Ontario Sport and Recreation Communities Fund
by Grants Ontario / Transfer Payment Ontario
Also known as: OSRCF
The OSRCF historically funded nonprofits, municipalities, First Nations, and Local Services Boards for 1-2 year sport, recreation, and physical-activity programming projects. As of August 2026 its ontario.ca page returns 404, the old Grants Ontario portal is offline, no new intake has been announced, and the fund is absent from the Ministry of Sport's 2025-26 published plan - treat it as dormant. Ontario's active sport/recreation money is currently the capital-focused Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund (CSRIF).
Key facts
- Amount
- Amount not published by funder
- Instrument
- Grant (non-repayable)
- Status
- Paused under review, confirm with funder
- Who qualifies
- Nonprofits and charities Indigenous organizations and communities Municipalities and local boards Operating history: 1 year
- incorporated not-for-profit organizations operating and incorporated at least 1 year in Ontario
- First Nations
- Local Services Boards
- municipalities
- Historically supported 1- or 2-year projects at Local/Regional and Provincial levels: new or expanded physical activity programming, physical literacy, and sector training (coaching, youth development, volunteer development)
ontario.ca · Last verified Aug 17, 2026 · Uncertain: confirm with funder
- Where
- Algoma District · Cochrane District · Greater Sudbury (single-tier census division) · Kenora District · Manitoulin District · Nipissing District · Parry Sound District · Rainy River District · Sudbury District (excl. Greater Sudbury) · Thunder Bay District · Timiskaming District · District Municipality of Muskoka
11 of 11 Northern Ontario districts are eligible for this program. A filled dot is eligible, an outline is not.
Common questions
Is the OSRCF still accepting applications?
No open intake exists as of August 2026, and the program's official page has been removed from ontario.ca. No formal discontinuation notice was found either, so we list it as paused with uncertain status rather than discontinued.
What should sport/recreation groups apply to instead?
For facility construction and upgrades, the Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund (CSRIF - now a $500M program after the 2026 budget added $300M; see ontario.ca/document/community-sport-and-recreation-infrastructure-fund). For programming, OTF Seed and Grow grants fund the 'foster physically active lifestyles' priority.
Who was eligible when it last ran?
Incorporated nonprofits operating at least one year in Ontario, including First Nations, Local Services Boards, and municipalities, for local/regional or provincial-level projects of one or two years (reported from the former Grants Ontario listing - not verifiable against a live official page).
Where else could this money come from?
Chosen by what these programs have in common with this one, not by hand. The reason is shown for each, so you can judge whether it holds.
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Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund
Next intake not announced same funder (TPON); both for nonprofits & charities and municipalities & local services boards; sport, recreation, ministry of sport — $150,000 – $500,000,000
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Seniors Community Grant Program
Next intake not announced same funder (TPON); both for nonprofits & charities; nonprofits — $1,000 – $25,000
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Northern Ontario Resource Development Support Fund
Open, continuous intake same funder (TPON); both for municipalities & local services boards — Varies; see program
-
Ontario Transit Investment Fund
Open, continuous intake same funder (TPON); both for nonprofits & charities and municipalities & local services boards — Not published
Guides that cover this program
Notes on this record
Status evidence as of 2026-08-17: official_url returns ontario.ca's 'We can't find that page' (plain 404, not an archive redirect); grants.gov.on.ca no longer resolves in DNS; the Ministry of Sport 2025-26 published plan makes no mention of OSRCF while featuring CSRIF. Eligibility details are reported from the former official Grants Ontario listing via secondary research - confidence uncertain. No amounts stated because none could be confirmed against an official source.
Facts on this page were confirmed by hand rather than by an automated read of the official source.
Apply
Apply on the funder’s site and confirm current terms there: