Ontario Trillium Foundation | Grow Grants

“Ontario. Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF)”

$200,000.00

Maximum Eligible Amount

Government Grant

Fund Type

Grow Grants support the evidence-based development of activities to achieve a Priority Outcome, such as: helping Ontarians be more active, connecting people within a community, helping people to reduce their impact on the environment, helping people connect with arts and culture, helping youth become more engaged within their communities, and promoting economic growth.

Scale up a program and service to benefit your community

Grow grants range from $100,000 to $600,000 over 2 or 3 years. Grants support established programs and services that have a proven track record of success and meet community need. Applicants can apply for funding to expand, improve or adapt an existing program or service.

The grant application period is October 8, 2025 to November 5, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. ET.

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Important updates

The November 6, 2024 deadline has passed.

The next grant application period is October 8, 2025 to November 5, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. ET.

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Who is eligible to apply

OTF grants support the work of eligible non-profit organizations to help them deliver direct community-based programs and services in Ontario.

Review the eligibility criteria below to help you determine if you are a fit with who we fund.

View eligibility criteria for applicants

Interested applicants must:

Deliver programs and services in one of four sectors: sports and recreation, arts and culture, environment, and human and social services.
Have a primary purpose, presence, and reputation for delivering community-based programs and services with direct community benefit in one of OTF’s 16 geographic catchment areas in Ontario.
Demonstrate the financial and organizational capacity to manage OTF funds, and deliver and complete the proposed project as per OTF’s Financial Need and Health of Applicants policy.
Demonstrate that it is the appropriate organization or community to carry out the proposed project.

Read OTF's Eligibility Policy to learn more about eligibility criteria for applicants.

In addition to these requirements, applicants must be one of the following:

Non-profit organizations

Organizations, including Métis and Inuit organizations, that have been registered or incorporated and actively operating for at least 12 months may be eligible for funding. This includes:

A charitable organization or foundation registered with the Canada Revenue Agency.
An organization incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation without share capital in a Canadian jurisdiction.
A Chartered Community Council, operating under the Métis Nation of Ontario.

First Nations

All First Nations are eligible for funding.
A First Nations seeking funding for their libraries must apply on behalf of the library.

Municipalities, libraries and local services boards

A municipality with a population of 20,000 or less, county library boards and local services boards serving populations of 20,000 or less are only eligible to apply for funding in two of OTF’s Funding Priorities:
- Foster physically active lifestyles; or
- Enriching lives through arts, culture and heritage
A municipality with a population of 20,000 or less must apply on behalf of its cultural or recreation agencies, including municipal libraries and museums.
Municipalities with a population of over 20,000 are not eligible for funding.

Collaboratives

A collaboration of two or more organizations may be eligible if the lead organization in the collaborative meet the requirements of OTF’s Eligibility Policy. The lead organization will be required to accept responsibility for the application and administration of the grant, including financial and reporting accountability.

Collaboratives are required to include a formal, signed collaborative agreement with their grant application. Learn about Collaborative Agreements.

Religious entities
An organization that is a religious entity or a faith-based group and is a registered charity or not-for-profit corporation may be eligible for funding. The organization needs to provide direct programs and services to the community at large which are not religious activities and do not include a requirement to participate in any dimensions of faith.

Learn more about eligibility criteria for religious entities.

Ineligible applicants and activities

OTF funding is available to applicants that meet specific requirements related to their mission and mandate, how they operate, their proposed projects and the community need. Find out who and what is not eligible for OTF funding.

What we fund

Explore what we fund below through this grant stream.

Funding priorities

OTF invests in projects that help build healthy and vibrant communities. OTF’s funding priorities focus on areas that identify the types of change OTF invests in. Select the funding priority that best meets the goal of your project:

Foster physically active lifestyles
Help people build stronger connections and a deeper sense of belonging in their community
Enrich lives through arts, culture and heritage
Support youth to develop stronger social, emotional and leadership skills
Support participation in the conservation and restoration of the environment
Enable economically vulnerable people to meet their basic needs and/or strengthen their financial stability

Explore these priorities as part of OTF’s Grant Investment Framework. If projects do not fit with the Funding Priority selected in the grant application, the application will be declined.

Project objectives

As you plan your application, choose the main objective for your project:

Expand an existing program or service
Improve an existing program or service
Adapt an existing program or service

When selecting your objective, think about what you want to achieve with your project and how it will directly impact your community.

Project budget and eligible costs

Grow grants range from $100,000 to $600,000. You can request between $50,000 and $200,000 per year, for 2 or 3 years.

Prepare a clear Project Budget and ensure that the identified costs correspond with the deliverables and key tasks of your Project Plan. The costs must also be appropriate, reasonable and valid for the activities outlined in the Project Plan. All funds needed for the project need to be secured, or there must be a reasonable plan to secure the remaining funds.

Eligible Budget Categories

You can apply for funding to cover project costs across the following categories:

Direct Personnel Costs: OTF will support salaries, mandatory employment-related costs and employee benefits for staff positions funded specifically to carry out the project.
Direct Non-Personnel Costs – Purchased Service
Direct Non-Personnel Costs – Workshops/Meetings
Direct Non-Personnel Costs – Supplies and Materials
Direct Non-Personnel Costs – Travel
Overhead and Administration Costs:
- OTF will support Overhead and Administration Costs directly associated with the project up to 15% of the Budget before applicable Capital costs.
- These do not include the direct costs to run or deliver the project, including the staff or equipment associated with the project. It does include a portion of regular operational expenses that can be attributed specifically to this project. For more information, refer to the Eligibility Policy.

