Overview
The ImpactWX Genesis Grant provides small grants to people and community organizations that are focused on developing new ideas related to severe weather response and awareness.
ImpactWX is a Toronto-based social impact fund with a mission to enable organizations that, through scientific understanding and public awareness, work to improve people’s response and safety during severe weather events. We are proud to have experience partnering with world-class organizations that actively move the needle on our understanding of severe weather and are thrilled to introduce a new stream of community-oriented funding through the ImpactWX Genesis Grant.
Aligned with our mission, this fund seeks to support initiatives that can improve people’s response and safety during severe weather events. The ImpactWX Genesis Grant has a specific interest in initiatives that promote innovation, creativity and opportunities, as aligned with our core principles.
In 2026, ImpactWX Genesis Grant awarded four successful projects with $25,000.
The application period for the 2027 ImpactWX Genesis Grant will begin November 2, 2026.
Core Principles / Focus
Create Opportunities
- Create opportunities for community and public engagement
- Enable educational and learning experiences
Promote Innovation
- Promote human-centred innovation and design
- Develops and tests new concepts and ideas
Eligibility
Eligible applicants
We invite applications from individuals, groups and collaborators such as local community groups, researchers, artists, collectives, non-profits, public sector agencies, and registered charities. If you are not already a charity, you must include a Canadian charitable trustee as a partner. A charitable trustee is required to administer funds, but it is not necessary to be a programming partner in the project. Private for-profit businesses may not be the sole applicant but can be part of an application as a partner.
Geography
Applicant must be located in Canada; impacts must be felt in Canada.
Duration
The grant duration is 12 months; ideas/projects should be achievable within 12 months of receiving the grant.
Grant can cover:
- Operational and staff costs of directly delivering the project, core activities and/or ongoing work
- Research development
- Planning, public consultation, and community outreach
- Capital costs
- Programming and event costs
- Honorariums to people directly associated with implementing the project
- Website development or online activities
Grant will not fund:
- Previously incurred costs
- Contributions to a general fundraising campaign
- Activities or projects that duplicate existing work
FAQ
2027 Genesis Grant Timeline:
Monday, November 2, 2026, 12:00 AM EST: Application portal opens.
Friday, January 15, 2027, 5:00 PM EST: Applications due.
Mid March 2027: All applicants are notified of their status.
Mid April 2027: Successful applicants must submit grant documents and wire transfer information.
Late April 2027: Funds sent to successful applicants.
Spring 2028: Impact reports due.
This grant is highly exploratory, and we are eager to learn what kind of work is being done to advance our understanding of community awareness, response and safety during severe weather events. Some examples of activities that could be funded are, but are not limited to:
- Art exhibits, documentaries, or installations
- Educational Programming
- Research
- App or technological development
- Activating or creating solutions to protect vulnerable communities from extreme heat or cold
Severe weather is, in general, any destructive weather, usually applied to such things as tornadoes, damaging winds, large hail, heavy snow, ice storms, etc.
In Canada, for example, Environment and Climate Change Canada specifically defines summer severe weather as tornadoes, wind gusts of 90 km/h or more, hail with diameter of 2 cm or more, and heavy rain (with thresholds that are regionally dependent).
Extreme weather, on the other hand, is severe weather that has a size, intensity or even time of year well beyond what is typically expected based on past observations. This includes violent (EF4-5) tornadoes, wind gusts of 130 km/h or more, hail with a diameter of 5 cm or more, prolonged periods of intense heat or cold, an ice storm with accretions that cripple infrastructure, or a heavy snow event in southern Ontario in May. Extreme weather events, due to their unusual nature, are far less frequent than severe weather events.
Yes, core funding activities are eligible for the ImpactWX Genesis Grant, with the condition that there is alignment to the grant’s mandate and core principles.
Submittable is a secure and trusted grant management platform that ImpactWX is using to manage the grant process. As an applicant, you must create an account with Submittable to apply. Once you have an account, you can access the grant application, save your progress, and view status updates. Should your application be successful, Submittable will also be used to collect grant documents and reporting.
The ImpactWX team will inform each applicant of their status through email notification and a status update on Submittable.
If your grant application is approved, we will reach out to collect signatures for the grant letters and collect wire transfer information.
Funds will be distributed via wire transfer.
