Community organizations receive funding from Community Benefits Plan

Ontario Construction News staff writer

The Gordie Howe International Bridge team announced today that 14 organizations will receive $200,000 (CDN) in funding through the Community Benefits Plan.

The funding offers grants up to $25,000 (CDN) to organizations serving Sandwich/west Windsor and Delray/Southwest Detroit. Seven organizations from Windsor and seven from Detroit were selected following an application process, marking the fourth annual funding release of this five-year initiative.

“Local community organizations are working day in and day out to build stronger and healthier neighbourhoods in West Windsor. The community benefits plan is supporting their vital work and boosting their ability to serve residents in our community,” said Windsor-Tecumseh Irek Kusmierczyk.

This year’s recipients will deliver the funded projects between July 2023 and June 2024.

They include:

• Journey Home Hospice Windsor, Saint Elizabeth Foundation
• Alzheimer Society of Windsor and Essex County: Bridging the Gap:
• Windsor/Essex County Humane Society: spaying and neutering community cats in Sandwich
• Border City Athletics Club: Women Can Summit
• John McGivney Children’s Centre: rainbow paintings on pavement

US Initiatives

• Community Health and Social Services (CHASS): CHASS mercado summer program
• Capturing Belief: the Southwest Detroit Portrait Studio
• Trinity St. Mark’s Pantry and Gardens: food for unhomed individuals
• Mexican Patriotic Committee of Metro Detroit: Cinco de Mayo parade and fiesta
• Hispanic Police Officers’ Association of Michigan-Detroit Chapter: grants for youth sports in Southwest Detroit
• Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition: Delray-Southwest engagement and family days
• Clark Park Coalition: summer program kickoff and winter carnival

This year’s available funding increased from $100,000 (CDN) to $200,000 (CDN), based on a demonstrated need for additional funds in the initiative’s previous three years. To date, $500,000 has been invested in events, programming and infrastructure improvements. All funding recipients and their initiatives align with priorities identified during public consultation including community partnerships, community safety and connections, aesthetics and landscaping and economic benefits.

“Bridging North America would like to congratulate the recipients of this year’s Community Organization Investment funding,” said Michael Hatchell, CEO Bridging North America. “This yearly initiative is very important as it allows smaller groups to receive funding for grassroots activities and programs. We look forward to seeing the impact it will have in both communities.”

The application process for this year’s initiative ran from November 2022 through January 2023 and resulted in 36 eligible submissions. The project’s Local Community Group, comprised of stakeholders from the host communities, played a significant role in reviewing the applications and providing recommendations to the project team.

As part of this initiative, community organizations can apply annually for funding for events, programming and infrastructure improvements in amounts ranging from $1,000 – $25,000. The application process for the 2024 funding cycle is anticipated to open in November 2023.