For more than 25 years, the Ontario Trillium Foundation has been strengthening communities across Ontario. Celebrating our silver anniversary is about acknowledging the significant contributions that volunteers and staff from not-for-profit and community organizations make in building healthy and vibrant communities.
We are marking this significant milestone in our grantmaking history in many ways. These include special activities to celebrate the achievements of Ontario’s volunteers, provide learning opportunities for volunteers and staff, study the impact that our grants have had and identify areas to improve our grantmaking.
Recognizing Great Grants
This fall, we’ll celebrate our remarkable grantees. Special events will be held in all of our 16 catchment areas to recognize the significant difference that our grantees have made in strengthening their communities. Almost 100 Great Grants Awards will be presented to Community grantees who have achieved success and sustainability with the help of a Foundation grant. Grant Review Team members and OTF staff, both current and alumnae, along with community representatives will be invited to join us in celebrating these great grants. Our Strengthening Communities for 25 Years events will salute the contributions of organizations and their volunteers and commemorate our 25-year history.
Opportunities for Learning
At the same time, in the 16 locations, we will convene important learning opportunities. Participants from local, not-for-profit and community organizations will be invited to attend workshops that focus on advancing leadership, sharing best practices and retaining and recruiting volunteers.
OTF History through Photography
Photosensitive, a volunteer collective of professional and amateur photographers will help us focus on the impact of our 25 years of grantmaking. The organization, renowned for its ability to bring stories to life, is engaging young amateur photographers from across Ontario, to capture our grantee stories using stunning black and white photos and images. Our pictorial history will be promoted in a booklet, and in shows and displays throughout Ontario. Participants at our 16 regional events will be given a sneak preview of Photosensitive's work before our November anniversary celebration in Toronto.
25th Anniversary Celebration
On November 1st at the MaRS Centre in Toronto, we’ll be celebrating our 25th with the brightest and the best of the great grants that are being recognized in our 16 catchment areas. A total of 25 awards including a Minister’s Award and an OTF Chair’s Award will be announced to acknowledge the remarkable achievements of our grantees. Special guests will include OTF grantees, other funders, and former and current Board and Grant Review Team members. The celebration will feature a gallery of photos by Photosensitive depicting the results of 25 years of successful grantmaking. The anniversary celebration kicks off the Foundation’s bi-annual conference for staff and volunteers.
OTF Conference
We are also planning something special for our 25th anniversary at our fall bi-annual conference. The two-day conference for our volunteers and staff begins on November 2nd. It will offer a learning venue for us to rekindle a common understanding of our vision, mission and values. We will learn more about the business of grantmaking and how we can strengthen it. Together, we will prepare for the new challenges the future will surely bring and plan on how best to meet them.
Studying Impact
Additional learnings will be achieved as a result of special research projects that we have underway.
• Our Small Towns – Big Impact project uses videography as a medium, to document discussions and interviews in six small Ontario communities: Goderich, Haliburton, Hawkesbury, Kapuskasing, Kenora and Port Colborne. Local voices and human stories are being recorded, telling us about the impact that OTF grants have had on the people and community organizations in these parts of the province.
• As one of Ontario’s largest funders of the not-for-profit environmental sector, we’ve also chosen our 25th anniversary to conduct another important study. The research will help us measure the impact that OTF grants have had on that sector since 2001. We will use the results of this study to enhance the effectiveness of our grants in community environmental projects.
OTF’s Newsletter
OTF News that connects staff, GRT members, volunteers and others has a new look and format for our quarter-century year. It continues to be filled with stories highlighting the achievements of Ontario’s not-for-profit and community organizations and the latest news about happenings at the Foundation. Our new eco-friendly version will now come straight to your e-mail box, with a more dynamic look that’s both Web-interactive and supports our ongoing efforts to use less paper.
Anniversary Logo
Our new anniversary wordmark and tagline “Strengthening Communities” is another way that we are promoting an increase in awareness about what the Foundation is all about. This year you can see our new look in all of our print materials and throughout our website.
For more than 25 years, OTF has been making brighter futures for millions in Ontario with the support of Ontario’s volunteers and community organizations. Our special silver anniversary activities recognize the incredible spirit of volunteers who demonstrate what their initiative, commitment and caring can accomplish every day. The Foundation plans to be here for the next 25 years, better, stronger and more engaged with Ontario communities than ever.