Building Community Resilience
This round of funding is the first to be awarded based on the Community Foundation's new Impact Priorities, launched in July 2025, to build community resilience:
Thriving People
This priority area invests in programs and services that help individuals and families live healthier, more connected lives, with a particular focus on vulnerable and underserved populations.
Sustainable Futures
This area supports both ecological and infrastructure-focused initiatives that help communities adapt to and thrive amid environmental challenges
Learning & Growth
This area supports lifelong learning and growth across all ages and sectors, including educational access, skill development, and creative exploration.
Inclusivity & Belonging
This priority area centres the voices and needs of equity-deserving communities. It supports initiatives that break down systemic barriers, celebrate diverse identities, and foster social inclusion and justice.
Strengthened Non-Profits
This area supports the people and systems behind the work — the nonprofit staff, volunteers, collaborations, and infrastructure that allow programs to thrive.
Matching Community Needs with Community Solutions
The applications submitted to meet our new Impact Priorities this round highlighted several clear and recurring needs across Kingston & Area, including:
- Supports for housing stability, mental health, and basic needs
- Learning and development opportunities for children and youth
- Inclusive, culturally informed, and accessible community spaces
- Stronger organizational capacity behind front-line work
The 23 funded initiatives respond to these pressures in practical, low-barrier ways—through transportation supports, childcare, translation and first-language materials, assistive technologies, mentoring, and navigation roles that help people move through complex systems with less stress.
1 | BGC SOUTH EAST
New Mentoring Programs for Youth with ACEs | $25,000.00
BGC South East seeks to develop a new mentoring stream to ensure continuity of local mentoring supports following the closure of Big Brothers Big Sisters of KFL&A. The pilot will design and launch supervised mentoring delivered both in schools and at Club sites, serving children and youth ages 6–18 with high adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).
2 | CAMP OUTLOOK
Camp Outlook – Backpacks | $6,000.00
Camp Outlook seeks to purchase 15 canoe-tripping backpacks to replace worn or non-functional packs integral to summer backcountry trips. The equipment is essential for safe, effective trip operations and will be used throughout the summer season on expeditions ranging 5–14 days, primarily in Algonquin Provincial Park. All programs are free for youth and run by volunteers; reliable packs allow leaders to focus on participant experience rather than on-field repairs.
3 | CLAR-MILL COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS
Clar-Mill Hall storage upgrades | $7,000.00
Clar-Mill Community Volunteers seek to purchase and install five closed, commercial-grade metal storage cabinets to replace open shelving in the backroom adjacent to the Clar-Mill Community Hall’s commercial kitchen in Plevna. The project responds to health, safety, and efficiency concerns and will allow secure, closed storage of 100% of food and related supplies, aligning with safe food-handling practice and improving day-to-day organization for multiple user groups.
4 | FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES OF FRONTENAC, LENNOX AND ADDINGTON (FACSFLA)
Umoja Hub Grant | $25,000.00
FACSFLA seeks to sustain and expand the Umoja Hub, a community-based space serving Black and Francophone children, youth, and families in KFL&A. Activities include twice-monthly events and rotating Thursday programming with childcare, Afrocentric counselling, workshops, and cultural learning (e.g., djembe and dance), alongside emerging skill-building modules co-designed with participants.
5 | FRIENDS OF THE SPIRE
Emerging Artist Concert Series | $13,800.00
Friends of the Spire’s Emerging Artist Concert Series provides paid performance opportunities and tailored mentorship for local/regional emerging musicians across five concerts split between The Spire and The Broom Factory. Core activities include an open public call and adjudication, artist onboarding, one-on-one mentorship (booking, promotion, grant writing, performance), industry networking, and accessible, all-ages shows.
6 | GIRLS INCORPORATED OF LIMESTONE, ALGONQUIN AND LAKESHORE
Crisis Support for Girls Ed Families | $20,000.00
Girls Inc. proposes one year of direct, tailored economic supports for at least 80 girls+, women+, gender-expansive people, and families already connected to Girls Inc. programming in KFL&A. Supports may include grocery cards, rent and moving costs (including for families fleeing violence), bill payments, baby supplies, health and hygiene items, transportation, childcare, and counselling costs.
7 | ISABEL BADER CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
PROPARED Venue Management Software @ The Isabel | $8,525.98
The Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts seeks to purchase and implement PROPARED, a cloud-based production planning, inventory, and scheduling platform designed for performing arts operations. The software replaces a multi-system workflow, offering integrated calendars and task management, real-time updates to event details and reports, inventory tracking, live budget visibility for clients, centralized file storage with secure external sharing, and remote access for staff.
