Grants Impact

Today in our #GCFGrantStories series, we feature Community Grant recipients Church of the Apostles’ Helper Bees and the Jobs. Opportunities. Enterprise. (J.O.E.) Program. They received funding for their ongoing emergency food program and are a shining example of fantastic charitable collaboration! The Helper Bees program began in spring of 2020 in response to the COVID-19…

Next up in our #GCFGrantStories series is Community Grant recipient Elora House, which received funding for its Rebuild Project, described as “a journey to build towards self-reliance, resilience, and overall well-being.” Elora House is a three-stage recovery centre offering programs and services focused on rest, therapy, education, and job training post-sex trafficking. These services can…

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…

Today in our #GCFGrantStories series, we spotlight Rainbow Day Camp, which received funding through The Guelph Community Foundation’s Kids to Camp grant program. This program funds registered charities (or organizations partnered with a registered charity) operating camps that allow them to offer free or subsidized camp registration to children and youth from financially disadvantaged families.…

Next up in our #GCFGrantStories series is Community Grant recipient Family & Children’s Services of Guelph and Wellington County (FCSGW), which received funding for its Responsive Fund for Families Program. This program provides immediate material support for low-income families who struggle to access the things they need to safely care for their young children, such…

Next up in our #GCFGrantStories series is Community Grant recipient Shelldale Family Gateway, which received funding for its youth Volleyball Program. Shelldale Family Gateway is a non-profit, charitable organization that aims to enrich the quality of life for everyone it serves. Its respectful and multicultural approach strives to meet the needs of its diverse community,…

The first #GCFGrantStories of the year comes from Community Grant recipient The Elliott Community , who received funding for their ‘In Tune’ Ukulele – Music Therapy for Seniors program. This popular music program was designed for local seniors at risk of social isolation during the COVID pandemic. The program helped these seniors gain social connections…

We’re excited to announce #GCFGrantStories – a weekly summer+ series where we’ll share and celebrate some of the work done by our incredible grantees! Starting next Friday, we’ll be spotlighting some inspirational stories from local charitable projects we’ve recently helped fund. Much of the charitable sector work of the last year had to overcome challenges…

The GCF board and staff are pleased to share the 2023 Musagetes Fund recipients. The funding decision was made by the fundholders the week of May 8, 2023 to distribute $49,180 to eleven charitable organizations in Guelph and Wellington County. Since 2004, this donor advised granting stream has been providing grants to registered charities (or…

The Guelph Community Foundation and our fundholders are proud to announce our 2023 scholarship and bursary recipients. Sixteen outstanding Guelph and Wellington County graduating students have been recently awarded scholarships and bursaries set up by generous community fundholders to help these local students achieve their academic goals. Many of these scholarships and bursaries support students…

The Community Services Recovery Fund is open for applications between January 06 – February 21, 2023 for community service organizations. The Community Services Recovery Fund is a $400 million investment from the Government of Canada to support charities and non-profits as they focus on how to adapt their organizations for pandemic recovery.

Though one of our Community Grants Autism Ontario was able to, among other things, offer yoga classes and yoga mats to the families they work with. These classes were geared to a child on the spectrum alongside a caregiver, sibling, or friend. A goal of the yoga program was to encourage families to continue yoga…

Thanks to support from a Community Grant, Hopewell Children’s Home was able to create a Snoezelen room for their clients. Snoezelen Multi-Sensory Environments are relaxing spaces that help reduce agitation and anxiety, but they can also engage and delight the user, stimulate reactions, and encourage communication. These environments can be used to calm and reduce…

Good things have been growing this year as the West Village Community Development Co-operative Inc.’s community garden was able to expand with 20 additional garden plots. This means in total garden has 34 plots, each 10×20′, where families can use to grow their plants and their community ties. The number of families in the 2021…

The Child Witness Centre provides support, education and advocacy for children and youth who are or may become victims or witnesses of abuse or crime. In 2020 Child Witness Centre got a golden retriever dog named Monet to work with their clients. While ideally Monet could be present with every client, this is just not…

Supported by a Community Grant, Lake Hope House’s Bringing Better Meals to the Community meal delivery program was an incredible success in 2021. This program was an extension of their meal and food skill-based programming where a Community Chef was hired who delivered food skills classes and created meals to support food insecure within the…

With a grant given through our Musagetes grant program, The Guelph Black Heritage Society has been creating a historical video series, Change Starts Now: Our Stories. Our History. Our Heritage. This project features five short videos that highlight the stories, struggles and triumphs of Black community members from the 1800s and early 1900s. The drive…

Partnering with the University of Guelph, international organization Art Not Shame ran a series of mental health related virtual workshops with the students. Particularly successful were the virtual workshops featuring award-winning short films and panel discussion with students and local mental health professionals. The students were engaged in critical conversations about mental health, watching short…

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…

Mentoring young musicians is one of the mandates of the Guelph Symphony Orchestra (GSO); thus the launch of the GSOKids Club in the fall of 2012 comes as no surprise. Building on the success of the Guelph Youth Symphony Orchestra, this free, season-long program was designed for children between 6 and 12 years of age. Recent grants from…

Build Your Community, Build Your Resume is an interactive High School Student assembly that demonstrates how youth can make a difference in their community while gaining valuable workplace experiences. This project, a recipient of a $5,000 Community Grant in 2012, addresses volunteer needs and emerging employment opportunities in our community. Over the past year, the Career…

In 2011, the United Way of Guelph Wellington Dufferin, the City of Guelph, and the Guelph Community Foundation teamed up to provide partial tuition scholarships for Conestoga College’s Certificate in Senior Leadership and Management in the Not-for-Profit Sector.  Due to the success of the program, it was repeated in 2012. This program provides learners with increased knowledge, skills, and attitudes…

A community grant of $2,750 to Pollination Guelph, a local charity, helped fund the second phase of a multi-year project to transform the Hospice Wellington site into an attractive, diverse and sustainable landscape that complements the spirit and work of the organization. In September 2012, volunteers with Pollination Guelph and Hospice Wellington planted over 300 perennials and flowering…

“Moving to a new school is difficult enough for youth, now imagine being new to the country, city, neighbourhood, and having to function in a second language”, says Roya Rabbani, Executive Director of Immigrant Services – Guelph Wellington. Each year, through its various programs, Immigrant Services Guelph Wellington serves more than 900 newcomers to Guelph and Wellington, many…

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,…