Brant opens 2026 community grants, funding reduced

Casandra Turnbull

Managing Editor

The County of Brant and the Brant Community Foundation have opened applications for the 2026 Community Grant Program, offering local non-profit groups access to roughly $135,000 in one-time funding. 

This year’s community grant funding was reduced from $350,000 in 2025 to $135,000, with $240,000 reallocated toward gender-based violence supports. In March 2024, County of Brant council approved a one-time emergency funding allocation of $266,177 to be shared among four local non-profit organizations providing services for survivors of intimate partner and gender-based violence. The funding supported counselling and frontline support positions at the Sexual Assault Centre of Brant, Victim Services of Brant, Willowbridge Community Services and Nova Vita. At its September 23, 2025 meeting, council supported the extension of the funding for another year.Applications for the Community Grant Program opened last Thursday and are available to non-profit organizations that provide benefits to residents of the County of Brant.

The program offers three funding streams: operating and event grants of up to $5,000 each, and capital project grants of up to $10,000. Applications must be submitted online by 4 p.m. on March 6.

This marks the third year the County has partnered with the Brant Community Foundation to administer the program, following a shift away from council-led grant decisions toward a formalized adjudication process.

That change has been the subject of debate over the past year, with several councillors raising concerns that smaller, volunteer-run organizations were being disadvantaged by a more technical application process, while larger, well-established groups with grant-writing experience were more likely to succeed .

Some applications in previous rounds were rejected for being incomplete or submitted late, including submissions from longstanding community groups, prompting calls for the County to revisit how grants are assessed and whether additional support should be offered to applicants unfamiliar with the process.

In September, council ultimately voted to maintain the partnership with the foundation, while introducing limited changes aimed at improving accessibility. Those included a commitment that applicants who miss minor submission requirements would be contacted before being disqualified, and the addition of clearer questions about how proposed projects benefit County residents.

The recent announcement that the grant process is open, issued through a joint press release from the County of Brant and Brant Community Foundation, reflects some of those changes will happen this year. The County says only complete applications will be reviewed but notes that applicants now have access to an online tutorial and additional support resources through the foundation.

A recorded grant application tutorial, along with program guidelines and application questions, is available on the County’s website. Applicants can also contact a grants coordinator by phone or email for assistance.

The County says it anticipates strong interest in the program and that applications will be evaluated based on the volume of submissions received.

Last year, more than 100 applications were submitted, with funding requests significantly exceeding the amount available. A total of 109 grant applications represented a total of $631,831 in funding requests. A number of those applications were deemed late, incomplete or otherwise ineligible for funding. The remaining applications underwent the Foundation’s adjudication process, resulting in the award of 75 grants, totaling $350,000.