Community Planting and Stewardship Grant

• Declaration of Compliance with the City's Anti-Harassment/Discrimination Policy
• Conflict of Interest Declaration
• Certificate of Insurance (before funds are released)
• Audited Financial Statements for 2 years (before funds are released)

Who is eligible?

• Incorporated not-for-profit corporations without share capital.
• Charitable organizations.
• Foundations registered as a charity with the Canada Revenue Agency.

Who is not eligible

• Grant-making or third-party fundraising organizations.
• Landlord/tenant and condominium corporations.
• Individuals or for-profit business ventures.
• Political or lobby groups.
• Groups eligible for the Greening Partnership Grant, any group currently in litigation with the City of Toronto, previously funded groups that failed to meet past grant terms or have outstanding requirements, and previously funded groups that have received over $1 million in funding from the City of Toronto for related activities.

Eligible expenses

• Direct costs to run or deliver a project that are reasonable and necessary.
• Internal or external salaries and other people-costs.
• Overhead and administrative costs.

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Purchase, care or maintenance of herbaceous plant material.
• Purchase, care or maintenance of invasive species or other species prohibited by the City.
• Purchase of low-growing shrub material with a mature height under three feet without prior written approval of the City.
• Requests for core operating funding.
• Fees and/or expenses for memberships, courses and conferences; travel, personal vehicles and parking that are excessive or unrelated to the project; taxes such as GST and HST for which the recipient is eligible for a tax rebate and all other costs eligible for rebates; contingency costs; capital costs or infrastructure; and other costs deemed ineligible by the City, including summer camps, land purchase, advocacy expenses, fundraising activities, endowments or endowment building, scholarships, grants or bursaries, awards and prizes, and alcohol purchase.

• Concept: the project must closely align with the stated purpose of the grant.
• Feasibility: the application should demonstrate the applicant’s experience and capacity to complete the project and maintain the trees over the long term, with a feasible process and clear deliverables and timelines.
• Budget: project costs should be reasonable and show how the 1:1 matching funding requirement will be met or exceeded.
• Impact: the application should demonstrate how the project will increase tree canopy cover through planting, stewardship and/or outreach and engagement.
• Additional assessment considerations may include geographic representation across the City of Toronto, low-canopy or high-need locations, maintenance plans, environmental impact, community impact and equity benefits, and maximizing canopy within available planting space; use of Toronto’s Tree Equity Score Analyzer (TESA) is encouraged but not mandatory.

• Submit the application online through the Toronto Grants, Rebates and Incentives Portal (TGRIP).
• Allow time to create an account and organizational profile if you are new to the portal.
• Submit by 4 pm on August 13, 2026.

• Applications are reviewed for completeness and for alignment with the grant guidelines and assessment criteria.
• The City will contact applicants to say whether the application requires revisions, is declined, or will proceed to full review.
• Applications are assessed by a grant review panel of City staff and external members with relevant expertise and experience, which makes recommendations on which projects should be considered for funding and in what amounts.
• Successful applicants must sign a Letter of Understanding with the City of Toronto.
• Grant recipients must submit progress reports through the Toronto Grants, Rebates and Incentives Portal, including an interim report in the middle of the calendar year and a final report at the end of the project.

• A recording of the 2026 Urban Forestry Community Grants information session is available.
• Accessibility support is available, including alternative formats and off-hours meetings.
• Prospective applicants can contact forestrygrants@toronto.ca for help determining eligibility or for questions, comments, or complaints about the program.