Ottawa Community Foundation 2025 Annual Report

With rising cost of living and economic uncertainty causing a financial squeeze for many people, those experiencing or at risk of homelessness are often the first to experience food insecurity.

During the pandemic, The Ottawa Mission launched the Mobile Mission Meals (MMM) program — a full-service food truck program that delivers freshly prepared, nutritious meals directly to vulnerable communities across Ottawa. What began as an emergency measure has since grown into a citywide initiative that now serves over 40 communities in diverse neighbourhoods across Ottawa, where food insecurity is most prevalent.

Thanks to support in 2025 from the Lynn and John Graham Family Fund, the Food Resiliency Foundation Fund, and an anonymous donor, The Ottawa Mission was able to serve hundreds of hot, nutritious meals. For many, this food security allows them to redirect limited income toward rent and utilities, preventing eviction and further hardship.

For Bill, a client of Mobile Mission Meals, the meals are “something we can rely on and look forward to.” While many clients of MMM have homes, there are still financial pressures that prevent them from putting fresh food on the table.

While there are several organizations in Ottawa offering food support, The Ottawa Mission is the only organization in the city operating a mobile food program that brings warm, ready-to-eat meals directly to vulnerable communities, completely free of cost. This accessibility is critical for individuals and families who are unable to travel to food banks or community kitchens, or for those without the means to prepare a nutritious meal. To ensure The Mission complements, rather than duplicates, existing services, the Mobile Mission Meals program works in close partnership with local agencies and community organizations to identify gaps and coordinate delivery locations.

Each week, the MMM program delivers over 10,000 meals, serving more than 500,000 meals annually, and also provides meaningful job training to students enrolled in The Mission's Food Services Training Program (FSTP). These students help prepare and serve meals, gaining practical culinary experience and transferable employment skills.

OCF donors directly improved food access, reduced financial stress, and strengthened the overall wellbeing of an entire neighbourhood. They helped minimize food insecurity and brought dignity and hope to those facing difficult circumstances. With continued support, this program will remain a vital, responsive service for those who need it most.

Youth homelessness rarely begins with a night on the street. Long before that moment, a young person has faced an unsafe home and felt like they've run out of options.

In 2025, OCF and our donors supported Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa (YSB) with a Community Initiative Grant to help kickstart its Shelter Diversion Program, which helps young people find safe alternatives to emergency shelter and break the trajectory of homelessness. We are grateful to the DeWolf Family Fund, the Smiley Face Fund, and the Peter and Pat Reid Family Fund for making this grant possible.

The pilot connects youth at the point of crisis with relationship-based support, helping them stabilize housing, reconnect with people in their lives, and access broader community resources. This kind of early intervention is an important element of Ottawa's goal to end youth homelessness by 2030.

In its first nine months, the results are promising. The program received 131 requests for shelter, nearly 40 per cent from youth seeking emergency housing for the first time. Through targeted support, approximately 55 per cent of youth were safely connected with family, and 47 per cent with friends or others in their community.

Programs like this one show what becomes possible when community-based organizations can test and scale solutions that address homelessness before it takes hold.

During Indigenous History Month, students at Notre Dame High School spent a day with Ojibwe artist Amanda Fox to learn, move their bodies, and celebrate culture. The session, called “Powwow Workout,” was part of MASC's pARTicipate! subsidy program, supported by the Ottawa Community Foundation.

The students left feeling excited about the hands-on learning day. “I really loved how we all felt like a family and a community celebrating culture in such a joyous way.”

For more than 35 years, Multicultural Arts in Schools and Communities (MASC) has worked to close the gap between kids in underserved communities and the arts experiences that should be available to everyone. Financial, geographic, and systemic barriers make participation harder for children and youth in equity-deserving neighbourhoods and rural communities. MASC brings professional artist-led programs directly to the schools and community venues where those young people already are, at low or no cost.

The pARTicipate! subsidy fund makes that possible. In 2025-2026, pARTicipate! reached 51,000 participants through 487 workshops and 138 performances. OCF's Community Initiative Grant directly powered 27 performances and 73 workshops, reaching approximately 10,000 participants.

The grant also supported programming at the 20th edition of the Awesome Arts en folie Festival, in partnership with the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre. In the seven weeks leading up to the festival, 15 youth worked with MASC artist JustJamaal ThePoet to write and record Young & Grateful, an original song and music video exploring joy, identity, and friendship. The finished work premiered at the festival's closing evening.

Many youth grew their confidence through the process. “Some of the shyer kids even wanted to sing on the last day. It was really nice to see them come out of their shell and break through isolation by bringing the group together,” shared an educator.

On the other side of the city, the Cajole Inn Fund at the Ottawa Community Foundation brought MASC artist Nicole Bélanger to St. Isidore School, where grade six students designed and created a mural together. It now hangs at the school as a lasting reflection of their creativity.

When young people have access to arts and culture, they find a sense of belonging, build connections, and engage in their community in lasting ways. OCF's support for MASC is grounded in that belief: that creative experiences should be a part of everyone's childhood, no matter where they grow up.