8 | KINGSTON COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRES
IAIM-Serve and Return: Expanding Program Capacity | $23,467.50
Kingston Community Health Centres will fund two IAIM (International Association of Infant Massage) instructor trainings to expand local capacity to deliver KCHC’s Serve and Return parent–infant program one-on-one to families who face barriers to group services. Since 2022, the group format has supported 350+ parents/infants; this proposal addresses access gaps among parents affected by transportation, anxiety, trauma, or other systemic barriers by enabling individualized delivery through trained staff embedded in partner agencies.
9 | KINGSTON COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRES
A Book of One's Own: A Welcome Initiative for Newcomer Children | $8,023.00
KCHC (through the Kingston Immigration Partnership) proposes to welcome newcomer children and youth with refugee experience or precarious immigration status by providing each child with a personally selected, age-appropriate book in their first language (or wordless where needed), to reduce isolation, foster belonging, and support early literacy and school readiness for newcomer children as they arrive in Kingston.
10 | KINGSTON HOME BASE HOUSING
Prosocial Engagement Spaces for Youth Experiencing Homelessness | $9,409.48
Kingston Home Base Housing will furnish three common lounges—one on each floor of Vatcher Hall supportive housing at KYSH— to function as each floor’s shared “living room,” providing space for social connection, quiet decompression, shared meals, homework support, and brief staff-facilitated floor meetings that set norms and address issues early. Furnishing these rooms is meant to reduce isolation, strengthen belonging, and help residents practice tenancy-supportive habits (e.g., caring for shared spaces, negotiating schedules, constructive conflict resolution).
11 | KINGSTON SCHOOL OF DANCE
Studio Equipment Updates | $7,500.00
Kingston School of Dance will replace the worn flooring in Studio B with professional black marley dance surface and purchase a portable Bose S1 Pro speaker, to address safety and usability limitations in the studio—enabling all dance styles to train and providing consistent, reliable audio for classes and occasional off-site needs.
12 | QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY
Connecting Communities to Water: Canoes for Environmental Education, Outreach, and Research | $9,600.00
Queen’s University’s Biological Station (QUBS) seeks to purchase four triple-layer polyethylene canoes to replace older, donated canoes in the QUBS fleet. The new canoes are intended to improve safety, stability, and maneuverability—particularly for beginners—thereby increasing accessibility to paddling-based programming. Canoes will support hands-on environmental education, outreach, recreational learning, and research activities delivered on QUBS lakes and adjacent shorelines during the open-water season (approximately April–October).
13 | RESOLVE COUNSELLING SERVICES KINGSTON
Subsidized Community Counselling Program | $25,000.00
Resolve Counselling Services Kingston will provide subsidized counselling to remove financial barriers for marginalized individuals and families in KFL&A. The program will deliver individual, couple, and family counselling through established access points (e.g., Rideau Heights Community Centre, medical clinics, and partner sites), with promotion, assessment, eligibility screening, and assignment to counsellors forming the intake sequence.
14 | RKY CAMP
RKY - KEYS PA Day Programs | $5,058.64
RKY Camp proposes two one-day camp programs on PA Days (May and October 2026) for KEYS-connected newcomer children and youth. Each day will run one bus from Kingston (central pickup near the Kingston Centre) to the camp, with a capacity of ~50 participants. Participants will be grouped by age, each facilitated by two trained RKY staff, with KEYS youth workers embedded to support language and comfort. Activities include canoeing, climbing, fire-building, nature crafts, and archery, with a Halal hot meal and unlimited snacks provided.
15 | RYANDALE TRANSITIONAL HOUSING
Ryandale Housing Navigator & RentSmart Training Program | $20,549.00
Ryandale Transitional Housing proposes a part-time Housing Navigator to help Ryandale residents secure and sustain permanent housing after their transitional stay. The role will provide one-on-one housing searches and application support, liaise with landlords to strengthen applications, and deliver the nationally recognized RentSmart curriculum covering tenant rights/responsibilities, budgeting, communication, and conflict resolution (with certification upon completion).
16 | SENIORS ASSOCIATION KINGSTON REGION
Accessible Listening Systems for Seniors Association Kingston Region | $15,527.88
Seniors Association Kingston Region seeks to install a multi-pronged assistive listening system (ALS) at the Seniors Centre to improve communication access for older adults with hearing disabilities. The ALS will support large events and daily interactions, aiming to make programs and services more accessible to seniors experiencing hearing loss.
17 | SEXUAL ASSAULT CENTRE KINGSTON INC.
