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Background
Communities with populations of less than 20,000 people receive a significant share of OTF grants each year. In fact, more than half of OTF’s annual investments in communities benefit small towns across Ontario.
Grants to small towns cut across the Foundation’s four priorities, the four sectors we fund, and the three types of grants we provide. In many cases, OTF is one of the few funders available to voluntary organizations in small communities. For these reasons, small communities are good representatives of the work OTF does, and make good subjects with which to evaluate the impact of our grants.
Method
To ensure the reliability of our findings, great care was taken in selecting the small towns and the key interviewees to include in our research. Six small towns representing all regions of Ontario were selected: Goderich (West), Haliburton (Central), Hawkesbury (East), Kapuskasing (Northeast), Kenora (Northwest), and Port Colborne (Southcentral).
In total, 104 interviews were conducted with a broad sample of grantees, beneficiaries of grants, key informants and OTF staff and volunteers within the six towns shown in the map below.
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