Niagara Community Foundation (NCF) is proud to announce its annual total, granted to local charities in 2024 surpassed $3.6 million making 2024 the largest granting year in the organizations history. This announcement comes with the publication of 45 grants totaling $315,261 granted through NCF’s Community and Fall Mini Grant programs.
Established in 2000, NCF has granted to Niagara charities each year through both donor directed and discretionary grants. In the first year of operations, NCF granted $9,500 to six organizations. Since then, over $31million has been granted to local charities. In 2024 alone, over 250 charities were supported.
“2025 marks the foundations 25th Anniversary. We have so much to celebrate this coming year, but building on this historic total is one of our greatest legacies,” says Bryan Rose, executive director of NCF. “NCF has had an incredible impact on Niagara over the last 25 years and we are so proud to support so many incredible organizations each year, including the 45 charities supported through our 2024 fall grant programs."
In 2024, 30 Community Grants and 15 Fall Mini Grants were awarded, totaling $315,261. For a full listing of the grant recipients, please see the chart below.
Founded in 2000, Niagara Community Foundation has raised over $86 million and has granted in excess of $31 million to charities working in the arts, heritage, environment, social services, health, education and community development sectors. NCF connects donor to causes and communities to resources, turning intent into impact.
-30-
Niagara Community Foundation Media Contact: Bryan Rose, Executive Director bryan.rose@niagaracommunityfoundation.org | 905-684-8688 ext. 22
2024 Community Grants
Organization Name | Grants | Project Summary |
| Bethlehem Housing and Support Services | $15,000.00 | Support the Unit Preparation Pest (UPP) Program that prepares tenant homes for pest treatments. |
| Canadian Chamber Academy (Music Niagara) | $5,000.00 | Support Arts Unbound, an inclusive talent show with 10 performances by artists with a disability. |
| Canadian Mental Health Association | $7,500.00* | Fund a new shared clinical data base to support documentation of a streamlined referral process, standardized screening and assessment and provide data for evaluation and quality improvement ideas. |
| Carousel Players | $15,000.00 | Support annual Niagara Children’s Festival, an exciting multi-day event offering live theatre, performances, and culture for young audiences from early years to teens, in three Niagara municipalities in May 2025. |
| Community Support Services of Niagara | $7,500.00 | Support the Transportation Services team to expand the number of rides to medical and nonmedical appointments for older adults across Niagara. |
| Contact Niagara for Children's and Developmental Services | $6,588.00 | Support the 1-2-3 Magic workshops that provide program supports at no cost to parents/caregivers of children age 2-12 years. |
| Future Black Female | $7,500.00 | Support strategic planning, personnel development, and digital adaptation. |
| Gateway Residential and Community Support Services of Niagara | $15,000.00* | Support volunteer-based Furniture Bank, dedicated to furnishing the homes of our clients with generous donations from the community while saving valuable furniture from ending up in landfills. |
| Gillian's Place | $14,910.00 | Enhance supports for Child & Youth Department that will provide more compassionate trauma-informed care to children and youth who have experienced abuse. |
| Grimsby Auxiliary Marine Rescue Unit o/a South Shore Search And Rescue | $15,000.00 | Acquire secure on-site storage for crucial protective equipment for rescue volunteers, preserving the life of expensive assets while enhancing emergency response time. |
| Heart Niagara | $7,000.00* | Support HeartReignite Initiative that seeks to re-establish and expand the HHSP and CPR/AED training. |
| Heartland Forest Nature Experience | $13,570.00 | Support habitat creation projects that promote environmental awareness, often referred to as ‘wood working for wildlife’. |
| Hospice Niagara | $14,460.00 | Develop secure web portal for staff, volunteers, and board members to support the expansion of three hospice sites, and providing a centralized and easily accessible information hub. |
| Niagara Falls Community Outreach | $5,970.00* | Replace Baking Kitchen oven. |
| Niagara Foundation for Family & Children's Services | $11,360.00 | Purchase appliances for 10-bedroom group home in Welland for children between the ages of 9-14 living with complex mental health and behavioral challenges. |
| Niagara Geopark - Ohnia:Kara Global Geopark Inc | $7,500.00 | Support development of strategic plan to guide sustainable tourism efforts, community engagement, and preservation of geological and cultural heritage, ultimately aiming for UNESCO Global Geopark recognition. |
| Niagara Jazz Festival | $8,250.00 | Support MUSIC in the PARK. |
| RCEC Saint Therese Parish Port Colborne | $5,700.00 | Improve security be adding cameras and recording devices to keep community and clients safe. |
| Silver Spire United Church | $15,000.00 | Support the shower and laundry program that offers hygiene solutions to those who are experiencing homelessness or living in poverty, without access to laundry services or showering capabilities. |
