Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Community Living Quinte West (CLQW)

Community Living Quinte West (CLQW) is a membership-based, registered charitable organization that has been active since 1959 in the Quinte West area of Ontario. Its primary mandate is to support individuals with intellectual disabilities to live, work and participate as valued members of the community. The agency delivers a range of developmental services, including supported living homes, supported independent living, transitional aged youth services and the Club Unity day program. In addition to these service-based supports, CLQW is associated with at least one bursary initiative, the Anne Stafford Bursary, which represents a form of targeted financial assistance to eligible individuals.

CLQW operates several supported living homes, a Supported Independent Living Program, a Transitional Aged Youth Program and Club Unity, which offers structured educational and recreational activities. Family Supports focus on youth aged 14–21, helping families and young people build life skills and prepare for transition from high school into the community.

The organization also promotes and helps administer bursary opportunities such as the Anne Stafford Bursary, highlighted in its news section. While the site excerpt does not detail eligibility or amounts, the use of the term “bursary” indicates the provision of financial support, typically for education or personal development related to people with intellectual disabilities or their supporters.

CLQW grew out of a parent-led movement in the late 1950s and has operated under several names that reflect evolving attitudes toward disability and inclusion. Over decades it has shifted from segregated models such as sheltered workshops to community-based supports emphasizing life skills, inclusion and person-directed services. The agency receives core funding from the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services and supplements this through fundraising and donations, which in turn support its programs and occasional bursary or scholarship initiatives.

The main beneficiaries of CLQW’s work are adults and youth with intellectual disabilities and their families in Trenton, Quinte West and surrounding areas. The organization provides both direct supports and navigation assistance, for example by guiding families through Developmental Services Ontario’s application and access processes. Through its programs, community partnerships and bursary activities, CLQW helps reduce barriers to participation, promotes inclusion and contributes modest but meaningful financial support where bursary criteria are met.

CLQW is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors drawn from the local community, which provides strategic direction and oversight. The agency publishes annual reports, maintains guiding statements and strategic priorities, and complies with Ontario’s multi-year accessibility planning requirements. It also participates in regional networks such as the Hastings & Prince Edward Developmental Services Agencies Focus Group and maintains ties with educational institutions, reinforcing its role as a trusted community-based provider that can responsibly manage service funding and targeted bursaries.