L.E.A.F. 2025

Support capacity, resiliency and growth in the communities we call home

About The Commonwell

How it Works

L.E.A.F. is back in 2025 awarding $400,000 in grants for community projects that support learning, resiliency, growth and capacity improvements for our communities to thrive in the long-term.

Submit a Project

Get started and we’ll guide you through each step to help ensure you include everything required. Submissions are open from September 8th-November 7th, 2025.

  • Have all your project details ready
  • Highlight community impact
  • Tell us about your project

Support a Project

Get started and we’ll guide you through each step to help ensure you include everything required. Community support closes November 14th, 2025.

  • Leave a comment
  • Add a story or image
  • Share on your socials

past recipients

Commonwell L.E.A.F. Grant Recipients

The Commonwell is proud to have supported 53 community projects so far! Explore past grant recipients and see how communities across Ontario have brought meaningful projects to life. Each one has helped spark local connection, growth, and resiliency.

STEM Explorers

1924 Pitt Street / Cornwall / K6H 5H3

Design for Agro

12835 County Road 43 | RR #3 / Chesterville / K0C 1H0

Let's Meet at the Library: a Community Gathering Space in Portland

24 Water Street / Portland / K0G 1V0

Kitchen Revitalization at Gateway Community Health Centre

41 McClellan Street / Tweed / K0K3J0

Getting Food to Kids – the need for healthy food and rural accessibility in Muskoka

20 Northland Lane, Unit #1 / Huntsville, Ontario / P1H 1M4

CS8 Memorial Outdoor Rink

185 Wellington Street / Mitchell / N0K 1N0

Reconstruction of the Severn Bridge Fairgrounds Horse Ring Fence

1153 Southwood Rd / Severn Bridge / P0E1N0

Making Volunteer Connections

175 George Street North / Peterborough / K9J 3G6

Playground Revitalization

9320 Burwash Road / Baltimore / K0K 1C0

Thrive Together: A Wellness & Empowerment Series - Addressing Volunteer Challenges and Strengthening Community Engagement

102-17 Colborne Street East / Orillia / L3V1T4

Miles of Smiles Van Campaign

1-305 Col. Phillips Dr / Shelburne / L9V 3X7

The Sundridge-Strong Public Library’s Technology & Makerspace Revitalization

110 Main Street - Box 429 / Sundridge / P0A 1Z0

BGC Kawarthas "Let's Get Physical" Space Renewal

107 Lindsay Street South / Kawartha Lakes / K9V 2M5

Revitalizing Accessibility

852 Melrose Rd RR 1 / Shannonville / K0K 3A0

McKellar Public Library Revitatlization - "Creating Our Future Together"

701 Highway 124 / McKellar / P0G 1C0

Cranbrook Community Centre Revival

84335 McNabb Line / Huron East BRUSSELS / N0G 1H0

Tech-Forward Learning

237 Victoria Street / Pembroke, ON / K8A 4K5

Outfitting the Falls Food Hub Kitchen

41 Chambers St. / Smiths Falls / K7A 2Y3

Expanding Horizons: Enhancing STEM Education at the Lanark Highlands Public Library

75 George Street / Lanark / K0G 1K0

Project SSEED - Severn Sound Engagement and Education

489 Finlayson St / Port McNicoll / l0k 1r0

Youth & Alumni Mentorship program

31 King Street / Picton / K0K 2T0

Ginawaydaganuc Academy: Building Regenerative Futures

920 Bellamy Mills Rd / Almonte / K0A1A0

Kids Feeding Kids

76 First St, Collingwood, ON L9Y 1A2 / Collingwood / L9Y 1A2

Kearney & Area Public Library new computers project

8 Main Street, Box 220 / Kearney / P0A 1M0

FLEXspace for the Deseronto Public Library

358 Main Street / Deseronto / K0K 1X0

Bonnechere Union Public Library Post-Pandemic Technology Revitalization

74 Maple Street / Eganville / K0J 1T0

Stirling-Rawdon Public Library Makerspace

43 West Front St. / Stirling, ON / K0K 3EO

Reigniting Community Learning through Revitalizing The West Schoolhouse!

