Not Far From The Tree (NFFTT) mobilizes volunteers to pick, collect, and share fruit from trees across Toronto. The fruit is divided into thirds and distributed to the tree owner, the volunteers, and to community organizations in need, like food banks and shelters, strengthening community connectedness and food security at the local level. This year, NFFTT is expanding and evolving their programming to new neighbourhoods in response to requests from the inner-suburbs.

Not Far From The Tree is trusteed by Tides Canada Initiative.

Matthew House runs three homes in Toronto for newly arrived refugee claimants who would otherwise be homeless. In addition to safe shelter, Matthew House provides nutritious meals, orientation to life in Canada, settlement into permanent accommodation, and help with the complex process of making a refugee claim in Canada. This year, Matthew House is expanding its Mock Refugee Hearing program. The program works with volunteer lawyers, retired immigration adjudicators and others to ensure that refugee claimants understand the system and are properly prepared by performing simulations of the hearing in a realistic environment.

The University Health Network (UHN)’s OpenLab has been experimenting with new ways to improve healthcare for complex patients since 2009. OpenLab uses the entire health system itself as its laboratory, bringing together clinicians, patients, researchers, designers, policymakers, and ­lawmakers to tackle pressing issues at the intersection of health and society. OpenLab is currently working on a healthy living project to bring a wildly successful model, started in Kingston, Ontario, for senior independent living and senior-led programming to Toronto.

UHN OpenLab is trusteed by Toronto General and Western Hospital Foundation.

Beginning its operations as one of Canada’s ­first food banks, The Stop has evolved over the years to provide not only drop-in meals, a food bank, and community kitchens and gardens, but also perinatal and family support, and effective civic engagement programs for marginalized and socially isolated people in the Davenport West and Christie/St. Clair areas. The Stop’s innovative social inclusion model has program participants and non-participant volunteers working side-by-side to grow food, cook meals and build community. After a recent evaluation, The Stop is improving their volunteers’ experience by more deeply embedding anti-oppression/anti-racism into their programs.

Visions of Science Network for Learning advances the educational achievements and career aspirations of youth from low-income, racialized, and marginalized communities across the GTHA through meaningful engagement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fi­elds and research. They provide free, on-going opportunities for youth who commonly fall through the cracks of the education system to access fun, hands-on STEM learning. As requests for programming in new neighbourhoods grow, the organization is evaluating expansion into at least six new communities.

The world’s largest Indigenous fi­lm festival, Toronto-based imagineNATIVE creates a greater understanding of Indigenous peoples and cultures through contemporary Indigenous-made media art. Between festivals, imagineNATIVE screens its ­films in multi-ethnic community centres across the GTA and supports Indigenous artists through workshops, commissions and mentorship.

Distress Centres is the oldest suicide prevention agency in Canada. Through a team of highly trained volunteers, they deliver mental health support services and provide high impact crisis intervention by telephone, online, and text. Distress Centres clients are facing increasingly complex mental health challenges. As a result, Distress Centres is incorporating Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), a leading psychotherapeutic approach, into their treatment model.

The Laneway Project helps improve Toronto’s 2,400 laneways, including supporting local residents to beautify their laneways, adding greenery, hosting community events, addressing lighting, safety, and housing issues, and consulting with the City on laneway-friendly policies. Improved laneways provide new spaces for communities to interact, move through the neighbourhood, and create local pride. Recently, The Laneway Project worked with Ramsden Park Road residents and businesses to develop a master plan to catalyze the space’s transformation.

The Laneway Project is trusteed by Canadian Urban Institute.

Lumacare provides support for seniors and their families at eight unique service locations across North York, through a range of over 15 essential programs and services. Lumacare is conducting research to identify current gaps and develop and deliver staff training workshops and toolkits to allow it and its partners to better support LGBTQ seniors.

Eva’s Initiatives for Homeless Youth is a sector leader in serving homeless youth from its three facilities across Toronto. Documenting and sharing the successes of its rapidly growing Eva’s Education program and creating program materials will help the organization build bench strength across the organization.

This grant was made possible with support from KPMG through the Vital Impact: Vital Toronto program.

The Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA) promotes housing and human rights by educating individuals and communities, advancing inclusive housing law and policy, and providing legal information and services to marginalized peoples. Evaluating and documenting curriculum, conducting research in community legal education and arts facilitation, and updating communications materials will allow the organization to expand its youth program.

This grant was made possible with support from the Peter and Elizabeth Morgan Fund.

Frontier College provides volunteer tutoring and support to people from all walks of life – from adults in the workplace, street-involved youth, Indigenous people, to prison inmates, people with disabilities, and newcomers to Canada. Researching the short- and long-term program impact and reviewing program infrastructure and process will ensure that the organization is meeting the evolving needs of the youth supported through its Beat the Streets program.

This grant was made possible with support from the Art Eggleton Fund, the John and Jocelyn Barford Family Foundation, the Michelle Tannenbaum Fund, the Sedbergh School Fund, the Tony and Caley Taylor Family Fund, and the Townsend Family Foundation.

VIBE Arts for Children & Youth engages young people living in Toronto’s priority neighbourhoods in high-quality and accessible arts educational programs. Building a new website, including participant created podcasts and webinars, and providing other web-based teaching resources for free will help the organization better promote their Community Sharing Program that engages young people in social change and skills development.

This grant was made possible with support from the Griggs Family Foundation and an anonymous Fund.

St. Stephen's Community House is a multi-service, not-for-profit organization that works with individuals and communities to identify, prevent, and alleviate social and economic problems. Documenting, adapting, and replicating their innovative and effective peer worker model will position the organization to support social infrastructure in communities across Toronto.

R.I.S.E. (Reaching Intelligent Souls Everywhere) Edutainment creates a platform for local performing artists to express themselves in a positive way through vocal performing arts, something the founder felt his community was lacking. Building organizational infrastructure, developing a governance structure, and creating advertising strategies, and evaluation systems will support the organization’s burgeoning growth.

This grant was made possible with support from the Michelle Tannenbaum Fund.

R.I.S.E. is trusteed by VIBE Arts for Children & Youth.

WoodGreen Foundation is a one-stop service provider where clients can access holistic social services to address the multiple barriers they may face. Creating a comprehensive theory of change model will lay the ground work to expand the Rites of Passage program that helps young people develop foundational leadership skills, confidence, and purpose to help them succeed.

The Remix Project is a youth-led, urban arts and culture organization focused on supporting the individual while building a strong and healthy community. Carrying out evaluation activities to update and strengthen its outreach and communications will allow the organization to better understand and articulate its programming impact on participants.

Sistering – A Woman’s Place is a community-based, multi-service organization serving women by providing services to those who are low-income, homeless, and marginalized. Evaluating baseline activities of its two social enterprises, conducting a feasibility study, and building a business plan will position the organization to expand the model.

This grant was made possible with support from the Patricia J. Fleming (FBG) Fund.

Daily Bread Food Bank engages in front-line research and collaborates across sectors for policy change and to increase public awareness about hunger in Toronto in addition to providing food. Creating a program toolkit will allow the organization to codify practices and procedures of its new service delivery model, develop terms of reference and formal governance procedures, and create an evaluation framework for its Volunteer Action Committees.

This grant was made possible with support from the John and Jocelyn Barford Family Foundation and the Tony and Caley Taylor Family Fund.

CultureLink Settlement Services is a leader amongst Toronto’s newcomer service providers. Designing and delivering a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) to train other not-for-profit organizations to create their own MOOCs will increase the sector’s capacity in needs-driven, outcomes-oriented online training and services.

FoodShare Toronto works on food issues "from field to table" – focusing on the entire system that puts food on our tables. Conducting and analyzing research will help the organization improve program impact measurement and develop materials to share their replicable, scalable solutions to providing access to affordable, healthy school food.

This grant was made possible with support from the Brown-Nusbaum Family Fund.

Covenant House Toronto is Canada’s largest homeless youth organization and helps approximately 3,000 young people each year move from a life on the street to a life with a future. Formalizing and expanding its Toronto Urban Response Model for Sex Trafficking program will help the organization better understand and articulate its impact to date through formal best practice research and resource development.

This grant was made possible with support from the Brown-Nusbaum Family Fund and an anonymous Fund.

