Updated July 2026 · Verified against Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) guidelines
✓ First-Timer Friendly Reimbursement
Grant Provincial Active

NOHFC Enhance Your Community Program

Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC)
Maximum Funding
Up to $2M
Continuous intake (no fixed deadline)
Visit Official Program →
Difficulty
Moderate
Payment
Reimbursement
Trend
Stable
First-Timers
Friendly ✓
Co-Funding
50%
NOHFC Enhance Your Community Program provides up to $2M. Municipalities, Indigenous communities, not-for-profit organizations, and Local Services Boards in Northern Ontario can receive a conditional contribution of up to 50% of eligible costs or $2 million (social enterprises up to $1 million) for eligible community improvement projects. The program covers up to 50% of eligible costs. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.

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Eligibility & Details

What this program funds and who can apply

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Program Description

Municipalities, Indigenous communities, not-for-profit organizations, and Local Services Boards in Northern Ontario can receive a conditional contribution of up to 50% of eligible costs or $2 million (social enterprises up to $1 million) for eligible community improvement projects.

Eligibility Requirements

  • Municipalities, Indigenous communities, not-for-profit organizations, or Local Services Boards located in Northern Ontario
  • Northern Ontario is defined by NOHFC as all areas north of, and including, the districts of Muskoka, Parry Sound and Nipissing
  • Effective February 23, 2026, social enterprises may be eligible where they operate primarily for social, environmental or cultural benefit and reinvest the majority of profits into that mission — co-operatives must be structured without the ability to flow dividends to individual members, and Indigenous for-profit entities must be 100% community-owned with all profits reinvested into the community
  • Eligible social enterprises may receive up to 50% of eligible project costs to a maximum of $1,000,000, rather than the $2,000,000 general cap
  • Funding is a conditional contribution of up to 50% of eligible costs or $2,000,000, whichever is less, so the applicant must fund at least half the project
  • All buildings, facilities or land improved with NOHFC funding must be owned or leased by the applicant
  • Project must not be core infrastructure, administrative or office space, residential, operating expenses, routine maintenance, rolling stock, a stand-alone equipment or furniture purchase, or a stand-alone study
  • Fire halls and related fire service activities are ineligible as of February 3, 2026, including construction, expansion, renovation or upgrading
  • Applicants must demonstrate that NOHFC funding is necessary to make the project viable by showing they have investigated or applied to other relevant federal or provincial funding sources
  • Projects should identify and align with a planning process such as a community or organizational plan; projects outside a formal plan are considered case by case
  • NOHFC may decline funding where the project falls within the mandate of another federal or provincial program, and may add assistance only after that program has decided, at its sole discretion
  • The applicant may be required to reimburse NOHFC if assets financed by NOHFC are sold within the first three years after project completion
  • There is no population threshold — the Enhance Your Community stream is open to all eligible applicants regardless of municipal, community or catchment-area population
  • Cannabis manufacturing and retail companies do not qualify for NOHFC programs
Provinces
Ontario
Industries
All
Business Stage
Startup Growth Established

Quick Assessment

Difficulty
Moderate
Competition
High
First-Timer
Friendly

Funding Details

Amount
Up to $2MConditional contribution of up to 50% of eligible costs or $2,000,000, whichever is less; social enterprises eligible up to $1,000,000 effective February 23, 2026
Type
Grant
Level
Provincial
Co-Funding
Up to 50% of eligible costs
Deadline
Continuous intake (no fixed deadline)

Program Scorecard

Competition, effort, and approval at a glance

Competition
High
Deadline
Ongoing
Approval
Varies
Accessibility
3/5

Moderate — standard application process

Competition
4/5

High competition — many applicants

Difficulty
3/5

Moderate — standard requirements

Processing Time
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How to Win

Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like

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Insider Tip

Confirm the facility or land is owned or leased by your organization before applying, and avoid projects that the program explicitly excludes, such as fire halls, core infrastructure, and stand-alone studies.

Evaluation Criteria

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How NOHFC Enhance Your Community Program judges your application

What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.

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Written answers6≈900 words from the funder’s limits
Judged on5 criteria
Can reject you3 rules

Distilled from 4 source documents, condensed into one brief. Sources as of 2026-09-07.

4 sources

What NOHFC Enhance Your Community Program favours

Show you investigated other federal or provincial funding sources first◦

“You must show that you have investigated and / or applied to other relevant federal or provincial funding sources.”

1 more, in their words

The form2 prompts shown

Request Advice inquiry5 sections · ≈900 words
  1. 1Full Nameshort answer · 100 characters
  2. 2Email Addressshort answer · 100 characters
  3. 3Phone Numbershort answer · 100 characters
  4. 4Subjectselectionno limit
  5. 5Questions/Comments/Feedbackwritten answer · 5,000 characters
What NOHFC assesses5 sections
  1. 6Planning alignmentwritten answerno limit

    Identification and alignment with a planning process such as community or organizational plan.

  2. 7Community sustainability and well-beingwritten answerno limit
  3. 8Existing infrastructure capacity and efficiencywritten answerno limit
  4. 9Project-plan strength and delivery capacitywritten answerno limit
  5. 10Necessity of NOHFC investmentwritten answerno limit

bar = length the funder allows, from its stated limits

3 more prompts, in the funder’s words

Judged against4 questions · 5 criteria

  1. 1

    Does the project deliver an adopted community plan?

    Show them Name the community or organizational plan, quote the priority it serves, and point to the part of the project that delivers it.◦

    In the funder’s words · 1
    • Identification and alignment with a planning process such as community or organizational plan.
  2. 2

    What lasting benefit does the community get?

