Some of the most meaningful ways in which people engage with Jewish life in Ottawa start out as ideas.
A parent wants to bring Jewish families together for a Shabbat dinner. A community member sees an opportunity to create a new program. A group of friends wants to organize an event that fills a gap in the community.
Through the Jewish Federation of Ottawa’s Microgrants program, ideas like these have become a reality.
Microgrants are a catalyst for new and creative initiatives that build Jewish identity, inspire engagement, and expand the reach of Jewish life across the National Capital Region. The program is designed to give individuals and organizations flexibility to develop grassroots programming that responds to the interests and needs of the community.
For organizations, Microgrants can provide up to $2,500 per allocation, with a maximum of two allocations, or $5,000 cumulatively, per fiscal year. An additional application is possible for initiatives featuring new collaborations between organizations.
In 2025 alone, Federation allocated approximately $100,000 through Microgrants to support 58 events and initiatives. Those programs brought together people of different ages and backgrounds through cultural, educational, recreational, religious and social activities.
A recent example of the power of Microgrants is the Bilingual (Hebrew-English) Jewish Community Tennis Program that started back in June of this year.
Bringing together 24 individuals for the first time, the organizers were able to successfully deliver a six-week bilingual tennis program for members of Ottawa’s Jewish community at an accessible cost. Reaching full capacity, this program demonstrated the strong interest that exists for this type of community-based recreational programming.
Organizers Sharon and Inball Cobber shared in their report that “participant feedback was very positive” and that they “enjoyed the friendly and welcoming atmosphere, appreciated having an affordable opportunity to learn tennis, and especially valued the bilingual English and Hebrew environment.”
In organizing this program, the Cobbers understood that while there were already ample opportunities for tennis instruction in the city, they were able to carve out space for the Jewish community by adding a Hebrew language component.
“It creates a welcoming Jewish space through sport, rather than a traditional classroom setting, allowing participants to connect socially in a relaxed and inclusive environment,” their report said.
This example and others, such as the recent Mega Challah Bake at the Ottawa Torah Centre, go to show the power that community members have in organizing the programming they want to see in Jewish Ottawa.
Through Federation Microgrants, your ideas can come to life and help build community, strengthen people’s connections to Judaism, and help others find their place in Jewish Ottawa. To learn more about the Microgrant program, click here or contact Michael Reznick at [email protected].