Small Change Fund improves the health and resilience of communities across Canada by strengthening the capacity of people and organizations working at the community level to protect the environment, live sustainably, and gain a voice in their own future. Formalizing and scaling their work in crowdfunding through the development of a Leader Coaching Toolkit will help community leaders more effectively plan and implement successful crowdfunding campaigns.

Malvern Family Resource Centre is a multi-service community organization committed to strengthening families and individuals, through inclusive and effective services for children, youth, women, seniors, and families in the community. Researching community governance models, creating a strategic plan, building a mentorship network, and conducting project evaluation will build the Action for Neighbourhood Change program’s capacity.

This grant was made possible with support from the Michelle Tannenbaum Fund.

Toronto Artscape Foundation catalyzes and anchors creative communities in neighbourhoods across Toronto by clustering artists and arts organizations in cultural facilities. Carrying out first-of-its-kind evaluation research, creating a replicable framework for arts and cultural facility evaluation, and developing communication materials to share outcomes will illuminate the relationship between the organization’s work and the wellbeing of the community.

Hospice Toronto is a recognized leader in innovative cost-effective and integrated family-centred care strategies for people who have life limiting conditions, their families, and caregivers. Engaging 75 residents from St. James Town, who are past participants in the Creating Caring Communities program, to evaluate the program's impact will enable the organization to refine a tool kit that will be shared and implemented in other communities.

Success Beyond Limits (SBL) is a grassroots organization that works to support youth in the Jane and Finch community to improve their educational outcomes and expand possibilities along their individual paths to success. Documenting the impacts for young people who access the SBL Youth Space will allow the organization to consider expanding the model into other schools and align it with city-wide and provincial conversations on community-hubs and integrated service delivery.

This grant was made possible with support from an anonymous Fund.

Charlie’s FreeWheels (CFW) engages youth by offering innovative year-long programming based around a concrete product – a bicycle. In their work, bicycles serve as drivers for personal growth and positive social change, liberate their riders, and expose young people to new opportunities. Youth have full access to tools in the CFW Build-A-Bike program. They are able to ask an experienced mechanic any questions about how to maintain their bicycle, learn on-road safety, and see more of their city. To support its program evaluation activities, CFW is researching the best practices of other bicycle focused programs to refine and formally document its current curriculum, and to lay the foundation for promotional activities.

The Reading Partnership is trusteed by Tides Canada Initiatives Society.

VIBE Arts provides accessible arts education programs to young people from marginalized, low-income Toronto neighbourhoods. VIBE Arts and its community and education partners empower children and youth to reach their full potential as artists, leaders, and cultural contributors. This year, VIBE will transform high-profile Toronto locations into galleries of original youth-created art inspired by their love of Canada.

The Children’s Book Bank builds literacy in low income communities in Toronto by distributing free books and providing literacy activities to children and their families at its storefront in Regent Park and through community partners. This year, the Children’s Book Bank has engaged prominent Canadians to share their favourite Canadian children’s book via video. Every week from March to July, one of the championed books will be read during Saturday story-time, and readers’ reactions to the book will be shared on-line.

Red Pepper Spectacle Arts (RPSA) is a community arts organization that works with social service agencies, community health and educational institutions, municipalities, band councils and neighbourhood residents to engage Indigenous people in artistic creation. Using the power of art to unite, empower and educate, RSPA strives towards greater social justice and equity in cultural production. This year, RSPA partnered with the Native Men’s Residence or Na-Me-Res to run an Anishinaabek traditional knowledge art project in which Indigenous men created baby carriers called tikinaagan, or cradleboards.

Red Pepper Spectacle Arts is trusteed by Native Men's Residence (Na-Me-Res).

The North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) are a multi-sport, multi-disciplinary event involving Indigenous athletes from North America. Through sport competitions and a vibrant cultural program, the Games showcase Indigenous cultures and demonstrate the positive power of sport on Indigenous youth and communities. The Toronto 2017 NAIG will host more than 5,000 participants in venues across the GTHA. This year, the Games will showcase contributions of Ontario’s Indigenous athletes to 150 years of Canadian Sport History.

Art Starts uses the arts to inspire long-term social change and brings together professional artists with residents of all ages to create accessible and dynamic art projects that re ect the identities and aspirations of each community. Their collaborative approach to art-making celebrates communities, nurtures resiliency, cultivates life-skills and inspires personal growth. This year, Art Starts is engaging youth in a collaborative map-making art project to restore Indigenous place names in  ve underserved neighbourhoods across Toronto.

