How it works

The Local Poverty Reduction Fund provides funding to organizations and communities to:

  • support and evaluate their poverty reduction initiatives
  • create partnerships
  • build a body of evidence of programs that work for Ontarians living in poverty

By supporting projects in communities across the province, Ontario will harness innovative ideas – rooted in evidence – from local, community-based approaches and establish new ways of tackling poverty.

Using the evidence gathered from these projects, the government will apply best practices across the province and focus on funding programs that are proven to work and that can expand over time.

Recipients

See the organizations, projects and communities that have received funding so far:

Ontario has invested over $45.4 million into 119 projects in more than 48 communities across the province that focus on:

  • breaking the cycle of poverty for children and youth
  • employment and income security for people in, or at risk of, poverty
  • preventing and reducing homelessness
  • projects within Indigenous communities and Indigenous-led organizations both on and off-reserve

How applications are reviewed

Project proposals are rigorously reviewed by representatives from provincial ministries. The merit of each application is weighed against the criteria set out in the application guidelines.

Efforts are made to select projects from across Ontario to represent the province’s diversity.

Proposals are presented to the minister responsible for the Poverty Reduction Strategy for decision.

Proposals from Indigenous communities and Indigenous-led organizations are also reviewed for advice and comment by three special advisors to bring Indigenous perspectives and voices into the decision making process.

These advisors were recommended to the minister by various sources and are familiar with Indigenous communities and culturally specific approaches to evaluation.