Mississauga chamber music group receives $38K grant to help it thrive well into the future

Chamber Music Society Mississauga is using a grant from the Ontario government to not only recover from the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but to position itself to thrive in the city for years to come. 

The $37,900 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) this year via the OTF’s Resilient Communities Fund comes at a crucial time for the Mississauga organization, which wants to ensure it can continue to provide the city and its residents with high-quality professional music that’s accessible to all. 

“The impact of this grant cannot be underestimated,” said Majka Pakulnicka, president of the CMSM’s board of directors. “This grant has allowed a key organization in Mississauga to position itself to thrive, grow and repositioned itself in our changed reality.” 

In addition to helping the organization rebound from economic impacts of the pandemic, the OTF grant will help equip the CMSM’s board and staff so they can implement new approaches, prepare for change and build resiliency through the development of a new strategic and succession plan, the group says. 

“It will help us build a solid foundation for moving forward in these unprecedented and challenging times,” the CMSM said, noting it hopes many in the community will benefit as a result. 

Specifically, the organization says, the money has enabled it to hire a consulting firm with expertise in not-for-profit strategic development, “to dive deep to create a comprehensive analysis both internal and external.” 

As one of Canada’s leading grant foundations, OTF awarded $115 million to 644 projects last year in Ontario.