Welcome
ABOUT OUR FUNDRAISING &
WHERE OUR FUNDS GO
Like Rotary clubs everywhere, our Guelph club does fundraising each year to do good in the world, locally and abroad. Our funds raised in one Rotary year go towards grants given out the following Rotary year. Our main fundraisers in 2023-2024 were Lobsterfest and Sparkles In The Park, two iconic Guelph events that our club has run for decades.
2024-2025 Community Grants
In 2024-2025, our club had $67,000 available to support organizations and projects. There were 30 grant applications seeking around $98,000 and our club was able to support 21 requests. The smallest grant was $200 and the largest was over $7,000.
The Grove Hubs of Guelph & Wellington | Funding of bus passes for youth to be able to attend The Grove Youth Wellness Centre on Woolwich Street, and support for the Hub's snack program. |
Keep Kids Fed At Home | Funding to take 22 children off the program’s waiting list to immediately start receiving weekend food bags to take home from school, and grocery gift cards mailed to their homes during the summer holidays. |
Waterloo Wellington Science & Engineering Fair | Towards prizes for participating students Gr 8-12. This annual competition encourages new generations to focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). |
Youth Awards | Our club gives out a total of 10 high school awards each year. Eight are for overcoming adversity, one is for career development to help pay for tuition and/or tools of trade, and one is for an Indigenous youth to recognize their community support. |
Reading Buddy Program | Towards materials for our members to use in their weekly volunteering time with elementary school children chosen by their teachers to receive educational support and encouragement. |
Career & Education Council of Guelph Wellington | Sponsorship of the ICE4Good workshop for high school students to encourage Initiative, Creativity and Entrepreneurship. |
Habitat for Humanity Solar Project | Towards funds to qualify for a Rotary Global Grant for the largest solar project for affordable housing in Canadian history – right here in Guelph, facilitated by our club. |
Earth Day educational movie night | Towards a community event showing an Earth Day environmental movie at The Bookshelf Cinema followed by Q&A with an expert. |
Hanlon Creek Forest | For promotional and practical support to support Earth Day tree planting at Guelph’s newest forest, off Laird Road. |
Eradicating Human Trafficking | For 100 lawn signs to raise awareness in the Guelph community |
End Polio Now | For materials for our club’s “Purple For Polio Gardens” campaign to raise awareness and funds towards ending polio worldwide |
Hospice Wellington | For massage therapy to ease pain and suffering |
Shelldale Family Gateway | Towards their before-school breakfast program for around 60 local children, and provision of lunch bags as needed. |
Big Brothers Big Sisters Guelph | Towards their core mentoring program which matches caring adults with kids in need. |
Enactus Guelph | In support of material costs for this University of Guelph entrepreneurship club and their sustainability project to repurpose coffee grounds from campus kitchens and turn it into beauty products (“Brewed Beauty”). Their project won awards! |
Michael House Pregnancy and Parenting Support Services | Towards mental health programming for clients. |
Guelph Wish Fund for Children | Towards helping families cope with extraordinary medical expenses and/or to bring joy to a suffering child. |
Royal City Masters chess tournament | In support of the first ever major chess tournament to be hosted in Guelph, in August 2025. |
Guatemala Paediatric Clinic | We joined 20 other Rotary Clubs to contribute towards a Rotary Global Grant to provide paediatric equipment and staff training for a new wing at a rural hospital in Guatemala. |