COMMUNITY GRANTS
HOW WE GIVE
COMMUNITY ACTION GRANTs
Expression of Interests are now Closed
Our grant funds are dedicated to supporting Ontario-based organizations who are using sport and recreation to build a more equitable tomorrow. Community Action Grants enable us to grant up to $50,000 to organizations that are creating positive outcomes for youth in physical health, mental health, academic achievement, and work readiness.
View our 2021 Community Action Grant recipients here.
View our 2021 Community Action Grant recipients here.
WHO WE FUND
Governed by the Income Tax Act, MLSE Foundation is only able to grant funds to organizations that are classified as a Qualified Donee by the Canadian Revenue Agency as follows:
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀a registered charity
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀a registered Ontario amateur athletic association
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀a registered housing corporation in Ontario
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀a registered Ontario municipality
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀Metis, Inuit or First Nation community/Band
Organizations that do NOT have Qualified Donee status are still eligible to apply in partnership with a Trustee Organization who has Qualified Donee Status. Schedule a call (closed) with MLSE Foundation staff to review your options
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀a registered charity
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀a registered Ontario amateur athletic association
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀a registered housing corporation in Ontario
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀a registered Ontario municipality
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀Metis, Inuit or First Nation community/Band
Organizations that do NOT have Qualified Donee status are still eligible to apply in partnership with a Trustee Organization who has Qualified Donee Status. Schedule a call (closed) with MLSE Foundation staff to review your options
WHAT WE FUND
Project Proposals that align with one of the four (4) areas of impact: Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, Ready For School, Ready for Work and serve youth aged 6-29 who face barriers.
MLSE Foundation prioritizes the following demographics:
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀Youth who face socio-economic barriers
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀Black youth
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀First Nations, Inuit and Metis youth
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀Newcomers/Refugee youth
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀Girl-identified youth (in the case of gender-specific programming)
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀LGBTQ2A+ Identified youth
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀Youth who identify as having a disability- intellectual or physical
Read more about what we fund in the Grant Guidelines.
MLSE Foundation prioritizes the following demographics:
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀Youth who face socio-economic barriers
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀Black youth
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀First Nations, Inuit and Metis youth
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀Newcomers/Refugee youth
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀Girl-identified youth (in the case of gender-specific programming)
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀LGBTQ2A+ Identified youth
⠀⠀⠀⠀○⠀⠀Youth who identify as having a disability- intellectual or physical
Read more about what we fund in the Grant Guidelines.
APPLICATION PROCESS INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1: Once you confirm your organization is eligible, follow the prompts to register and create an Organization Profile in our Online Portal.
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If you have applied for a Community Action Grant in the past, your login information should be unchanged and you can skip directly to the Expression of Interest.
Step 2: Once your Organization is accepted (1-2 days), complete the short Expression of Interest questions that will become available in your Online Portal.
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Read the Grant Guidelines to help in completing your application. It has valuable information about how applications are evaluated.
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Schedule a support call (closed) with an MLSE Foundation staff to review your proposal idea and answer any questions
Step 3: Once submitted, a diverse Selection Circle will evaluate every Expression of Interest and short-list top applicants.
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Learn more about how we evaluate applications in the Grant Guidelines
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Meet the Selection Circle here
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Organizations not shortlisted can sign up for a feedback call after July 1st here (closed) and will be provided feedback to improve their application for next year
Step 4: Shortlisted Organizations will be contacted to complete a Full Application that will become available in your online portal.
Step 5: Full Applications will be evaluated by the Selection Circle.
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Organizations not selected for a grant can schedule a call (closed) to review comments from the Selection Circle
HOW WE MEASURE SUCCESS - *NEW THIS YEAR*
Successful organizations will be asked to participate in a pilot roll out of our proprietary evaluation software, MLSE Scoreboard. Participation in this pilot program will include in-kind measurement/evaluation coaching, in-kind tablets, a personalized platform to measure your programs with relevant metrics for your organization, as well as a free license for the length of your grant funding.
Learn more about MLSE Scoreboard here
DEADLINE FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST – CLOSED
DEADLINE FOR FULL APPLICATIONS (IF SHORTLISTED) – MAY 7, 2021
FINAL DECISIONS – JUNE 2021
Learn more about MLSE Scoreboard here
DEADLINE FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST – CLOSED
DEADLINE FOR FULL APPLICATIONS (IF SHORTLISTED) – MAY 7, 2021
FINAL DECISIONS – JUNE 2021