Regent Park School of Music (RPSM) is a non-pro t community music school giving children and youth from Toronto’s high-risk neighbourhoods a quality music education that will help them succeed in life. RPSM students have access to over 80 dedicated music teachers and study everything from classical piano and violin to turntablism and electronic music. To celebrate Canada 150, RPSM will host a one-day carnival-style music and arts event in Regent Park. Over 100 young RPSM music students will take part in performing eight original songs about local kids’ lives and Canadian stories.

Ecologos is dedicated to protecting water, using documentary storytelling and experiential learning to revive a sense of reverence, address threats and stir action. They work across Toronto and the province through three compelling programs: their annual Water Docs Film Festival in Toronto; an environmental learning program for Ontario Grade 8 students; and, a community-based film series in Ontario towns and neighbourhoods. This year, Ecologos will run a day-long water walk and celebration along Toronto’s Waterfront Trail that brings Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants together to draw attention to the value of the Great Lakes.

Located at Carlaw and Dundas, Crow’s Theatre is a small theatre creating, producing, and promoting unforgettable theatre that examines the pivotal narratives of our times. Crow’s Theatre develops emerging and mid-career Canadian playwrights through commissions, residencies, and extended play development. In Spring 2017, Crow’s Theatre ran the wildly successful Freedom Singer, a theatrical and musical experience telling the story of a Black man searching for a denied history in the songs of the Underground Railroad.

Canadian Roots Exchange (CRE) builds bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth in Canada by facilitating dialogue and strengthening relationships through leadership programs. CRE trains youth volunteers to promote reconciliation in their communities, hosts a yearly youth reconciliation conference, runs land-based experiential exchange trips to Indigenous communities, and hosts youth-led reconciliation workshops. This year CRE launched a four-part community dialogue series to amplify the histories and realities of Indigenous, newcomer, and racialized youth.

Jumblies is a radical, inclusive Toronto-based arts organization that expands where art happens, who gets to be part of it, what form it takes and which stories it tells. Through collaboration with professional artists and diverse people and communities, Jumblies dismantles boundaries to make art in everyday and extraordinary places. This year, Jumblies will be working with a range of emerging artists on a large-scale educational art project at Fort York National Historic Site to explore Toronto’s relationships with buried Indigenous histories and Confederation.

The Ward Museum is working to establish Toronto’s  rst museum of migration to preserve and share the important stories of migrants in the city’s history. It is named after The Ward, the Toronto area where early immigrant communities  rst settled and is now a densely populated neighbourhood in downtown Toronto. This year, the Ward Museum will run a series of community-led events inviting tourists and Torontonians to learn about the people and stories of those included in, and left out of, the 1871 census (the first census after Confederation).

The Ward Museum is trusteed by Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI).

MABELLEarts brings professional artists and community members of all ages and backgrounds together to create performances, workshops and events that unlock the creative potential of neglected public spaces. Serving largely newcomer communities in Central Etobicoke, MABELLEarts celebrates cultural traditions, differences and points of connection to help spark collaboration as a creative force for change. This year, MABELLEarts’ Youth Leaders ran a youth mentorship program to develop and host an intercultural Eid al-Fitr celebration in Mabelle Park, at the heart of the Mabelle neighbourhood.

One of Canada’s leading not-for-pro t theatre companies, Canadian Stage is a home, incubator and exporter of Canadian and international theatre. Through workshops, mentorship and training programs, Canadian Stage supports accessibility and inclusion, builds diverse audiences, actively engages youth and fosters the development of future artistic leaders. This year, Canadian Stage will run a performing arts program that tells stories of newcomer youth and families and explores the role of the land in forming Canadian identity.

Native Child and Family Services Toronto (NCFST) is a multi-service Indigenous agency providing services to improve well-being, caring, and healing for Indigenous families in the GTA. NCFST uses a holistic, culture-based approach to all its programs and services, and is a Children’s Aid Society under the Child and Family Services Act. This year, youth participating in the NCFST’s culinary entrepreneurship program will take part in culture-based, interactive workshops and build professional skills in commercial kitchens operations, the food services industry, and small business management.

