Funding Opportunities
Toronto Foundation makes grants in three ways:
- Donor Advised Grants: Toronto Foundation fundholders grant from donor advised funds they’ve established with us
- Core Grants: Grants from our discretionary funds guided by community needs and opportunities and Toronto’s Vital Signs Report research
- Responsive Grants: Occasionally we administer national grant programs locally to communities, in partnership with Community Foundations of Canada and other pooled funders
To receive alerts about funding opportunities, join our mailing list:
The amount of Toronto Foundation’s discretionary funding available centrally varies from year to year. Signature programs include Toronto’s Vital Signs Grants.
In 2025, together with our fundholders, Toronto Foundation made 2,616 grants to 1,189 charities, totalling $37.7 million.
Please note: We do not review unsolicited funding requests. To find opportunities that might align with your work, please take a moment to review our grant programs. If you have questions after reading the program details, please reach out to grants@torontofoundation.ca.
Core Grants
Toronto's Vital Signs
Investing in community organizations that build up connections and trust across differences.
Applications for 2026 are closed
We also make social impact investments. Learn more about becoming an investee here.
Responsive Grants
Occasionally, responsive funding programs do come up – often in partnership with other organizations. COVID-19 prompted many funding opportunities.
Below are links to past responsive grants we’ve administered, many in partnership with our umbrella organization, Community Foundations of Canada. Funding criteria for these programs are often pre-established and we administer the program locally.
Grant cycle
Application opens
Our grant streams are typically open for at least 3 weeks
Office
hours
Optional virtual sessions to ask questions about the application
Application closes
Applicants can be submitted in written, oral/ASL or video formats through the portal
Review
period
Applications are reviewed over 12 weeks
Applicants notified
All applicants are notified by email if they are successful
Funding disbursed
Funding is disbursed within one month receiving agreement and payment details
Project complete
Typically one year from fund distribution, depending on the grant
Note: This is the typical cycle for Toronto Foundation's signature grant streams. Variations may occur when we partner with others.
Who we can grant to
Toronto Foundation is a public foundation. As a result, Toronto Foundation can only make grants to registered charities and other qualified donees recognized by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Click here to see what constitutes a qualified donee. In some grant streams, we fund charities partnering with grassroots groups, and may also fund non-qualified donees directly. Please refer to each opportunity for specific eligibility requirements.
To see examples of organizations we’ve funded, explore our database of past grantees.