TheBulletin.ca Journal of Downtown Toronto
Ontario’s Minister of Culture, Caroline Di Cocco, announced that 64 community organizations in neighbourhoods across Toronto will receive $4,754,700 in community grants from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF). Many of these grants invest in people and expand opportunities in communities through improvements to infrastructure, land and equipment.
“The Ontario Trillium Foundation, through these grants, is increasing opportunities for people and building more vibrant communities,” said Minister Di Cocco. “With the support of the Foundation, community groups can make repairs and other improvements to land and buildings, enhance energy efficiency and safety and strengthen their capacity.”
Minister Di Cocco also commented that OTF’s investment in Ontario communities will increase in the future. “The recent provincial budget includes a commitment to increase the Foundation’s annual funding by 20 per cent over the next three years.”
“Community groups need a physical location to operate as well as reliable equipment to provide services,” said Alexander Waugh, Grant Review Team Chair. “The whole community benefits when OTF grants are used to upgrade community halls, sports facilities or libraries.” For example, the Boys and Girls Club of East Scarborough will be awarded $88,900 to purchase a 24-seat bus that will increase the club’s ability to provide recreation programs to youth living in Scarborough. St. John The Compassionate Mission will receive $75,000 over one year to renovate the centre’s basement. This will enable this Riverdale organization to expand its meeting and storage space, providing service to low-income residents of the community.
Minister Di Cocco also announced more than $6.8 million in 35 grants from OTF’s Province-Wide program. This funding is awarded to umbrella organizations that help member groups strengthen their capacity. Ontario Sailing Association will receive $79,000 over two years to engage 16 new communities in expanding the Mobile Sailing and Access BOOM programs. These programs will introduce over 1,000 youth and adults of all abilities to the sport of sailing.
For 25 years, the Foundation has supported the growth and vitality of communities across the province. OTF continues to strengthen the capacity of the volunteer sector through investments in community-based initiatives. An agency of the Government of Ontario, OTF receives funding from Ontario’s charity casino initiative. To learn more about OTF, visit www.trilliumfoundation.org.
Ratified by the Ontario Trillium Foundation Board of Directors on March 7, 2007A Commitment to Training and Employment for Women (grant has city-wide impact)
$48,100 over one year to develop a three-year business and strategic plan. It will increase the organizational capacity and long-term sustainability of this Toronto network of women’s employment and training services.
Abilities Arts Festival : A Celebration of Disability Arts and Culture (grant has city-wide impact)
$100,300 over two years to develop this Toronto festival. The event celebrates and showcases artists with disabilities and increases community participation in the arts.
ALDER (Adult Learning Disabilities Employment Resource Centre) (grant has city-wide impact)
$6,500 to develop, record and upload 20 spoken word-audio clips to the ALDER website. These will help provide youth and adults with learning disabilities in Toronto with access to resource materials on finding employment.
Art City in St. James Town
$50,000 over two years for services to support children’s after-school programming in Toronto’s St. James Town neighbourhood. This will allow new activities to be added to the existing opportunities for children and youth to receive art instruction.
The Canadian Stage Company (grant has city-wide impact)
$225,000 over three years for program costs, materials and staff to make the company more accessible to many audiences. New and underserved communities will increase their participation in the group’s programs and activities in Toronto.
CANORAA Inc. (grant has city-wide impact)
$60,000 over three years for a yearly soccer and basketball tournament in Toronto French high schools. Organizational capacity will also be built and employment programs provided for Francophone youth with diverse racial and cultural backgrounds.
Company YOU c/o National Ballet of Canada (grant has city-wide impact)
$75,000 over six months for a new dance outreach program by the National Ballet of Canada and Canada’s National Ballet School. The program will provide workshops and performances that give Toronto school students a comprehensive exposure to dance.
Creative Works Studio and Good Shepherd Collaborative Renovation Project c/o Good Shepherd Non-Profit Homes Inc.
$100,000 over six months to create a community studio and gallery in East Toronto for adults with long-term mental health disabilities. This initiative will increase access to creative spaces, helping promote recovery and an enhanced quality of life.
Crow’s Theatre Circus (grant has city-wide impact)
$5,700 to purchase new office equipment, including computers and network equipment. This will help this artistic company to grow, enabling it to continue to support and develop new plays for the Toronto community.
Curtain Call Players
$5,000 to purchase six wireless microphones in order to improve the sound quality of the musical theatre productions at the Fairview Library Theatre in Toronto.
Elizabeth Fry Society of Toronto
$100,000 over one year to create an accessible, barrier-free main floor area in the Toronto facility that will create a safer environment for women with disabilities who have been incarcerated and an aging population.
Fado Performance Inc. (grant has city-wide impact)
$15,000 over one year to establish an office space for this performance art group located in Toronto. This will help the organization to better provide the public with access to performance archives and other resources.
Fife House Foundation Inc.
$71,100 over one year to fully equip and furnish a neighbourhood kitchen. This will help decrease isolation and provide nutrition and social support to people living with HIV/AIDS and frail elderly people in downtown Toronto.
Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies (grant has city-wide impact)
$59,000 over one year to establish interactive multimedia workshops at this centre for Holocaust studies in Toronto. The program will help to educate young people about racism, tolerance, combating hatred and becoming engaged in democracy.
Frontier College (grant has city-wide impact)
$75,000 over one year to support and help establish satellite Toronto locations for the Beat the Street program. This initiative helps street-involved and homeless youth build their confidence and develop literacy and life skills.
Get your Move on, Making Physical Activity a Toronto Thing c/o Toronto Community Foundation (grant has city-wide impact)
$75,000 over one year to develop programs and strategic plans to increase physical activity in Toronto. Public awareness will be raised, creating opportunities and reducing barriers to community participation.
Li Delun Music Foundation (grant has city-wide impact)
$16,200 over six months for program costs to present a Toronto-based concert during Asian Heritage Month in May 2007. This will bring together diverse groups of young composers and performers working in both Chinese and European classical tradition.
Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (grant has city-wide impact)
$75,000 over one year for computer equipment upgrade to improve the organization’s efficiency. This will enable it to provide more art education programming to both young and established filmmakers and to enhance community outreach.
Mid-Toronto Community Services Inc.
$69,800 over six months to purchase a new telephone system and a passenger van. These will help improve programs and services that promote health and independent living for seniors and adults with disabilities in downtown and midtown Toronto.
Oasis Addiction Recovery Society (grant has city-wide impact)
$78,500 over six months to renovate the reception/information centre, washrooms and café of this east Toronto site. Renovations will make the facility accessible to people of all abilities who are recovering from addiction and dependency.
Opera Atelier (grant has city-wide impact)
$140,000 over two years to expand the Making of an Opera program in Toronto and add an in-school component. This will extend opportunities and resources for youth and educators to increase their understanding of opera.
Rasik Arts (grant has city-wide impact)
$52,300 over 44 months to provide marketing, communications and outreach support for this South Asian theatre company in Toronto. As a result, the organization will grow, develop and increase its profile in the community.
ReelWorld Foundation (grant has city-wide impact)
$101,300 over two years for staff, equipment and resources to increase the capacity of the organization. This will help strengthen and expand current programming, increase membership and enhance access for emerging artists in Toronto.
Silver Creek Music Foundation (grant has city-wide impact)
$60,000 over three years for services to increase the organization’s administrative and operational capacity. This will support sustainable growth of the Toronto Summer Music Academy and Festival, contributing to a healthy arts community for all.
Soulpepper Theatre Company (grant has city-wide impact)
$200,000 over three years to diversify the organization’s leadership and develop marketing strategies. Funding will help build the company’s capacity and strengthen its operations to support training and youth outreach programs in Toronto.
South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario (SALCO) (grant has city-wide impact)
$75,000 over one year to host a Toronto-based international symposium on the issue of forced marriages in order to raise awareness and facilitate the discussion among the stakeholders.
Tapestry New Opera Works: Tapestry Music Theatre (grant has city-wide impact)
$130,000 over two years to expand audiences, raise funds, develop volunteers and board members and upgrade technological capacity. This will help this Toronto organization encourage arts development and engage diverse members of the community.
Textile Museum of Canada (grant has city-wide impact)
$90,000 over three years for outreach, education and program costs to support the Art for Youth/Art for Life program. This initiative provides free access to enriched arts education experiences for young people from Toronto schools.
Toronto Child Abuse Centre (grant has city-wide impact)
$13,400 to equip an interview room with video recording equipment. This will enhance the skills of staff and students working with children who have experienced abuse or witnessed interpersonal violence.
Toronto Community Employment Services (grant has city-wide impact)
$14,800 to purchase 10 computers and one server for use by immigrant and visible minority women conducting independent job searches in Toronto.
Toronto Drop-In Network (TDIN) c/o St. Stephen’s Community House (grant has city-wide impact)
$99,100 over two years to enhance volunteer opportunities, address sustainability and promote organizational good practices among 47 member drop-in centres. This will help them improve quality of life for homeless and/or formerly homeless people.
Toronto Festival of Arts, Culture and Creativity (grant has city-wide impact)
$73,600 over two years for performance fees and a subsidized ticket program for young people. This will help celebrate the plurality of Ontario’s population by presenting a diversity of artistic expression on the Trillium Stage in 2007.
Toronto Humane Society (grant has city-wide impact)
$100,000 over one year to renovate the building’s entrance and upstairs washroom and install an elevator. This will enable access to the offices and the new Cat Sky House for people with disabilities, allowing new job and volunteer opportunities.
The Toronto Lesbian and Gay Community Appeal (grant has city-wide impact)
$100,000 over two years to allow the organization to hire an executive director, build its profile, expand its volunteer and donor base and increase its partnerships in the Toronto area.
Toronto Neighbourhood Centres (grant has city-wide impact)
$200,000 over three years to support the implementation of a wide range of peer-based expertise and asset-sharing activities. This will increase the organizational effectiveness and community impact of 30 multiservice neighbourhood agencies.
The Urban Environment Centre Toronto (grant has city-wide impact)
$14,700 to purchase an infrared thermography camera system that will help increase the organization’s capacity to promote and support residential energy efficiency in Toronto.
