Announcing the 2025 Vital Impact Fund Recipients
See the full list of recipients below and learn more about the activities they'll be carrying out in 2026!
The County Foundation is pleased to announce this year’s Vital Impact Fund grant recipients. More than $180,000 in Vital Impact Fund grants will support five local intiatives, with funded activities rolling out over the next year.
The Vital Impact Fund was established by The County Foundation as our new signature fund that unites the work of our Vital Signs data with our grants to better serve the needs of Prince Edward County. Vital Signs® data is an ongoing consolidated snapshot of the trends and most vital community well-being issues in Prince Edward County.
This year’s grant recipients reflect a clear and powerful theme: investing in people, programs, and ideas that support an evolving community.
2025 Grant Recipients
The Vital Impact Fund is adjudicated by The County Foundation’s Grants & Vital Signs Committees.
Five initiatives were selected to receive a total of $180,117 of funding for 2025. Below is a breakdown of the recipients, as well as a summary of their plans for the funding. We thank everyone who applied to the second year of this program, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact of their work over the next year.
| Funded Organization/Initiative | Vital Signs Alignment – Summary *Does not reflect the breadth of the application and the alignment to Vital Signs |
| Alternatives for Women’s Caring Dads Program that aims to educate fathers who are at risk of causing harm to their children and their mothers. | In 2024, there were 222 domestic violence incidents reported in Prince Edward County. Domestic violence is one of the main policing challenges in PEC. |
| A collaborative project focused on addressing the County's urgent childcare needs spearheaded by the County. Includes:
| Vital Signs 2025: “When families lack nearby childcare, it strains their ability to balance work, education, and caregiving – directly impacting well-being ... The waiting list [for the HUB Child & Family Centre] has grown from 155 in 2021 to 350, reflecting growth in the age 0–9 population.” |
The Department of Illumination’s Art Kitchen 2.0. Expanding the DOI’s free drop-in arts programming and providing access to additional services and resources for the historically underserved Macaulay Village community. Through collaboration with several partners, services will include mental health, nutritional and financial supports, as well as mentorship in advocacy and community-building. | The 2025 Vital Signs report focused on the importance of social infrastructure in communities. “Social isolation and loneliness are increasingly being recognized as a priority public health problem and policy issue across all age groups.” |
| Youth Inclusion Program (YIP) offered through theROC Youth Services. Youth program focused on conflict resolution, positive leadership, social-emotional learning, substance misuse and truancy prevention leading to increased high school graduation and youth success. | The 2023 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS) reports that 38% of students rate their mental health as fair or poor, 37% experience elevated stress, and 51% report moderate-to-serious psychological distress, doubling over the past decade (CAMH, 2024). |
| Operational support for Reaching for Rainbows to support growth and sustainability as an organization filling programming gaps for children, youth and girls helping to solve many of the challenges PEC faces such as lack of childcare options and spaces. | From Vital Signs databank: “People who are living in poverty are more likely to face health-related setbacks; to have difficulty accessing transportation, finding and keeping a job; to find themselves in the criminal justice system; and to need various social supports and assistance. Also, children who grow up in poverty are more likely to remain in poverty as they age.” (Canada Without Poverty) |
Supporting the Vital Impact Fund
How to Give
- Donate using a credit card through Canada Helps. Select "Vital Impact Fund" from the drop down menu.
- We can accept Interac e-Transfers sent to info@thecountyfoundation.ca. Indicate "Vital Impact Fund" in the notes section.
- Make cheques payable to The County Foundation, and use the memo line to specify the Vital Impact Fund.
Cheques can be mailed to:
