Donor Stories

The Guelph Community Foundation and its fundholders are proud to announce our 2025 Musagetes Fund recipients. The funding decision to distribute $64,000 to sixteen charitable organizations in Guelph and Wellington County was made late last month. Since 2004, this donor advised granting stream has been providing grants to non-profits that provide contemporary art and culture…

Next up in our #GCFGrantStories series, we spotlight Community Grant recipient The Grove Hubs, which received funding for The Guelph and Wellington Grove Outreach Program. The Grove Hubs provide youth with mental health and wellness programs and services in a safe space. The Outreach Program connected the Grove Youth Ambassador team with youth across Guelph.…

Guelph Arts Council (GAC) received a 2024 Musagetes Fund operational grant to help them achieve their mission of making the arts more accessible for underrepresented communities in Guelph and Wellington County. The project focused on supporting BIPOC and LGBTQ2S+ artists and audiences, creating more space for connection, and inclusion in the local arts scene. This…

A fledgling youth orchestra received a boost through an innovative partnership and support.  In 2011, the Guelph Symphony Orchestra (GSO) and Guelph Youth Music Centre (GYMC) teamed up to provide financial backing and ongoing mentorship to 32 Guelph-area youth in striking a new Guelph Youth Symphony Orchestra. A grant of $6,000 through The Guelph Community Foundation’s Musagetes Fund – dedicated to performing,…

Today in our #GCFGrantStories series, we spotlight the Guelph Black Heritage Society (GBHS), which received funding for its #ChangeStartsNow Digital Archive Project through The Guelph Community Foundation’s Musagetes Fund. The #ChangeStartsNow Educational initiative provides educational programming on Black history and culture, as well as relevant resources on diversity and discrimination. The initiative’s new Digital Archive…

Immigrating and becoming a new Canadian is a significant change and many women feel isolated as they begin a new life in a completely different culture. The Guelph Community Health Centre was granted $3,000 from the Musagetes Fund for the Helping Hands for Arts & Culture program, supporting women from different backgrounds. This initiative provided opportunity for women to meet others in…

Next up in our #GCFGrantStories series is Community Grant recipient Guelph Community Singers (GCS), which received funding for its Singing is Pure Joy Program. According to its website, GCS Guelph Community Singers is a fun-loving, accessible, and secular community choir with over 100 voices. After the first wave of the pandemic, the choir pivoted from…

Guelph Dance received a 2024 Musagetes Fund grant to help cover its operating costs for the year. This support allowed the organization to grow its team and continue offering exciting dance programs across the community Guelph and Wellington. Guelph Dance has a small but hardworking team, and runs programs all year with three part-time staff…

The Guelph Film Festival (GFF) received a 2024 Musagetes Grant to support its annual celebration of documentary film and community dialogue. This funding helped cover operational costs, especially supporting the work of staff who bring the festival’s vision to life. In November 2024, GFF hosted its 27th edition with nine days of screenings, talkbacks, and…

Today in #GCFGrantStories, we feature Guelph Museums’ McCrae in the Mirror, a play funded through the Guelph Community Foundation’s Musagetes Fund. Since 2004, the Musagetes Fund, a donor-advised granting stream, has provided grants to registered charities (or organizations partnered with a registered charity) that provide contemporary art and culture programming, emphasizing new approaches to building…

The Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition (GNSC), along with the Community Resilience Coalition of Guelph and Wellington (CRC), received a 2024 Community Grant to launch Fostering Resilience Champions, a youth leadership program that helps local young people build life skills and stronger connections in their community. The grant helped create a youth leadership group with ten…

Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival – enthralling, inspiring and educating If the best community initiatives build rich and broad partnerships then the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival’s (GCDF) Karen Kaeja Residency project certainly leaps to mind. These dancers and community-builders know how to stretch a grant and do so with creativity and grace! With a $2,500 grant from The…