KAWARTHA LAKES-Ontario communities throughout ‘Commonwell Country;’ (the smaller places and wide-open spaces of Eastern, Central and Western Ontario that The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group serves) have the green light to apply for grants from $10,000 up to $50,000 to fund community programming and infrastructure programs on the local level.
In response to steadily growing funding requests, in this, the fourth year of the L.E.A.F. (Learning and Engagement Accelerator Fund) The Commonwell, with its head office in Lindsay, says it has topped up the available funding by $50k.
L.E.A.F. is continuing to zero in on funding learning initiatives. Eligible projects must have a goal related to learning in their community and building strong communities for the future.
“We created L.E.A.F to find creative ways to fund important learning and community initiatives that might normally be denied funding or overlooked for larger initiatives,” said Tim Shauf, President and CEO of The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group. “As a mutual insurance company committed to giving back to the communities where we live and work, The Commonwell knows how important these programs are on the local and hyperlocal level. They are making a huge difference in the lives of Ontarians.”
Local community-led initiatives in the areas that The Commonwell operates across Ontario that support learning programming or the places where communities gather to learn. Think libraries, schools, and community centres.
What specific towns are eligible?
Baltimore, Brechin, Cameron, Colbourne, Embrun, Foxboro, Goderich, Grafton, Grand Bend, Havelock, Hillier, Huntsville, Ingersoll, Kitchener/Waterloo, Lindsay, Listowel, London, Lucan, Madoc, Manotick, Meaford, Midland, Mono, Navan, Orillia, Ottawa, Owen Sound, Peterborough, Plantagenet, Prescott, Sarnia, Selby, Smith Falls, St. Marys, St. Pauls, Stratford, Thomasburg, Tillsonberg, Woodstock, Zurich and all of the other smaller places and wide-open spaces in between.
For communities to earn their share of the fund, residents can nominate an eligible project through the submission portal at thecommonwell.ca/leaf. Once projects have been submitted The Commonwell will be looking to those communities to rally support for the project by commenting and sharing photos on the project’s page at thecommonwell.ca/leaf. Community engagement is a factor in deciding the winning proposals.
Key Dates:
•Applications open today, September 9th, 2024.
•Applications close November 8th, 2024.
•Community support pages for projects close November 15th, 2024.
•Recipients announced in December 2024.
