Earlier this year, the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes (United Way CKL) received a $78,100 Resilient Communities Fund grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) that it’s used to hire a project manager, a summer student, and a strategic planning consultant to help rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. The project is underway and will allow United Way CKL to prepare for change.

“The pandemic has had a significant impact on local non-profit organizations and how they deliver services to our community members,” said Laurie Scott, MPP for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock. “This funding will help United Way CKL recover and adapt to the emerging needs of the community by building their organizational capacity and ability to deliver programs and services.”

In addition to the strategic planning process, United Way CKL will also be able to equip board members and employees with the supports to implement new approaches, improve and increase access to financial resources and develop new sources of revenue. With this grant, United Way CKL will be able to adapt the organization’s ability to respond to emerging needs in the community.

“The impact of this Ontario Trillium Foundation grant cannot be underestimated,” said Duncan Gallacher, Board Chair of the United Way CKL. “This grant has started our pandemic recovery process and we look forward to working with the strategic planning consultant to create a plan that will help us rebuild and strengthen our organization’s ability to respond to emerging needs.”

The United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes is committed to improving lives in the City of Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton County by engaging people and working together. For more information on how the United Way is helping our community, please visit www.ckl-unitedway.ca.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is an agency of the Government of Ontario and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations. Last year, nearly $112M was invested into 1,384 community projects and partnerships to build healthy and vibrant communities and strengthen the impact of Ontario’s non-profit sector. In 2020/21, OTF supported Ontario’s economic recovery by helping non-profit organizations rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. Visit otf.ca to learn more.