You can have up to 5 budget items for each Direct Personnel Costs and Direct Non-Personnel Costs.

Eligible capital costs (if applicable)

Up to 20% of your Budget can include capital-related costs that directly relate to your project objective. This can include the purchase of equipment (fixed and non-fixed) and/or the completion of renovations, repairs or retrofits. Eligible Capital Costs include:

Construction and Renovation Costs: This includes materials and/or contractor costs.
Developmental Costs: If you have Developmental Costs, they cannot exceed 20% of your total Construction and Renovation Costs. Costs can include the development of engineering plans, legal fees, or survey costs.
Equipment Costs: This includes fixed and non-fixed equipment.

Review a sample budget entry that includes word counts and cost breakdowns.

Quotes and estimates

For each goods and services valued above $5,000, a minimum of one quote or estimate is required. However, OTF prefers to receive two or more quotes or estimates to help your organization establish accurate budget amounts and demonstrate the best value for money.

Multiple sub-contracts with a supplier on the same project:

Multiple sub-contracts with a supplier on the same project will be considered as a cumulative total. This means if the total of these goods and/or services exceeds $5,000, a minimum of one itemized quote or estimate (preferably two or more from different suppliers) needs to be uploaded.
An itemized quote or estimate breaks down the cost of each good and service into line items.

All documentation needs to be:

Prepared by a third-party professional
- For municipalities, documentation can be prepared by a specialized department within the municipality.
Dated and obtained within 6 months prior to the application deadline
Completed with information about the vendor or supplier

Ineligible costs

Certain activities and items are not eligible for funding. These include:

Taxes, such as GST and HST, for which the recipient is eligible for a tax rebate, and all other costs eligible for rebates.
Contingency costs: Funds that are reserved or set aside for an emergency
Costs incurred before the approval of the OTF grant
General capital fundraising drives and/or capital campaigns
- Where OTF funding represents a component of a larger project, applicants must demonstrate either that the OTF funded components can be completed independently or that other funding sources have been secured, before OTF releases any funds to the grantee. If the funds to complete the project are not secured in full within one year of the signing of the Grant Contract, the grant will be rescinded.

Read the full list of what is not eligible for funding.

Resources and application checklist

The grant application involves specific information about applicants and their proposed projects. The submitted information helps us evaluate if all eligibility criteria are met and eligible projects are then scored for overall strength and clarity.

Explore all Grow grant application resources, including the grant application questions.

1) Gather your organization information and assess your eligibility

If your Organization Information has been submitted as part of a recent application, you may not be required to update and resubmit this section for the upcoming deadline. When you start a new grant application, additional instructions will be available in the Granting Portal.

The following lists will help you gather up-to-date information required for your application:

Organization details

Incorporation number and year of incorporation (not-for-profits only)
Charitable registration number and year of registration (registered charities only)
Business number (for all applicants)

Financial information

Financial statements covering your organization's most recent fiscal year and comparative information for the prior fiscal year. These statements must be completed within 6 months of your most recent fiscal year-end.
Accumulated surplus and deficit documentation (if applicable)

Do you need help determining which financial statements you need based on your fiscal year-end? Use OTF’s self-serve fiscal year tool.

All applicants, except for Municipalities and First Nations, need to comply with and submit financial information that meet Financial Statement Requirements.

Governance information

List of current board of directors (required to have at least three members, with 50% of members at arm’s length relationship to each other)
List of current senior staff, Director level and above
By-laws

All applicants, except for Municipalities and First Nations, need to provide governance information.

Not eligible? If applicants do not meet OTF’s requirements, their application will not proceed for a full review.

2) Gather your project information and documentation

For each of the following items, use the grant application questions to understand all requirements:

Identify your project objective
Prepare your Project Plan
Prepare your Project Budget
If applicable, obtain quotes and estimates for goods and services valued above $5,000
If applicable, provide photos of equipment (fixed and non-fixed) needed to deliver your project
For collaborative applications, obtain a formal, signed Collaborative Agreement. Learn more about what to include in your Collaborative Agreement.
If applicable, provide proof of ownership or a 5-year lease agreement for the facilities or spaces that you will improve. Learn more about OTF's Lease Agreement Requirements.

Ensure that your Project Budget and Project Plan reflect your selected requested term and project objective. If you include capital components in your grant application, explain why and how the capital budget items are directly related to the delivery of your project.

3) Complete and submit your application

Granting Portal

OTF requires all grant applications to be submitted through its Granting Portal. Before starting an application, you will be asked to complete a short questionnaire to ensure you are a fit for this grant stream.

Returning users: Sign-in to the Granting Portal when the application becomes available.
New users: To access available grant applications, create an OTF account.

Final reminders

Start your application as soon as it becomes available and work with your team to finalize requirements.
Once submitted, your application is final and cannot be changed.
Applications submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.
Learn how OTF makes application decisions.

Application questions

OTF provides the full grant application questions to help you prepare beforehand. You can use the questions to draft your answers in advance, gather your required documentation, and plan with your team.

Get Started to Apply