Towards the end of the 1-year grant term, our team will reach out to request a 2-3 page impact report and have a conversation to understand the grant’s impacts, lessons learned and next steps.
A strong application should include:
- Ability to demonstrate alignment with the mandate of ImpactWX and at least one of the two core principles of the grant
- Ability to clearly and concisely communicate concepts and ideas, bringing the application to life in a compelling way
- Very well-developed supporting materials, including the budget, timeline, and milestones
2026 RECIPIENTS
The 2026 Genesis Grant recipients are finding new ways to help communities prepare for and respond to severe weather. From emergency food planning in the north and neighbour-led preparedness in rural Canada to youth-designed flood solutions and an educational game for families, these projects reflect the grant’s commitment to creative, local leadership.
Food Action Network of Northwestern Ontario (FAN-NWO), in partnership with Regional Food Distribution Association (RFDA)
“Testing and Advancing a Community-Led Emergency Food Response Model for Severe Weather in Northwestern Ontario”
In a region where severe weather can cut off food access across long distances, the Food Action Network of Northwestern Ontario is helping organizations get ready to coordinate when it counts. Partners including food distributors, municipalities, and public health are putting the network’s Emergency Food Plan through a simulated crisis, learning where it holds up and where it falls short. The process is shaping a clearer, more practical plan and producing lessons other communities can draw on.
Urban Minds Planning and Design Studio, in partnership with Evergreen
“1UP Competition: Youth-led Flood Response Solutions for Evergreen Brick Works”A
The 1UP Competition asks Ontario high school students how Toronto’s Evergreen Brick Works, flooded by a storm in 2024, could be better prepared next time. Working alongside Evergreen staff and mentors from the city-building professions, student teams develop and pitch their own flood solutions. The competition gives young people a real place to test their ideas and a chance to see themselves in the work of building resilient communities.
Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity (CRCC)
“Operation SMART: Northern Girls-led Severe Weather Response and Awareness”
Neighbours are often the first to help when severe weather hits a rural community. Through Getting Ready: Shore to Shore, the Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity is giving them a way to do it together, with a plan. CCRC is training local leaders, called Community Connectors, in three communities across the country to run sessions built around rural realities. Residents play through a disaster scenario and map their community’s strengths and gaps, then set preparedness goals of their own.
Town of Lincoln, in partnership with Sheridan College – Faculty of Animation, Arts, and Design: Game Design Program
“StormSmart: The Severe Weather Preparedness Game”A
The Town of Lincoln and Sheridan College game design students are turning severe weather preparedness into something people want to play. Developed for Niagara West Emergency Management, StormSmart puts players in realistic weather emergencies, where they make choices to keep themselves and their families safe and learn from each decision. At community events across Niagara West, and soon online, the game gives kids and parents a hands-on way to practise before a storm arrives.
• • •
PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS
2025
The Earth Rangers Foundation
“The Earth Rangers Mission: Ready For Anything”
Through a new interactive program on its mobile app, Earth Rangers is helping children—and their families—feel ready for extreme weather. Using games and activities, kids learn how climate change fuels severe storms, floods, and heatwaves, and what simple steps they can take to stay safe. The program encourages early confidence and sparks conversations about weather preparedness at home.
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)
“Climate Connect: Solutions for our Changing World”
At the Kortright Centre for Conservation, Climate Connect gives students a hands-on look at how nature and technology can protect communities from extreme weather. They build weather instruments, design drought- and flood-resistant gardens, and explore sustainable home innovations—all while learning how simple actions, from planting native species to caring for wetlands, can help reduce climate risks.
Girls Inc. of Northern Alberta
“Operation SMART: Northern Girls-led Severe Weather Response and Awareness”
In northern Alberta, Operation SMART is inspiring the next generation of community leaders in severe weather preparedness. Girls aged 9 to 18 take part in STEM-based workshops that cover emergency planning, safety practices, and climate-smart problem solving. Guided by women in science and emergency management, participants gain the skills—and the confidence—to help strengthen community resilience.
• • •
2024
Alliance North, in partnership with CIFAL-York, Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA), Canadian Wings of Rescue, and the City of Stratford
“Emergency Air Corps. Ambassador Project”
This collaborative project between Alliance North, CIFAL-YORK, COPA, Canadian Wings of Rescue and the City of Stratford seeks to develop an educational program that utilizes knowledgeable civilian pilots to act as ambassadors to educate the aviation community and public on the innovative potential of specialized air supports during weather related emergencies. Their goal is to create a sustainable training and education program that will bolster emergency preparedness and responses to severe weather events within communities.
