The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group (The Commonwell), a Canadian mutual insurer and ICMIF member, has announced it will provide CAD 400,000 in community funding across Ontario in 2025. The Commonwell says this is in response to the financial challenges many people and organisations are facing and it wants to step up to provide financial support for local charities and community organisations that are seeing gaps in funding and donations.

Through its Learning and Engagement Accelerator Fund (L.E.A.F.), The Commonwell will award grants ranging from CAD 10,000 to CAD 50,000 to local initiatives that strengthen learning, education, and community engagement. This marks the fifth year of the programme, which has already supported 54 projects with a total of CAD 2.2 million since its launch in 2021. Ontario communities throughout ‘Commonwell Country’ now have the green light to apply for grants to fund community programming and infrastructure programmes on the local level. A total of CAD 400,000 will be awarded in 2025, matching last year’s record-breaking amount given in grants.

The fund is designed to back “hyper-local” projects in small towns and rural areas within The Commonwell’s operating region of Ontario—supporting schools, libraries, community centres and other spaces where people come together to learn and connect. Eligible projects must have a goal related to creating learning and engagement opportunities in their community and focus on building strong communities for the future.

“L.E.A.F. was created to support the underfunded but impactful, hyper-local educational programmes across Ontario,” said Tim Shauf, President and CEO of The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group. “Recent years have posed significant challenges for many communities but, these same communities are demonstrating remarkable adaptability, generating new ideas, and collaborating effectively. We aim to accelerate this progress by investing in it. Through L.E.A.F., we invite every community in Ontario to apply for grants that support the introduction of new programmes or the enhancement of community facilities where residents learn, play, engage, and gather. Any project that builds capacity and resilience will be considered.”

What’s next?

For communities to earn their share of the fund, residents can nominate an eligible project through the submission portal. Once projects have been submitted, The Commonwell will be looking to those communities to rally support for the project by commenting and sharing photos on the project’s page at thecommonwell.ca/leaf. Community engagement will be a factor in deciding the winning proposals.

Applications for 2025 funding are open until 7 November 2025, with successful projects to be announced in December.