Planting the Seeds for Growth: Why the OTF Seed Grant Could Be the Perfect Fit for Your Organization

If you’re an Ontario-based nonprofit with big ideas and limited capacity, this could be the golden ticket to deepening your impact. 

The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) Seed Grant opens on July 23rd and is one of the most flexible and capacity-focused funding streams available to nonprofit organizations in Ontario.

Here’s everything you need to know about this funding opportunity – and how to tell if it’s right for your organization.

What is the OTF Seed Grant?

The OTF Seed Grant helps organizations build resilience through strengthening internal capacity and enhancing their ability to deliver programs and services that provide a direct benefit to the communities they serve.

It’s not about scaling something that’s already proven. It’s about taking a risk on something that has potential to address a community need. Or investing in the back-end work that makes long-term impact possible.

Seed Grants are especially useful for projects focusing on:

• Piloting a new program or service
• Strategic or operational planning
• Building organizational capacity through investments in technology or skill development
• Laying the groundwork to deliver future programs and services

In other words: it’s a chance to strengthen your organization from the inside out.

Key Dates & Details

• Applications open July 23, 2025 and close August 20, 2025 at 5:00pm ET
• Project Term: 6 or 12 months
• Grant Size: $10,000 - $100,000

You’ll need a solid idea and a clear sense of the impact your project will have on the community you serve.

Is This a Fit for You?

The OTF Seed grant isn’t just for brand-new organizations or startups. It’s for any Ontario-based charity looking to grow intentionally and plan for the future – especially if you’re:

• Exploring a new program or service model
• Playing catch-up on strategy and planning
• Working to improve internal systems (hello, donor database!)
• Ready to test something small before scaling

If you’ve ever said, “This is exactly what our organization needs to grow -  if only we had the time or budget to plan it properly” ... this is your chance.

Need Help with the Application?

At The Fundraising Lab, we’ve supported dozens of successful OTF applications, and we’re currently booking a few more clients for full Seed Grant support this summer.

We’ll guide you through the full process: from shaping your idea to writing a strong, funder-friendly proposal that reflects your voice and mission.

If you’re already a Fundraising Lab grant writing client, don’t worry – we've go you covered.

But if you’re new to us and want hands-on support to get your application across the finish line, get in touch now before our calendar fills up.

The OTF Seed Grant is one of the few public funding opportunities that values experimentation, planning, and infrastructure building, not just program delivery.

If you’ve got an idea that needs room to grow, this could be the opportunity you've been waiting for.

Let’s make it count.