NEWS RELEASE
COMMONWELL MUTUAL INSURANCE GROUP
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LINDSAY - Ontario’s small communities can often feel left behind when applying for government grants and funding. Yet locally based educational programs are essential for communities to grow and thrive, and to address budget shortfalls in local, provincial and federal funding.
Now there’s Good News!
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) NOW 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 LEAF (Learning and Engagement Accelerator Fund) The Commonwell has topped up their available funding by $50k to continue reenergizing learning, education, and engagement in these communities.
LEAF 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 LEAF 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.”
What projects are eligible?
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.
What’s next?
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 Sept. 9, 2024
- Applications close Nov. 8, 2024
- Community support pages for projects close Nov. 15, 2024
- Recipients announced in December 2024
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