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The L.E.A.F. Initiative is a Commonwell program to grow capacity and resiliency in the communities we call home.

Re-energize Learning and Engagement in Your Community

Submissions will be Applications are now closed. You have until November 15, 2021 to add your support to a submitted project!

Sure, many communities throughout Ontario have been through tough times of late. The fastest way to bounce back better and stronger than ever is to invest in the local places where the community comes together. Funding upgrades or even retrofits for the places in your community where people learn, share or play is the purpose of The Commonwell L.E.A.F. grants.

In 2021 there’s up to $1 million in grants to distribute to qualifying community projects throughout Commonwell Country: the smaller places and wide open spaces of eastern, central and western Ontario. To earn your community’s share of the fund, submit or support a local project that will improve the places your community gathers, learns and grows.

Think Big!

What facilities, community centres or education spaces could use programming or space improvements to accelerate learning and engagement in your community? Where do you need more room, more capacity, better environments? And how will you put the grant to work to grow the community resiliency that comes from learning, working, connecting and even playing together? Here are some ideas to help you get started.

  • COMMUNITY GARDENS
    They bring people together, promote sustainable agriculture and improve the ecology of their surrounding area. Perhaps your community needs a new or improved garden or needs a greater capacity to offer programs.
  • COMPUTER LABS
    Does your community need a new computer lab or an upgrade to an existing one? Funding could support better access, more learning opportunities or deeper connectivity.
  • PUBLIC BANDSTAND
    In Commonwell Country, we know public bandstands are for more than just music. Is there one in your community that could benefit from a space improvement to allow for more valuable community programming?
  • SKILLS PROGRAMMING
    Opportunities for skills development gives community members a jump start or a second chance. Start a coding class at local library, build a financial literacy program for kids, or support tech literacy for seniors. Think big.
  • SHARED OUTDOOR SPACE
    Could a park, pavilion or outdoor fitness area use space improvements or upgrades in your community? Gathering, learning, and playing outside is good for the entire community.
  • COMMUNITY KITCHENS
    Community kitchens provide an excellent place to share resources, knowledge and food skills. They can help small food businesses launch. Does your community need a new kitchen or upgrades and more capacity for an existing one?

How The Commonwell L.E.A.F. Initiative Works

1 Find Your
Community

Use the postal code search tool below to see if a project has been started in your community. You can lend your support to an existing project through engagement, or start a new one.

2 Submit
a Project

We’ll walk you through everything you need to include in your submission to be considered for a Commonwell L.E.A.F. grant.

3 Support
a Project

Help an eligible project in your community earn a L.E.A.F. grant. There are lots of ways to get involved!

4 How L.E.A.F. Recipients are Selected

The Commonwell will award L.E.A.F. grants based on the assessment of the impact the project will have on learning and engagement in the community, the demonstration of project viability, the demonstrated need for funding and community support.

Find Your Community to Support a Project 



SEARCH RESULTS

      Don’t see a project started in your community? Is there a gathering place where you live which needs retrofits, upgrades or improvements? Submit a project on behalf of your community. Click below.

      SUBMIT A PROJECT

      How to Inspire Local Support

      When our communities improve, everyone wins. That’s why we know you won’t have a hard time gaining support for your project. To make it simple, we’ve created four ways your community can demonstrate that support, and each time they do, your community project page grows and your submission is strengthened!

      1 Add a Story of Support

      Would you or someone you love benefit from this new community space or proposed improvements to the existing one? Does this gathering place or community activity hold a special place in your heart? Share your connection, your memories or your hopes for a new space. Tell us what this means to you.

      2 Leave a Comment

      Short and sweet does the trick too. Leave a simple comment about why you’d like to see this project earn a L.E.A.F. grant, or send a shout out to someone involved.

      3 Add an Image

      A picture is worth a thousand words. Show us what learning, playing, gathering, and connecting looks like at the community facility you’d like to support. Or show us an outcome this facility has helped achieve – for example, your harvest from a community garden.

      4 Share on Facebook

      What better way to gain more support than by spreading the word on Facebook! Share with your friends, your neighbours, your colleagues and on community pages and in groups.