Brantford/Six Nations, ON – In 2021, Woodland Cultural Centre (WCC) received a $128,200 grant from the Government of Ontario’s Community Building Fund – Operating stream. This grant, delivered by the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), is assisting Woodland through the COVID-19 pandemic, helping the organization retain many Education staff who would have been laid-off due to pandemic-related closures throughout the Tourism sector.

“In my first few weeks after being elected as MPP, I toured the Woodland Cultural Centre,” said Brantford-Brant MPP Will Bouma. “The education that I received in those few hours will last me a lifetime as we continue to work together. I will always remember the kindness, understanding and warm welcome I received and I am so pleased the Community Building Fund grant came through.”

COVID-19 restrictions have limited WCC’s ability to offer in-person programming and education. The organization has been developing digital tours, and support from OTF has helped WCC retain staff to conduct these tours virtually and help provide much needed revenue and access to educational programming.

“This funding has been instrumental to ensure that Woodland Cultural Centre is able to still provide virtual programming to our audiences during this pandemic,” said Executive Director, Janis Monture. “This funding is so crucial when the arts and cultural sector was unable to open our doors to our patrons for months and as we prepare to re-open it provides our visitors with peace of mind that we are doing everything in our power to keep our visitors and staff feel safe.”

This grant has also provided urgently needed cleaning supplies, personal protection equipment and physical distance signage for staff who are working on-site during shutdowns and in preparation for in-person visitors as the reopening process begins.

The OTF has graciously offered this funding support until September of 2022. Through their generous contribution to educational programming with wage contributions and cleaning and PPE supplies, the OTF has allowed Woodland Cultural Centre to safely continue its important work in providing quality Indigenous programming.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations. Last year, nearly $112M was invested into 1,384 community projects and partnerships to build healthy and vibrant communities and strengthen the impact of Ontario’s non‐profit sector. In 2020/21, OTF supported Ontario’s economic recovery by helping non‐profit organizations rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID‐19. Visit otf.ca to learn more.

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Media Contact:

Janis Monture | Executive Director

jmonture@woodlandculturalcentre.ca | 519-756-2650