Financial Workbook Instructions - Capital

The information on this page is updated for the Capital grant deadline of June 14, 2023.

The costs listed in the Financial Workbook should clearly align with your project activities and be reasonable to carry out. 

  • In the Financial Workbook, only include eligible project costs to be covered by OTF. 
  • Ask only for what you need, because the Ontario Trillium Foundation funds full request amounts and we want to fund as many applications as possible. 
  • Only project activities that take place in Ontario are eligible for OTF funding.

Refer to OTF’s Eligibility Policy for more information.  

How much can you apply for? 

  • Applicants can apply for grants of $10,000 to $150,000.
  • Grant term lengths can be 6 or 12 months. 

What can you apply for?

  • Construction / renovation costs: This includes materials and/or contractors
  • Equipment costs: This includes fixed and non-fixed equipment 
  • Developmental costs: Up to 20% of the total grant request can be for developmental costs associated with construction, such as the development of engineering plans, legal fees, or survey costs.

What costs are ineligible? 

If you include ineligible costs, your grant application will be declined. For a description of ineligible costs, review OTF’s Eligibility Policy.

Additional ineligible costs include:  

  • 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.
  • Costs incurred before the approval of the OTF grant.  
  • General capital fundraising drives and/or capital campaigns are not eligible for OTF funding. OTF supports defined capital projects with clear and detailed expenses as provided within the application’s financial workbook.

OTF grant budget notes

  • OTF Grant Budget notes are required in the Financial Workbook. 
  • Use the notes section to breakdown the costs of your project activities. 
  • Ensure that each note corresponds only to the related cost
  • Notes are required up to a maximum of 100 words.

Sample OTF grant budget table with examples

OTF Budget Category Notes (Examples) - Enter a maximum of 100 words

Construction / renovation

Eligible costs include materials and/or contractors

  • Contractor costs to renovate and make accessible the sportsplex changerooms: $55,000 (quotes uploaded)
  • Repairs to the youth centre common room: $10,500 (quotes uploaded)
  • Accessible pathways for community theatre: $30,000 (estimate uploaded)
  • Purchase and install touchless doors and sinks for community centre washrooms: $25,000 (quotes uploaded)
     

Equipment

Eligible costs include fixed and non-fixed equipment.

  • New HVAC system for seniors centre: $97,000 (quotes uploaded)
  • Curling rink refrigeration system: $50,000 (quotes uploaded)
  • Lighting for outdoor pavilion: $100,000 (quotes uploaded)
  • Computers and desks for after-school program: $8,000
     

Developmental

Developmental costs associated with construction, such as the development of engineering plans, legal fees, or survey costs, are eligible for funding.

These costs are limited to 20% of the total OTF grant budget.

  • Developmental costs: engineering work ($5,000), architectural plans ($5,500), survey costs ($2,500), permits ($1,000) = $14,000

Requirements for quotes or estimates

For each good and/or service valued above $10,000, OTF requires that a minimum of one quote or estimate be uploaded with the grant application. However, OTF prefers to receive two or more quotes or estimates to help your organization establish accurate budget amounts and demonstrate the best value for money. You will need to upload your quotes in your application. 

All documentation needs to be prepared by a third-party professional and must be obtained within 6 months prior to the application deadline.

Multiple sub-contracts with a supplier on the same project will be considered as a cumulative total. This means if the total of these goods and/or services exceeds $10,000, a minimum of one itemized quote or estimate (preferably two or more from different suppliers) needs to be uploaded. An itemized quote or estimate breaks down the cost of each good and service into line items.

Examples:

Goods and/or services under $10,000 per supplier 
Supplier A
  • Good and/or service: $6,000
Total: $6,000
No quote or estimate is required for the application because cost per supplier is under $10,000.
Supplier B
  • Good and/or service: $7,000
  • Good and/or service = $2,000
Total: $9,000
 
No quote or estimate is required for the application because total cost per supplier is under $10,000.
 
Goods and/or services over $10,000 per supplier
Supplier C
  • Good and/or service $11,000
Total: $11,000
A minimum of one quote or estimate (preferably two or more from different suppliers) is required for the application because the cost is over $10,000.
Supplier D
  • Good and/or service $4,000
  • Good and/or service: $2,500
  • Good and/or service: $2,000
  • Good and/or service: $8,000
Total: $16,500
A minimum of one itemized quote or estimate (preferably two or more from different suppliers) is required for the application because the total cost is over $10,000.