Applying for a Community Grant

Granting Guidelines and Eligibility

The CGP funds initiatives in the following broad areas: social services, arts and culture, education, environment, health, heritage, and animal welfare.  

In addition to applications to support the delivery of programs and projects, the OCF encourages, and may prioritize, applications that advance more systemic and collaborative approaches to issues of concern, such as: organizational capacity-building; research, planning, and convening to broker partnerships between organizations and sectors; or “seed funding” to further develop emerging initiatives/proposals and boost the likelihood of obtaining significant support from other funders. 

Eligibility Parameters

Charitable Status 

Typically, registration with Canada Revenue Agency as a charitable organization is required to apply for a Community Grant. Incorporation as a not-for-profit is not sufficient to qualify.  

However, an organization that does not have charitable status can apply in partnership with a charitable organization if, through the requested funding, the non-charitable organization is furthering the charity’s mission and mandate. 

If submitting as a charitable partnership, applications must include a Charitable Partnership Agreement Form with the attachments. 

Charitable organizations participating in such partnerships can still apply for an initiative they intend to directly deliver themselves, as well as serve as a charitable partner in the same grant round.  

In addition: 
  • The initiative in question must primarily benefit residents of Ottawa. 
  • Previous Community Grant recipients must file an interim or complete Evaluation Report before applying for a new grant. 

If you are unsure about your eligibility, please contact us. 

Qualifying Initiatives

Initiatives must do one or more of the following: 

  • Benefit the Ottawa community, improve the quality of life for its residents, and help to foster a strong, positive and caring community 
  • Use a community development approach to build on the assets and strengths of the community in order to respond to evolving issues and emerging priorities 
  • Address the root causes of identified local issues and work on long-term solutions in an effort to achieve systemic change 
  • Cultivate collective action within the community (i.e., through a shared vision for change, coordinated activities, joint data collection, and results measurement, the coordination of participating organizations, etc.) 
  • Take a creative or unique approach to tackling community issues (e.g., through the method of service delivery, engagement of community partners, role of community members, etc.) 
  • Help to build the capacity of individuals, organizations, and communities 

In accordance with the principles and commitments of the Foundation, the Grants Committee pays close attention to whether and how proposed initiatives incorporate justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. The Committee also considers applicants’ resources, capacity, and options for fundraising and marketing to ensure that our funding reaches capable organizations that may have more limited scope in these areas. 

The Community Grants program does not provide funding for the following. If you are unsure whether your application falls into one of these categories, please contact us. 

  • Core operations (see note below) 
  • Fundraising events or campaigns 
  • Partisan political or religious activities 
  • Individuals 
  • Sponsorships 
  • Deficit reduction 
  • Equipment purchases for administrative purposes 

Note: Staff salaries and/or maintenance and administrative costs are not eligible if associated with basic operations and established, ongoing programs. These costs can qualify, however, if associated with the development and/or implementation of new programs, the expansion or evolution of existing programs, or such other initiatives as capacity development, strategic planning, evaluation, etc.