Archway Community Services
“Enhance senior’s resiliency on extreme weather preparedness in Abbotsford through a two-pronged approach: Community engagement and public health”
Archway Community Services’ multi-pronged initiative engages peer educators and pharmacists to provide extreme heat preparedness information to seniors in low income societies in Abbotsford, BC. This project aims to enhance senior’s resiliency by fostering social cohesion and preparedness for extreme weather emergencies.
Evergreen
“AI for the Resilient City”
AI for the Resilient City (AI4RC) is a data visualization and analytics tool that focuses on the impacts of Urban Heat Islands and extreme heat in Canadian cities and provides resources to better evaluate infrastructure projects, mitigate climate risks and prepare communities for extreme weather events. With the support of the Genesis Grant, Evergreen seeks to scale the AI4RC to new municipalities and launch a public-facing version of the tool that will support vulnerable communities at risk of adverse weather events across the country.
Thunder Bay + Area Food Strategy (TBAFS), in partnership with Roots Community Food Centre
“Community-Based Responses to Severe Weather in Northern Ontario: Developing and Implementing an Emergency Food Plan (EFP) for the Thunder Bay Region”
The Emergency Food Plan (EFP) is a community-generated plan that provides a coordinated response to food access challenges presented by medium to climate-related emergencies in Thunder Bay, ON. The goal of this initiative is to implement community feedback into the EFP through working groups, an annual tabletop exercise and expansion of partner networks. The Genesis Grant will help sustain the stewardship and upkeep of the EFP, ensuring it evolves dynamically to provide dignified food access during emergencies.
• • •
2023
Infinite Mind Pictures Inc., in partnership with Nutrition Students Teachers Exercising with Parents (NSTEP)
“Using Minecraft to build weather-awareness (special focus on neurodivergent community members)”
The collaborative project between Infinite Mind and NSTEP aims to develop, test, and deliver engaging game-based learning to enhance students’ understanding of severe weather, focusing on neurodivergent community members. Students will participate in the role-play of extreme weather events in in-person and online activities through Minecraft, promoting resiliency and preparedness.
Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS)
“Improved prediction, understanding and response to Extreme Weather threats in Atlantic Canada”
During the CMOS Congress in St. John’s, Newfoundland, from May 28-June 1, 2023, CMOS provided three innovative workshops to promote improved prediction, understanding, and response to extreme weather threats in Atlantic Canada. These workshops included scientific training, service delivery coordination strategies, public outreach and engagement, and career planning for students. The goal was to promote innovation by exploring new techniques and sharing ideas and approaches among a critical mass of scientists from various sectors.
Community Resilience to Extreme Weather (CREW)
“Community Workbook for Climate Resilient High-rise Neighbourhoods”
CREW produced a workbook that delivered strategies and tools to help community stakeholders engage their neighbours in the social networking and climate impact preparedness central to resilient, high-rise neighbourhoods. Using a train-the-trainer model, CREW engaged and supported high-rise residents in actions that prepared them for extreme or severe weather. The workbook served as a guide for community members to take action toward creating a climate-resilient neighbourhood.
Niagara Region Emergency Management, in partnership with Niagara Safety Village, and CMOS
“Weather Aware and Prepared”
The “Weather Aware and Prepared” initiative developed a severe weather education program for youth delivered through a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). The program provided educational experiences that empowered children to respond appropriately during severe weather. The goal was to equip children with knowledge and skills that will help them to be prepared for various weather events.
Sandbox Inc., in partnership with Canadian Centre for Climate Change & Adaptation at the University of Prince Edward Island (CCCCA), and The River Clyde Pageant
“Sea Change: Climate vs. Coastlines”
Sandbox Inc. developed the documentary film “Sea Change: Climate vs Coastlines” which examined Hurricane Fiona’s destructive impact, and the related damage of erosion, rising sea levels and climate change, to explore threats facing island nations around the world. The documentary explored the science in action to mitigate the impact of future extreme weather, and community-driven adaptation innovations and creative, artistic responses to understand this changing world.