organic Growers | Senior Organic Gardeners Adding Life to Years Through Healthy Aging | 12,750.00 |
| Connected Canadians | Accessible Digital Literacy Helpline for Older Adults in Ottawa for the General Public | 15,000.00 |
| Ottawa Therapy Dogs | Increasing Volunteer Capacity for Ottawa Therapy Dogs | 12,500.00 |
| Rideau-Rockcliffe Community Resource Centre | Forbes, Thorncliffe Park and Manor Park South Community Engagement Initiative | 17,440.00 |
| Belong Ottawa | West Centretown Community Meal Distribution | 10,000.00 |
| OMRA Shelter Corporation | Rent Assist Allies - Implementation Planning | 12,016.00 |
| Synapcity (Social Planning Council of Ottawa) | Civics Boot Camp - 2025 Edition | 15,000.00 |
| Capital City Mission | Solidifying CCM?s Community Support Program: Transforming a Pilot Project into a Lasting Program | 17,985.00 |
| Distress Centre Of Ottawa Region | Equipping our Crisis Response Call Centre for Critical Needs | 20,000.00 |
| Ottawa ACORN (ACORN Institute Canada) | The Ottawa State of Repair Initiative - Phase 2 | 20,000.00 |
| EcoEquitable | Improving employment outcomes for newcomer and underserved women in the Ottawa sewing industry | 20,905.00 |
| Dress For Success Ottawa | Professional Women?s Group | 21,400.00 |
| LiveWorkPlay | Securing Jobs for People with Intellectual Disabilities in Ottawa | 23,000.00 |
| Ottawa Innercity Ministries | Office Improvement Project | 25,000.00 |
| Social Planning Council of Ottawa | TRAC - Technology Research and Communication Social Enterprise | 24,890.00 |
| Care Centre Ottawa | Marketplace - Full Choice Food Market/Capacity Building Wrap Around Supports/Care Cafe | 10,000.00 |
| Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness / National Right to Housing Network | Community Organizing for Housing Justice and the Right to Housing in Ottawa | 18,323.00 |
| St. Joe's Supper Table | Enhanced Community Meal Service | 10,000.00 |
| Centre Espoir Sophie | Le Café des Sophie | 15,984.00 |
| Able2: Support For People With Disabilities | Funding Brokerage Initiative | 20,742.00 |
| Coalition Des Familles Francophones D'Ottawa | Bienvenue! | 12,500.00 |
| Shepherds of Good Hope | Critical Voice Communications Initiative | 22,185.00 |
| MakeWay Charitable Society - Together Project | The Ottawa Welcome Group Program | 20,000.00 |
| Catch a Smile - Friends in Sportfishing | Catch A Smile - 2025 | 10,861.00 |
| Rideauwood Addiction & Family Services | Client Advisory Commitee | 11,803.00 |
| City for All Women Initiative (Nepean, Rideau and Osgoode Community Resource Centre) | Empowering Voices: The Women's Action Circle for Inclusive Urban Development | 15,000.00 |
| Epilepsy Ottawa | Helping Open Pathways for Epilepsy (H.O.P.E.) Counselling Program | 15,000.00 |
| iSisters Technology Mentoring | Empowering Women in the Digital Age: Online Safety | 15,228.00 |
| Canadian Women of Colour Leadership Network (Social Planning Council of Ottawa) | Creative Expressions: Evolution | 16,210.00 |
| Circles of Support and Accountability Ottawa | No More Victims Through Community Engagement | 18,000.00 |
| Tyson Dream (Social Planning Council of Ottawa) | Parents table talks - Raise your voice 2024 | 18,980.00 |
| Jamaican Ottawa Community Association (Social Planning Council of Ottawa) | Bridge Building: Connecting Generations" | 20,000.00 |
| The Ottawa Mission | The Mobile Mission Meals Program | 23,984.00 |
| Soul Space Ottawa (First United Church) | Soul Space Ottawa - Strengthening Community Capacity | 24,350.00 |
| Jericho Road Ministries | Leadership Development & Training Implementation | 25,000.00 |
| Rise Asset Development | Breaking Barriers Through Entrepreneurship | 25,000.00 |
About the Ottawa Community Foundation
The Ottawa Community Foundation is a registered charity and one of over 200 community foundations across Canada. Since our founding in 1987, we have provided donors with an effective way to give through donor-advised funds. Many of these individual charitable funds are pooled together to grow over time while also supporting immediate needs and impact investments. This approach has allowed us to grant over $200 million to a diverse range of causes.
By aligning strategic insights with community needs, we match donors with the charities and causes they care about and help build vibrant and robust communities where everyone can thrive.
For more information, please contact:
Barry Lam
Manager, Communications
Ottawa Community Foundation
blam@ocf-fco.ca
Tel: 613-563-7121