Community Grants Program

 To be eligible for Community Grants funding, organizations must meet all the following requirements:

• Be a not-for-profit or charity (operating for at least one year)
• Offer activities within the Township of Wilmot
• Serve clearly identified community needs not already addressed through another organization or the Township and/or demonstrate evidence the community has shown a commitment to their programs (participation/attendance at functions)
• Release annual audited financial statements, or where audited financial statements are not available, provide financial statements that have been verified as correct by two signing officers from the organization
• Be in good standing with the Township and, if applicable, its own governing bodies

• For-profit organizations
• Political and religious organizations
• Fundraising activities of provincial/national organizations
• Organizations who conduct majority of services outside of the Township of Wilmot
• Organizations with surplus funds not identified for a specific purpose
• Organizations whose activities may breach the Ontario Human Rights Code or Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• Organizations who have failed to provide reports satisfactory to the Township, including financial statements, as to the success of the previous year and specifically with respect to the allocation of grant funds, will not be eligible for grant funding until such time as proper documentation is submitted and evaluated.

Community Grants funding requests cannot be used for: 

• Staff travel, accommodation, food, beverage or alcohol
• Conferences, workshops or seminars
• Uniforms, personal equipment
• Administration payroll costs
• Consultant costs
• Debt retirement, deficit reduction, depreciation or financing charges
• Increasing endowment funds
• Funding activities that serve primarily the membership, or for purposes of religious or political organizations
• Achieving an operating surplus that can be donated to a separate group or entity
• Retroactive payments (activities or costs incurred before grants are approved)
• Funding requests of more than $15,000 in any single grant cycle. Organizations requesting more than this amount shall be explicit in their reasoning for requesting a larger grant.

Funds granted under this program are not transferable between projects or groups without prior Council consent and must be used for the specific purposes outlined in Council’s original approval.

Note: Council may grant special consideration to entities that do not meet eligibility but are unique in nature and fulfill a specific need in the community.

Eligible organizations must fill out the online application form, in full, before the submission deadline.

Each question must be answered, and all the requested supporting documentation must be submitted. Incomplete applications may not be considered. 

The Township reserves the right to contact any organization for information which requires clarification.

The Community Grants Evaluation Team will meet to review all qualified applications and make recommendations to Council based on the following criteria:

• Program/service obligation – supports a service delivered by the Township.
• Public need/benefit – contribution to the community is broad-based and impacts all residents by strengthening our community and growing our economy.
• Financial need - organization has provided evidence that it needs the funding and identified all other grant and fundraising activities. Organizations that have budgets or financial statements indicating a surplus will be required to provide explanations of the surplus and how the organization intends to use it. The level of organizational reserves may be considered.
• Quality of life – service or program enhances the quality of residents and supports the Township’s strategic priorities.
• Evidence of support from other partners, volunteers and other sources of funding to enable the organization or event to be sustainable.
• Additional financial and non-financial resources being leveraged from other sources.
• Activities do not unnecessarily duplicate successful efforts that already exist in the community.
• Sound organizational track record. This considers if the organization has the ability, skills and capacity to undertake the work.
• Sustainability of the organization and activity as applicable.
• The amount of funding requested by applicants and the funding available in the program.

Each of these criteria will be given specific weighting, based on their relative importance, and assigned values by the Community Grants Evaluation Team. Based on this evaluation, staff will generate recommendations for approval by Council.

The Evaluation Team does not hear delegations. Applications must be clear, concise and complete on their own to facilitate the Evaluation Team’s review.

All applicants will receive notification of Council’s decision of whether or not their application was successful.

Following annual Council budget approval, the Township will issue grant payments to the successful applicants.

Successful applicants who receive funding from the program must report on how the funding was spent and the impact the funding achieved.

Reports must be submitted to the Township by November 30 of the same year for which the grant is awarded. For example, if a grant is awarded in February 2025, the community grant recipient must provide a completed report by November 30, 2025.

If the recipient fails to fully complete and submit the report to the Township within the stated time, that organization will not be eligible for future grant funding until such a time that the Township is satisfied that the report has been submitted in full. Reports will be forwarded to Council for review.

• New Hamburg Art Tour
• Interfaith Counselling Centre
• New Hamburg Concert Band
• Wilmot Terry Fox Run
• Wilmot Agricultural Society
• Township of Wilmot Recreation Subsidies
• Love Your Neighbour Communities
• Community Care Concepts
• Mannheim Optimist Club
• Wilmot Girls Hockey Association
• Waterloo Regional Police Service
• Wilmot Seniors Woodworking and Craft Centre
• Wilmot Horticultural Society/Garden Wilmot
• New Hamburg Firebirds
• Nith Valley EcoBoosters
• Wilmot Family Resource Centre
• Waterloo Region Community Garden Network
• Grand River Friendship Society
• Waterloo-Oxford District Secondary School Bursaries