| St Catharines Collegiate Institute and Vocational School Alumni Fund | $10,000.00 | Support the “St. Catharines Collegiate Fitness and Wellness Centre” project that provides students with the opportunity to access an updated fitness facility in a safe, supervised and all-inclusive environment. |
| St. David's Anglican Church | $2,558.00 | Purchase fridge/freezer to support weekly food pantry, where visitors receive nonperishable items, plus milk, bread, and fresh vegetables. |
| St. John Ambulance | $8,935.00 | Replace emergency supplies and equipment to be utilized at community events and to assist the Niagara Region in case of medical emergencies, disasters, and evacuations and to provide assistance at shelters as required. |
| Suitcase in Point | $6,000.00 | Re-build audiences through a partnership-based social media/ marketing campaign that will develop local next-generation artists, growing their skills and public awareness of their creative work through video & social media. |
| The Foundation of Resources for Teens | $15,000.00 | Hire part-time Program Assistant to immediately resolve capacity issues and guarantee strategic program delivery. |
| The Niagara Pumphouse Arts Centre | $15,000.00 | Hire part-time Administrative Assistant to improve capacity and capabilities that will build structure and systems for sustainable growth. |
| The Norm Foster Theatre Festival | $9,500.00 | Support theatrical workshopping and professional readings of A Niagara Christmas Carol, a new adaptation of A Christmas Carol, set in Niagara during the second major build of the Welland Canal. |
| The Willow Community Support Services (Willow Arts Community) | $7,500.00 | Support initiative that invites residents to create murals on the boards surrounding the property along Ontario St., Haig St., Pleasant Ave., and Carlton St. that reflect the communities and the people from across the city who worked at GM. |
| Town of Pelham | $7,000.00 | Purchase and install a commercial dishwashing unit at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 613 to support community events and charitable activities at the facility, which includes a free weekly meal distribution program to veterans and seniors. |
| West Niagara Agricultural Society | $7,500.00 | Build shade shelter for the use of the community members that attend all events at West Niagara Fairgrounds. |
TOTAL | $294,301 |
* Funded in part by Niagara Casinos Fund
2024 Fall Mini Grants
Organization Name | Grants | Project Summary |
| Attachment and Trauma Treatment Centre for Healing (ATTCH) Niagara | $1,500.00 | Provide software programming resources and tactile device to enhance Neurofeedback treatment for vulnerable clients. |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of Niagara | $1,500.00 | Increase the capacity of the team by enabling them to identify and understand their own strengths, and the strengths of their colleagues in order to better serve vulnerable children and youth. |
| Brain Injury Association of Fort Erie | $980.00 | Development of a comprehensive emergency plan to train all staff in emergency protocols. |
| Brock University | $1,500.00 | Purchase fridge and supplies for frozen meal program to support students on an as needed basis. |
| Community Living Grimsby Lincoln and West Lincoln | $1,500.00 | Support website redevelopment in conjunction with rebranding efforts that coincides with 60th anniversary in 2025. |
| Grimsby Museum | $1,500.00 | Support Heritage Grimsby Mapping Project that seeks to develop a print and digital map locating the town’s built and cultural heritage, including designated heritage buildings, public art, and other cultural landmarks of local significance. |
| Links for Greener Learning | $1,500.00 | Renovate community garden with new raised wooden beds that are accessible, ergonomic and designed for seniors. |
| Niagara Artists' Company | $1,500.00 | Purchase upgrades to fully equip a cinema-grade camera to be used by Niagara filmmakers at affordable rental rates through the Tool Library at the Niagara Artists Centre. |
| Niagara Falls Public Library | $1,500.00 | Help create, support, and advertise the Seed Squad in which people who borrow seeds from the library and return harvested seeds at the end of growing season will become part of the Seed Squad: a special club that champions seed harvesting. |
| Niagara Health System | $1,500.00 | Support event that unites community organizations and equity leaders to explore strategies for advancing DEI in healthcare, offering tools through expert presentations on Indigenous health, sociodemographic data, and health equity practices. |
| Niagara Region Sexual Assault Centre | $1,230.00 | Purchase two new laptop computers for in-office & off-site operations. |
| Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library | $1,500.00 | Support the hosting of three special guests to enhance children's programming, including artist James Paterson and his interactive storytelling machine, a live reptile show by Reptile Kingdom, and a musical experience with Drums et al. |
| Royal Canadian Legion Ridgeway Branch 230 | $750.00 | Replace projection system that is outdated and can no longer be used with modern digital equipment |
| The Volunteer Well | $1,500.00 | Purchase rollup banners to increase accessibility at different places, venues and events. |
| Westview Centre 4 Women | $1,500.00 | Provide nutritious school snacks to pantry options for families, whereby those giving a suggested donation will rollover and continue to purchase needed school snacks for children in our area. |
TOTAL | $20,960 |
