Community Investment Fund

From our hundreds of hours both leading and being active members of local committees, such as the Regional Emergency Strategic Response Council, Vibrant Communities Pillars, and the Housing and Homelessness Working Group, we have a deep understanding of not only the issues impacting our local communities, but also what current services exist and what gaps need to be addressed.

 As the demand for services continues to increase with the impact of the current high cost of living, we made the difficult and necessary decision to change our own funding model within the Community Investment Fund to ensure that we were funding both the breadth and depth of need across our entire region. This new model is based on years of local research, community investment trends, data, and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion frameworks for anti-colonial and culturally safe outcomes.

 With this change, we aimed to create a more inclusive and level playing field—one that welcomes both long-standing partners and new and emerging organizations whose work aligns with our strategic priorities and vision for community impact.

For many years, we have provided yearly funding to local agencies and programs making an impact under one of our three focus areas: All that Kids Can Be, From Poverty to Possibility, and Building Strong and Healthy Communities. This meant that local organizations would have to apply each year for program funding that was never guaranteed for the next year. Through extensive review, we realized that this was not sustainable for the United Way or the partnering agencies.

 To encourage organizations that are looking to expand their core mandate the meet the more complex demands of their clients, we have moved towards a two-year funding cycle for new/expanded programs and emerging grassroots organizations that are addressing gaps of service and meeting current community needs. Two-year terms allow programs sufficient time to develop, implement, review outcomes, find sustainable funding sources and demonstrate impact.

After the two-year funding cycle is complete, agencies are invited to apply again to either expand the previously funded program or for a new initiative.

Yes. We communicated this shift three years in advance to give previously funded agencies ample time to plan for alternative funding or to develop new projects aligned with the updated model. 2024 was a transitional year where we had invited organizations to apply with new and expanded programs for two years while also offering organizations with legacy programs the opportunity to apply for a final year of sustainability funding.

Every year, we face tough decisions. The need is always greater than our available resources — and that’s a painful reality for us and for agencies doing critical work. In 2025, we received three times the funding requests than we allocated to our Community Investment Fund.

To ensure the process is transparent, fair and rooted in local reality, the United Way Centraide SDG invites community volunteers to form the Community Investment Committee. This group reviews, scores, and votes on proposed programs based on strategic priorities, impact potential, accessibility, and regional needs. United Way staff do not have a vote when it comes to funding allocation proposals. Staff are present to provide context, research, data, results from previous funding final reports, and their own perspectives. The final funding approval is made by the United Way Centraide SDG Board of Directors that is composed of local volunteers.

All funded programs must fall under one of United Way’s focus areas: All That Kids Can Be, From Poverty to Possibility, and Healthy People, Stronger Communities. This is the foundation for community investment strategies for all United Ways across Canada.

To localize these focus areas, within the United Way Centraide SDG 2024-2027 Strategic Plan, we developed strategic priorities shaped by the direct response of people who work in the local non-profit sector, donors, government representatives and local businesses.

Our Community Investment strategies are also informed by the local Vibrant Communities research and ongoing analysis of needs across our entire region—developed and led by the Social Development Council of Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry, Cornwall and Akwesasne.

The top three areas of focus in which United Way should invest, to make the most strategic local investments, in order of priority, are: Mental Health, Health Services, and Poverty. The top actionable item under each of these priorities is to create adequate housing for all, followed closely by providing basic needs, such as food.

Based on this research, we have continued to invest the largest portion of our funds into Housing & Poverty focused programs followed closely by Mental Health and Food Security. Here is the 2025/26 breakdown:

• Housing & Poverty (42%)
• Mental Health (37%)
• Food Security (20%)

We offer seed funding and a two-year funding cycle to help grassroots organizations working with systemically excluded communities gain initial financial stability and scale promising programs that address unmet community needs.

Through this new application process, we are proud to fund nine programs. Six of these programs are new to the United Way Community Investment Fund. This includes three organizations receiving funding for the first time in years or ever through this grant – TAO Tel-Aide, ACFO-SDG, and Laurencrest Youth Services Inc. – as well as three returning agencies who applied with new and innovative project proposals. In addition, we renewed support for 211 Ontario, House of Lazarus, and the second year of Agape’s Everyone Eats program.

 A couple of longtime partners chose not to reapply because their current programs did not fit the new funding criteria. Others applied with new proposals but were not successful in securing funding for this cycle.

While the focus of this funding round was to support new or expanded initiatives, exceptions were made in cases where the program clearly fills a critical gap in services not addressed elsewhere. This was the case for House of Lazarus’ Community Hub and Warming Centre, the only rural initiative of its kind offering comprehensive support for people experiencing housing precarity and homelessness. Similarly, 211 Ontario continues to be the sole large-scale community navigation service in SDGCA, providing vital information and referrals to residents across the region.

Agencies not funded this year are encouraged to reapply in future cycles or to reach out for support in finding alternative funding sources.