OTF Seed Grant

The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) Seed Grant is designed to help non-profit organizations in Ontario build resilience and enhance their capacity to deliver programs and services that directly benefit community members.

Ontario Trillium Foundation

Overview of the OTF Seed Grant program:

The OTF Seed Grant Program focuses on enabling organizations to take the initial steps in developing projects that align with one of four priority sectors: Sports and Recreation: Projects that promote physical activity and build stronger, healthier communities. Arts and Culture: Initiatives that engage and enrich communities through creative expression and cultural development. Environment: Programs that encourage environmental stewardship, sustainability, and community engagement. Human and Social Services: Efforts that address social challenges and enhance quality of life for community members. Examples of eligible projects include: Organizational planning and strategy development to build resilience. Piloting new or innovative programs to address specific community issues. Enhancing digital tools and technologies to improve program delivery. Staff and volunteer training to build skills and capacity. The grant supports the costs of materials, salaries, training, and other resources required to execute the project.

Benefits of the OTF Seed Grant program:

Innovation Support: Encourages organizations to explore new and creative ways to address community challenges.
Capacity Building: Enhances organizational resilience and equips staff and volunteers with the skills to deliver impactful programs.
Digital Readiness: Facilitates the adoption of modern tools and technologies to meet evolving service delivery needs.
Community Impact: Drives programs that improve physical, social, and cultural well-being across Ontario.

Eligibility criteria of the OTF Seed Grant program:

Eligible organizations must:
Type: Be a non-profit organization, charity, Indigenous community, or municipality with a population of 20,000 or fewer.
Activity Area: Deliver community programs and services in Ontario.
Sector: Operate within one of the four priority sectors: sports and recreation, arts and culture, environment, or human and social services.
Geography: Serve communities in one of OTFs 16 designated catchment areas.
Capacity: Demonstrate sound financial and organizational capacity to execute and manage the funded project.
Ineligible organizations include for-profit businesses, individuals, and provincial or federal government bodies.