Overview

The Sowing the Seeds of Wellness Initiative (the Initiative) provides funding to national or Ontario provincial level farm organizations, agricultural commodity groups and/or affiliated groups to promote a suite of mental health programs and resources that are specifically designed to support Ontario farmers and their family members.

Funding for the Initiative comes from the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), a five-year (2023-2028) investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments. Up to $700,000 has been allocated for the Initiative.

Disclaimer

In the event of conflict between the information on this page, the Sowing the Seeds of Wellness Initiative guidelines (PDF), the application terms and conditions, and the agreement entered in between the successful applicant and the Province of Ontario, the guidelines will prevail.

Important dates

Application intake is open from November 15, 2023, to December 31, 2024.

The deadline to apply is December 31, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. ET, or when available funding is fully committed — whichever comes first.

Eligibility

Refer to the Initiative guidelines (PDF) for detailed requirements.

Applicants

You must be 1 of the following:

  • a national or Ontario provincial level farm organization
  • an agricultural commodity group and/or affiliated group

Examples: Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Egg Farmers of Canada, Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association.

Projects

Projects may include:

  • displaying and distributing free promotional material kits of existing mental health programs and resources
  • developing or customizing topic-specific mental health promotional materials
  • hiring a speaker or facilitator for a primarily members-only event who is identified by the recipient as a qualified advocate for mental health

Funding

You could get up to 100% of eligible project costs up to a maximum of $10,000 per project.

Applications for project requests over $10,000 will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The maximum amount you may receive is $25,000.

How to apply

  1. Download and read the Initiative guidelines (PDF).
  2. Download and complete the application form (PDF).
  3. Gather the required documents.
  4. Submit the application and required documents to SustainableCAP2@ontario.ca.

Required documents

In addition to your application form, you must provide quotes in writing from the individual(s) or business(es) you are hiring, detailing the proposed eligible costs for the project. The people or businesses you hire must be independent from your organization.

After you apply

After you submit your application, we will send you an acknowledgement email within 5 business days.

If your application is missing any information, we will not assess it and you will be notified via email. You will be required to submit a new application that has complete information.

Complete applications will be assessed against eligibility and merit criteria.

Selection process

Ministry staff will review the completed application forms to determine if you are eligible to participate in the Initiative.

Applications will then be evaluated based on the eligibility of activities proposed.

If you are not approved

We will email you about the decision and you will be able to request a debrief from ministry staff.

If you are approved

We will email you about the decision. We will also send you an approval letter by mail.

You will need to meet several obligations including:

  • signing the approval letter
  • getting insurance
  • registering with Transfer Payment Ontario
  • registering with Supply Ontario (to receive payments)
  • submitting a final claim and final report

Refer to Initiative guidelines for detailed instructions.