Hamilton City Council approves $100K climate grant pilot to give to small groups of residents for “climate projects”

Last week, Hamilton City Council’s General Issues Committee approved a $100,000 pilot program that will give grants of up to $7,500 to small groups of residents for neighbourhood climate projects, even though part of the money will go to administrative fees rather than projects.

The Climate Ready Hamilton Grant Program, outlined in staff report PED26190, is set to launch in the first quarter of 2027. 

The money comes from the city’s Climate Change Reserve, where council set it aside in November 2025 for what was then called the Neighbourhood Climate Action Small Grants Program.

Groups of at least three unrelated Hamilton residents living in separate households can apply for between $500 and $7,500. 

Eligible projects fall into three categories.

The first category is educational events and neighbourhood gatherings, defined as “activities that build stronger relationships between neighbours/neighbourhood groups and that help residents to better understand their climate risks and/or climate impacts.”

Second is emergency preparedness activities “designed to prepare communities and neighbourhoods to be ready for climate emergencies and extreme weather events,” such as 72-hour kit building parties and first aid training.

Third is to fund improvements to privately owned neighbourhood green spaces “that have the added benefits of improving neighbourhood quality of life, climate preparedness, and resiliency to extreme weather.”

Examples include the installation of pollinator or rain gardens, tree planting, and communal food gardens.

The city’s draft list of eligible expenses is broad, including food, costs related to communications and promotion, childminding fees, bus tickets, translation and interpretation fees, facilitator fees, and honoraria.

Applications will be accepted until the money runs out. At the maximum grant size, $100,000 would fund roughly 13 projects.

Rather than paying recipients directly, the city will route the money through up to four non-profit “trustee” organizations. Each trustee will collect an administration fee of 15 to 20 per cent of what it disburses, capped at $9,999 per trustee and paid once its final financial reporting is received.

The report states the program carries no additional budget impact or staffing costs but does not spell out how the trustee fees fit within the $100,000 allocation.

If they are drawn from the same pot, a 20 per cent fee would mean roughly one in every six dollars goes to administration rather than to residents’ projects.

The trustee model is borrowed from Toronto’s Neighbourhood Climate Action Grants, and Hamilton staff consulted their Toronto counterparts while designing the program.

Council also handed broad authority to the director of the Office of Climate Change Initiatives. 

The director will appoint a selection committee, choose successful applicants, and sign agreements, extensions and amendments without returning to council, as long as spending stays within budget. 

The committee will be made up of four city staff and two members of the Climate Change Community Liaison Group.

Priority will go to groups led by residents from what the city calls “frontline communities,” including Indigenous, Black, LGBTQIA+, low-income, newcomer and renter residents, among others. 

Registered charities, non-profits, schools, businesses, landlords and condominium corporations cannot apply.

Staff will report back after the pilot on the number of applications, average grant size, ward distribution and participation. 

They will also report on harder-to-quantify outcomes, including “improvements to social capital and community connection.” 

The report sets no targets for any of these measures.

Funded projects will be listed by title and ward on the city’s website. Recipients must finish their projects within a year of signing their agreement and file a final report within 60 days of completion.