    What to show, and the funder’s 1 criterion behind it in Premium

  3. 3

    Does it improve what the community already has?

    What to show, and the funder’s 1 criterion behind it in Premium

  4. 4

    Can you deliver it and is our money essential?

    What to show, and the funder’s 2 criteria behind it in Premium

Where applicants failin NOHFC Enhance Your Community Program’s words

“NOHFC may decline funding where support for a project is considered to fall within the mandate of another federal or provincial government program”

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See all 3 rules that can reject you and every criterion you are judged on. Then we draft your application for you.

4 more criteria · 3 more prompts

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Do you pass?3 checks

Each one can rule you out. Tick the ones you meet.

You

  • Northern Ontario community or non-profit

    Municipalities, Indigenous communities, not-for-profit organizations, and Local Services Boards located in Northern Ontario.

  • Own or lease the improved asset

    All buildings, facilities or land improved with NOHFC funding must be owned or leased by the applicant.

The project

  • No fire halls or fire services

    Effective February 3, 2026, fire halls and related fire service activities will not be eligible for NOHFC funding.

The money

Standard award ceilinglesser of 50% or $2,000,000

Generally the lesser of 50% of eligible costs or $2,000,000

Social enterprise ceilingup to 50% or $1,000,000

qualifying social enterprises up to 50% or $1,000,000

StackingAdd-on possible after other government programme decides

NOHFC may decline a project within another government programme's mandate, but may add assistance after that programme decides, at NOHFC's sole discretion.

What it pays for · 5
  • Incremental improvements, repairs, and/or renovations to improve and extend the useful life of capital assets
  • Business retention and attraction strategies
  • Projects identifying and implementing investment opportunities
  • The construction and/or renovation of capital assets that support community economic development
  • Implementation of community economic development projects, including non-capital costs, technical expertise, incremental project-related human resources
What it does not pay for · 8
  • Core infrastructure such as municipal public services including roads, bridges, water, and sewer
  • Administrative space or office buildings
  • Residential projects
  • Operating expenses, including routine and on-going maintenance
  • Rolling stock
  • Stand-alone equipment purchases
  • Stand-alone furniture purchases
  • Stand-alone studies (feasibility, engineering, strategy etc.)

From application to money

  1. Talk to an advisorBring project to a Northern Development Advisor
  2. Apply in the portalSubmit through the authenticated NOHFC portal
  3. Review and decisionNOHFC reviews; Board decides
  4. Contract with NOHFCGrant under a legally binding contract
In the funder’s words · 4
Talk to an advisor
NOHFC recommends bringing the project to a Northern Development Advisor / NOHFC agent first.
Apply in the portal
The eligible Northern Ontario applicant submits through the authenticated NOHFC portal.
Review and decision
NOHFC reviews the application against the guidelines and the NOHFC Board makes the decision.
Contract with NOHFC
Funding is a grant under a legally binding contract carrying NOHFC's terms and conditions.

Quoted lines are word for word from the source documents; lines marked ◦ are our reading of them.

What's in this Playbook

Everything you need to win NOHFC Enhance Your Community Program

Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.

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Application Playbook

Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses

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Application Steps

1 Confirm your organization and location qualify Applicants must be a municipality, Indigenous community, not-for-profit organization or Local Services Board located in Northern Ontario — defined by NOHFC as all areas north of, and including, the districts of Parry Sound and Nipissing. Since February 23, 2026 social enterprises (co-operatives that cannot flow dividends to members, and 100% Indigenous-community-owned for-profit entities that reinvest all profits) may also be eligible, at a lower $1,000,000 cap.

Required Documents 5

✓ Project budget
✓ Proof of ownership or lease of the facility or land

Eligible Expenses 7

Ineligible Expenses 8

Intake Periods

Deadline Notes

Ineligible Organizations

Premium The full guide for this program also covers:
  • 6 more application steps
  • 3 more required documents
  • 7 eligible expenses
  • 8 ineligible expenses
  • Intake periods
  • Deadline notes
  • Ineligible organizations

Funding Stack Strategy

Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential

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Stacking partner data not yet available.

Combined Funding Potential See your total funding potential

Clawback Risk

Medium Risk

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How NOHFC Enhance Your Community Program Compares

Side-by-side with similar programs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about NOHFC Enhance Your Community Program

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Who can apply to the Enhance Your Community Program?
Municipalities, Indigenous communities, not-for-profit organizations and Local Services Boards located in Northern Ontario — everything north of and including the Parry Sound and Nipissing districts. Since February 23, 2026 qualifying social enterprises can also apply, at a lower $1,000,000 cap.
How much funding is available and what must we contribute?
A conditional contribution of up to 50% of eligible costs or $2,000,000, whichever is less. Eligible social enterprises can receive up to 50% of eligible costs to a maximum of $1,000,000. You fund at least the other half.
When is the deadline to apply for this program?
There is no deadline — intake is continuous through the NOHFC online portal, and NOHFC will accept multiple project applications from one applicant. Funding is limited and every decision rests with the NOHFC Board, so not all eligible projects are approved.
Our project includes some office or residential space — are we out?
Not necessarily. NOHFC says that depending on the project and the percentage of ineligible space, it may consider part of the project eligible while the administrative or residential space is ineligible. Fire halls, however, have been fully ineligible since February 3, 2026.
When does the money actually arrive after approval?
After the fact. The funding contract comes about 6-8 weeks after approval, and NOHFC reimburses costs only once you have paid them and can show proof of payment. Expect roughly 3-6 months from application to a Board decision before that clock even starts.

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