Sistema Toronto uses the global language of music to help children realize their full potential as engaged and responsible citizens. Based on the UNESCO award-winning El Sistema international music program model, Sistema Toronto runs free, high-calibre intensive after-school music education programs that build self-esteem and empathy, and promote students’ growth into successful leaders. This year, Sistema will run an in-school program for children in low-income neighbourhoods to create and perform musical compositions accompanied by visuals that express newcomers’ experiences in Canada.

Moorelands Community Services provides Toronto’s children and youth affected by poverty with positive and fun experiences to help strengthen their confidence, competence and character. Program participants develop and practice critical thinking and decision making, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal skills like communication and conflict resolution. This year to mark Canada 150, youth will go to Mooreland’s Wilderness camp in Muskoka and create a six-week nature walk timeline to celebrate significant moments in Canadian history and to map their hopes for future.

Egale Canada Human Rights Trust is Canada’s only national charity promoting LGBTQ* human rights through research, education and community engagement. Egale’s outreach program offers individual counselling, homelessness and suicide crisis services for LGBTQ* youth. This year, as part of Canada 150 activities, Egale will capture and share stories of those who participated in historically significant LGBTQ* events in Canada, like Toronto’s first Pride Parade.

Leadership, Espoir, Opportunité (LEO) was founded by a Canadian woman originally from Cameroon to advance the social and economic empowerment of young female Francophone immigrants. This year LEO will offer a two day leadership camp at a summer camp outside Toronto for young Torontonian Francophone immigrant and racialized girls and women to learn about diversity, inclusion, and civic engagement.

In addition to maintaining the integrity of the Fort York National Historic Site, Friends of Fort York is committed to the well-being of the surrounding neighbourhood. The group supports educational, historical and community programs and events designed to increase understanding about the War of 1812 era and Fort York’s role in the development of modern day Toronto. This year, Friends of Fort York and the TDSB will develop an Indigenous education module focusing on Indigenous peoples’ historic relationship with Fort York.

Outward Bound Canada cultivates resilience, leadership, connections and compassion through inspiring and challenging journeys of self-discovery in the natural world. By using a unique and educational framework, Outward Bound’s wilderness expeditions and programs help build a more resilient and compassionate world. This summer, Outward Bound Canada will run a cross-cultural expedition program to connect Indigenous and non-Indigenous, newcomer and Canadian, underserved and privileged Toronto youth, where they will gain an understanding for each other’s cultures and mutual respect for one another and the land.

Since 1986, Riverdale Housing Action Group (RHAG) has provided low- to modest-income tenants from some of Toronto’s most vulnerable communities with safe, affordable housing. RHAC opened the Riverdale Housing Animation Programs (RHAP) in 1997 to provide support services to its tenants and their children, including educational, social, and recreational programs designed to increase inclusion. This year, RHAP will host the Riverdale Housing Multicultural Celebration, a one-day event to celebrate the foods, cultures and  histories of their diverse tenants.

Making Room Community Arts is a radically inclusive, interdisciplinary arts company dedicated to community cultural development and bringing art into everyday life. They working with people living in the margins in order to put them in the centre of the story. This year, Making Room will work with elder artists in South Parkdale to plan a celebration of the diverse histories and cultures found in just one city block.

Making Room Community Arts is trusteed by MABELLEarts.

The Toronto & York Region Métis Council represents individuals and communities in our region that are a part of the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO). On October 15, 2017 the Toronto & York Region Métis Council will host a Toronto and York Region’s rst Rendezvous, a public gathering to bring together Métis and non-Métis peoples in celebration of Métis culture and history. The Council also wishes to launch a research project this year to capture the historical narrative of Métis people in Toronto and York Region.

This program is a specialized component of the Toronto Sport Leadership Program that provides additional opportunities for Aboriginal youth. 20 Aboriginal youth were trained in the National Coach Certification Program, Basketball, Soccer and Lacrosse, as well as Aboriginal Leadership, First Air, and High Five Principles of Healthy Child Development. They had practical work experience through the North American Indigenous Games hosted in Toronto in 2017. Program graduates qualified for employment with Recreation at City of Toronto. 90% of participants have a better sense of their career and academic path since attending the program and 50% found meaningful paid work within six months of graduation.