2023 Grant Recipients Announced!

We are excited to announce the recipients of this year's Pay It Forward and Community Enhancement Grants!

A total of 47 applications were received – a 59% increase since 2022!

“We were so pleased to see the resurgence in the number of applications received for this year’s grant program,” said Arfona Zwiers, Commissioner of Community and Planning Services. “In recent years, we had observed a decline in the volume of applications, which we have attributed to the COVID-19 Pandemic. This notion was further reinforced by a key theme that emerged in this year's applications - the rebuilding of community supports and programs which had been disrupted by COVID restrictions. These applications show us that our community has a renewed sense of hope and the resiliency to overcome adversity. Muskoka is bouncing back.”

Read the full news release here: https://www.muskoka.on.ca/en/news/a-renewed-sense-of-hope-for-muskoka-2023-muskoka-community-grant-recipients-announced.aspx

A list of successful grant recipients and projects can be viewed below:

Organization	Area	Funding Received	Project Description
Pay It Forward
Planting Community Seeds	Lake of Bays, Huntsville	$2,500	Providing starter gardening kits, gardening workshops and ongoing support to new gardeners to support food security.
Cameron of Lochiel Pipes and Drums	Huntsville	$2,500	Purchasing new band equipment so that band can continue free performances at legions, seniors homes and schools; and offer free music lessons.
Sewing Camp	Across Muskoka	$2,500	Providing free sewing education and workshops.
Free Stuff for Daily Needs	Across Muskoka (Gravenhurst focus)	$2,500	Providing urgent support to community members with practical needs.
Labyrinths in Libraries	Across Muskoka	$1,250	Partnering with local libraries to make handheld labyrinths, which support mental wellness, available for borrowing and providing labyrinth education.
Community Enhancement
Bracebridge Out of the Cold	Bracebridge	$4,000	Expanding the Out of the Cold Community Dinner to a Hybrid approach to reach isolated residents.
Muskoka Indigenous Friendship Centre	All of Muskoka	$6,163	Expanding Indigenous cultural programming across Muskoka.
Muskoka Shoebox Project	All of Muskoka	$1,250	Providing essential and gift filled shoeboxes to women in the community who are experiencing housing insecurity.
Dorset Community Partnership Fund	Lake of Bays	$2,500	Funding to support the pharmacy and emergency food assistance program.
Ryde Community Co- operative Inc.	Gravenhurst	$2,000	Funding to support social and wellness programming for all ages.
Georgian Bay Mnidoo Gamii Biosphere	Georgian Bay	$4,725	Revitalizing the community gardens in Port Severn and Mactier and providing educational workshops.

West Muskoka Food Bank	Muskoka Lakes	$8,000	Purchasing food and other essentials for foodbank distribution.
Elder Abuse Prevention Muskoka	Across Muskoka	$5,000	Providing cell phones, tablets and subsides to isolated seniors and offering technology literacy training.
Mind-Aid Muskoka	Huntsville, Lake of Bays	$8,000	Offering access to specialized mental health services to at risk youth.
Big Brothers Big Sisters Muskoka	Across Muskoka	$2,500	Developing a “Money Smart Kids” program for children to learn basic skills for financial literacy.
Knox Presbyterian Church Bracebridge Mission Committee	Bracebridge	$2,500	Continuing their emergency food box and community garden program to support food security.
Muskoka Seniors	Huntsville, Lake of Bays	$2,000	Hosting the first annual “Muskoka Healthy Living Expo” to build awareness and accessibility around senior supportive services.
Hospice Muskoka	Gravenhurst, Bracebridge	$3,000	Offering the “Healing Hearts” program to provide grief support to children who are experiencing the loss of a loved-one.
Gravenhurst Against Poverty	Gravenhurst	$8,000	Providing grocery gift cards to neighbours to support food security.
Muskoka Family Focus and Children's Place	Across Muskoka	$6,000	Bringing “Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library” to Muskoka – a book gifting program to support literacy in children under 5 years old.
St. Vincent de Paul Society. St. Mary's Conference	Huntsville	$8,000	Collaborating with the Muskoka Good Food Co-op to provide fresh produce to residents who access their foodbank.
Rotary Club of Bracebridge	Bracebridge	$5,000	Supplying health pre-cooked meals monthly to the Manna Foodbank for distribution.
The Table Soup Kitchen Foundation	Huntsville	$4,000	Supporting a community garden project and fresh food seminars to address food insecurity.