Piloting a Task-Centred Advocacy Strategy for Sexual Assault Survivors | $25,000.00
SACK proposes a time-limited pilot that shifts its advocacy service to a task-centred approach; the pilot broadens eligibility beyond clients in active counselling to include survivors on the waitlist and partner-referred survivors, removing the barrier of “client status.” Each participant engages in a structured three-month plan (12 weekly, 60-minute sessions) framed around concrete goals and step-by-step tasks (e.g., legal aid applications, primary care attachment, housing navigation, social connection), while remaining strengths-based and compatible with motivational interviewing and system navigation.
18 | SOUTHERN FRONTENAC COMMUNITY SERVICES CORPORATION
Aging Well Together: Training for Tomorrow's Care | $14,450.00
Southern Frontenac Community Services Corporation proposes organization-wide training to build empathy, knowledge, and practical skills for supporting older adults experiencing frailty and/or dementia. The program will deliver interactive workshops focused on age-related changes, dementia awareness, and communication strategies. A core feature is experiential learning using an aging simulation suit to help participants understand common physical and sensory challenges; structured reflection and discussion translate these experiences into practice.
19 | ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY OF KINGSTON
Dishes for New Facility | $23,562.90
St. Vincent de Paul Society of Kingston will purchase commercial-grade dinnerware, flatware, glassware, serving pieces, and small appliances to enable a return to seated meal service at their new 595 Bagot Street facility. Funds will equip the Loretta dining hall (120-seat capacity) and coffee service area, replacing disposable take-out ware and supporting daily plated service.
20 | START2FINISH CANADA
Expansion of the Running & Reading Club+ | $25,000.00
Start2Finish Canada seeks to expand Start2Finish’s Running & Reading Club+ after-school program in Kingston by adding one new site (Rideau Heights Public School) and increasing overall reach by ~30%. The 32-week program serves children in grades 1–6 through weekly in-person sessions (2 hours) and twice-weekly online sessions (40 minutes), combining fitness (running, active games), social-emotional learning, and literacy activities aligned to five fundamentals (phonological awareness, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, writing).
21 | STREET HEALTH CENTRE - KINGSTON COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRES
Catalyst Treatment Program for People Who Use Crystal Methamphetamine and/or Cocaine/Crack | $25,000.00
Funding supports a 16-week, twice-weekly treatment program for stimulant use disorder delivered at two sites: the Street Health Centre and Providence Care’s Recovery College. The program combines contingency management with wrap-around supports; participants complete an RN intake (history, needs, motivational interview), then attend sessions that include drop-in time with healthy meals and access to counseling, occupational therapy, nursing, and peer support, followed by group programming (e.g., managing emotions, grief, healthy relationships, coping skills, yoga/meditation, art).
22 | SYDENHAM HIGH SCHOOL
Eagle's Nest | $6,096.98
Sydenham High School seeks to purchase an industrial washer and dryer for the Eagle’s Nest, Sydenham High School’s Hospitality & Tourism program, to support daily operations of the program and related school activities. The equipment will be used every day to clean kitchen rags and student uniforms, supporting food safety and consistent participation by approximately 80 student kitchen workers per day; service other programs and needs across the school, including welding, sports teams, social workers, and student services; and will enable the launch of a free clothing/essentials outlet by ensuring donations are washed and ready for distribution, reducing stigma and improving dignity for students accessing support.
23 | VICTIM SERVICES OF KINGSTON AND FRONTENAC
EMBER: Indigenous Day of Learning and Healing | $22,500.00
Victim Services of Kingston and Frontenac proposes a full-day, Indigenous-led learning event followed by construction of a Sweat Lodge at Riverview Barn & Forest. The Day of Learning will include opening ceremony (smudge, sacred fire), a Blanket Ceremony, traditional lunch, and hands-on workshops (e.g., sweetgrass braiding, tobacco wrapping, guided forest walk focused on land-based healing). A separate follow-up phase will build a permanent Sweat Lodge on site for ongoing ceremony and survivor healing, with an opening planned for September 2026.
About the Community Grants Program
The Community Grants Program is the Community Foundation’s longest standing granting program, supporting local initiatives that strengthen communities across Kingston & Area since 1995. Grants are made possible through the generosity of donors, who have established 54 endowment funds to support granting, with funding decisions made through a community-based, volunteer review process.
About the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area:
Established in 1995, the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area is a catalyst for impact by transforming lives through connecting people, ideas, and resources to build a more resilient community. The Foundation manages over 240 invested charitable funds and has distributed more than $15 million in grants to support impactful community projects.
Learn more at www.cfka.org.
Media Contact:
Adam Walker (he/him)
Marketing & Communications Officer
Community Foundation for Kingston & Area
613.549.9696 ext. 109 | communications@cfka.org
