Tower Renewal leads and supports initiatives that encourage community engagement, support local capacity building, spur community investment and help to foster more resilient, thriving apartment communities. From social learning opportunities supporting employment skills to community gardens, reinvestment and leadership opportunities through local networks, these initiatives drive change and improvement in local communities.
One current initiative is Recipe for Community led by the City of Toronto and the Toronto Foundation.
This program improves our city one neighbourhood at a time by engaging neighbourhood residents, young and old, to improve safety and the sense of belonging in their communities. The initiative brings together donors, sponsors and residents to invest in four key community “ingredients”: food, convening, youth engagement, and neighbourhood beautification.
With each Recipe for Community neighbourhood, the goal is to facilitate resident-inspired projects that strengthen community belonging and pride, and build community skills and capacity.
Each year, the Recipe for Community model is taken to a different neighbourhood:
With each Recipe for Community neighbourhood, the goal is to facilitate resident-inspired projects that strengthen community belonging and pride, and build community skills and capacity.
If you are interested in learning more, and to access the expression of interest form please contact us today.
At each of the Recipe for Community investment areas, City staff foster and leverage local partnerships among residents, community agencies, businesses, and City services including its agencies, boards and commissions.
The initiatives include a range of activities consistent with the City’s vision for sustainability of Toronto’s apartment neighbourhoods:
With each Recipe for Community neighbourhood, the goal is to facilitate resident-inspired projects that strengthen community belonging and pride, and build community skills and capacity.
Recipe for Community brings together the following key ingredients:
The project will meet the objectives above through the following:
The Recipe for Community Program is currently situated in the neighbourhood of Parkdale which includes South Parkdale – one of the City of Toronto’s 31 designated Neighbourhood Improvement Areas (NIAs). The neighbourhood has a rich history of diversity and local engagement to advocate for and respond to local needs.
Through the investment from the Toronto Foundation, the City of Toronto aims to achieve:
The structure includes resident leadership and resident input into priority activities focused on community building and strengthening the resiliency of the area. This integration ensures that Recipe for Community project activities are in alignment with resident-identified needs and existing resident leadership efforts.
Funding can only be used for the direct delivery of the proposed project. Eligible costs include:
The City will accept applications up to a maximum of $5,000 in funding and will consider applications exceeding $5,000. It is our expectation that the grant will be used to complement and help leverage other resources to support the project.
To be eligible for funding, applicant groups/organizations must be non-profit. Applicants without this prerequisite may apply if they enter into a trusteeship agreement with a registered charity or non-profit organization.
Examples of eligible groups and organizations include:
Applicants that do not meet non-profit status may enter into a trusteeship agreement with a registered charity or non-profit organization. More information on this below.
Ineligible Groups/Organizations
Examples of ineligible groups and organizations include:
The first step in the application process is to contact Rolfe Santos for an Expression of Interest (EOI) form. The EOI form includes the following sections:
For 2019-2020, the EOI deadline date is open. All EOI submissions will be reviewed by City of Toronto staff. A limited number of applicants, who meet the eligibility criteria, will then be shortlisted.
Once shortlisted, Applicants will participate in an exploratory conversation with City staff to develop possible project activities based on the needs and priorities of the neighbourhood. All shortlisted EOI organizations will participate in a collaborative approach to determine the project activities.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact Rolfe Santos before submitting an Expression of Interest to discuss the proposed project and application process.
If your group does not have official non-profit status, and/or does not have a recent audited financial statement, you must work with a trustee/administrative partner organization to receive grant funding.
The Trustee/Administrative partner must:
Successful grant recipients will be required to submit a final summative evaluation of their project.
Evaluations will determine whether funding recipients have:
Funding recipients will be provided with standardized reporting requirements and will also be asked to provide photos or video documentation of their project activities.
Location: Parkdale Public Library, 1303 Queen St.W. (Auditorium – basement level)
Date: December 3, 5, 12, 17
Time: 5 to 7 p.m.
Come out to:
For more information and to register, please call 416-688-5330 or send an email to recipeforcommunity@toronto.ca.