6788 County Road 30 / Campbellford, ON / K0L 1L0

Milverton All Wheels Park Project

40 Temperance St. / Milverton, ON / N0K 1M0

Wellness Workshop Series

101 THIRD ST W / Cornwall / K6J 2N9

Community Capacity Building for Food Security in Innisfil

2101 Innisfil Beach Road / Innisfil / L9S 1A1

Loving Spoonful's Community Harvest Food Forest

263 Weller Ave, Unit 4 / Kingston / K7K 2V4

Alexandria Skate Park Expansion

102 Derby Street West / Alexandria / K0C1A0

Avonmore Community Park Concrete Pad

16315 Augustas St / Avonmore / K0C1C0

Revitalization of Woodville/Eldon Community Centre

18 King St. / Woodville / K0M 2T0

A Community Hub/Young Adult Centre and Affordable Housing for Gravenhurst

325 Muskoka Rd. South / Gravenhurst / P1P 1J4

Glen Walter Regional Park Tennis Court Resurfacing

Glen Walter Park Road / Glen Walter / K6H5R5

The Drop

24 Mary Street / Parry Sound / P2A 1C9

Refreshing the Technology Centre at the Whitestone Public Library

2206 HWY 124 / Dunchurch / P0A 1P0

PSPL Kids' Portal: Escape into Knowledge

29 Mary Street / Parry Sound / P2A 1E3

Kars Community Rink Improvement

1604 Old Wellington Street / Kars / K0A 2E0

The Sharing Place Meals 4 Change Community Kitchen

95 Dufferin St. / Orillia / L3V 5S9

The Library: A Place for YOUth

208 Main Street / Picton / K0K2T0

Richmond Legacy Pavilion

P.O. Box 1312 3441 Mcbean Street / Richmond / K0A 2Z0

' The Completion of the Tatlock Hall "Field of Dreams" '

696 Concession 7 Darling , Clayton, On (Mailing Address); Lanark Highlands (GPS) / Tatlock / K0A 1P0

The South Lanark Community Garden Off Grid Greenhouse, Solar, Water Reservoir Project

2208 Highway 511 / Lanark / K0G 1K0

The TRACKS tipi - A space where Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth build relationships

2505 Pioneer Rd. / Peterborough / K9J 6Y1

Bridging the Digital Divide in Rural Cramahe Township

PO Box 190, 6 King Street West / Colborne / K0K 1S0

Killaloe Pathways Park

86 Queen Street / Killaloe / K0J 2A0

Orangeville Public Library Creation Lab (makerspace)

275 Alder Street / Orangeville / L9W 5H6

Launchpad 2.0

TBD / Port Elgin / N0H 2C7

Troy Scott Community Fridge Expansion

7325 Yonge St / Innisfil / L9S 2M6

Build Back Better with Kingston Gets Active

28 Division Street / Kingston / K7L 3N6

think big!

Here are some ideas to help you get started

What facilities, community centres or education spaces could use programming or space improvements to accelerate learning and engagement in your community? Where do you need more room, more capacity, better environments? And how will you put the grant to work to grow the community resiliency that comes from learning, working and connecting together?

Skills Programming

Opportunities for skills development gives community members a jump start or a second chance. Start a coding class at local library, build a financial literacy program for kids, or support tech literacy for seniors. Think big.

Makerspaces

Funding for a maker space in your community can bring people of all ages together to create. From prototype making, STEM opportunities for youth, high and low tech activities, the opportunities here are limitless.

Teaching & Community Kitchens

Community kitchens provide an excellent place to share resources, knowledge and food skills. They can help small food businesses launch. Does your community need a new kitchen or upgrades and more capacity for an existing one?

Learning Infrastructure

Could learning infrastructure be improved in your community? Is internet accessibility limited? Funding could support projects that help bridge those gaps, by providing things like hotspot and digital device access

Computer Labs

Does your community need a new computer lab or an upgrade to an existing one? Funding could support better access, more learning opportunities or deeper connectivity.

Learning Spaces

Is there an under-utilized space in your community that can be repurposed into a teaching space? Are there opportunities to improve existing learning spaces? Funding could support accessible learning in better environments.

support a project

How To Inspire Local Support

When our communities improve, everyone wins. That’s why we know you won’t have a hard time gaining support for your project. To make it simple, we’ve created four ways your community can demonstrate that support, and each time they do, your community project page grows and your submission is strengthened!

Add a Story of Support

Would you or someone you love benefit from this new community space or proposed improvements to the existing one? Does this gathering place or community activity hold a special place in your heart? Share your connection, your memories or your hopes for a new space. Tell us what this means to you.

Add an Image

A picture is worth a thousand words. Show us what learning, playing, gathering, and connecting looks like at the community facility you’d like to support. Or show us an outcome this facility has helped achieve – for example, your harvest from a community garden.

Leave a Comment

Short and sweet does the trick too. Leave a simple comment about why you’d like to see this project earn a L.E.A.F. grant, or send a shout out to someone involved.

Share on Facebook

What better way to gain more support than by spreading the word on Facebook! Share with your friends, your neighbours, your colleagues and on community pages and in groups.