Applications are closed right now. The next round is expected this fall.
The 2025-26 intake of the Anti-Hate Security and Prevention Grant closed on December 11, 2025. The province has not published dates for the 2026-27 round yet.
What we do know: MPP Michelle Cooper's office announced in May 2026 that the next intake is expected to open in fall 2026. Both of the last two rounds opened in late fall and stayed open four to five weeks. In 2024 it was October 31 to December 2. In 2025 it was November 13 to December 11.
That's not long. The groups that get funded are almost always the ones who had their paperwork and their quotes ready before the portal opened.
Run a church, mosque, synagogue, temple, cultural centre or community organization in Niagara, Hamilton or the GTA? This is the funding program worth knowing about. It pays for security cameras, alarms, better locks and the other work you've probably been putting off because the budget was never there.
Most articles about this grant just tell you it exists. This one covers the part nobody writes about: what you can actually buy with the money, what a grant-ready quote needs to include, and what to do in the months before applications open so you're not scrambling in November.
What the Anti-Hate Security and Prevention Grant actually is
It's a provincial funding program that helps faith-based, cultural, 2SLGBTQQIA+, First Nations, Inuit, Métis and Indigenous organizations pay for security improvements to the spaces where their communities gather.
It's not small, and it's not new. According to the province, more than $98 million has gone to over 3,000 faith-based and cultural communities since 2021. The 2025-26 round added another $12.75 million on top of that.
Funding comes as a one-time grant in one of three tiers:
Organizations with non-registered chapters that meet the eligibility rules may qualify for additional funding beyond a single grant. Your tier gets set by the province based on your organization and facility, not on what you ask for.
One thing worth understanding early. This is a grant, not a rebate. You're not fronting the money and getting paid back later. That changes how you should plan, because it means the quote you attach to your application effectively becomes your budget.
Who qualifies
The program is aimed at organizations that serve communities disproportionately affected by hate-motivated incidents. Based on the province's published eligibility list, that includes:
- Religious and spiritual organizations: mosques, synagogues, temples, churches and gurdwaras
- Cultural organizations and community centres
- 2SLGBTQQIA+ organizations and community spaces
- First Nations, Inuit, Métis and Urban Indigenous organizations
- Faith-based and cultural private schools operating on a full-year basis
- Faith-based and cultural postsecondary institutions
- Children's and youth programming providers, and licensed child care programs
- Health care, youth care and social services providers
- Housing providers and long-term care facilities
- Arts organizations
On top of fitting one of those categories, there are three practical requirements that trip people up:
- You need to be a registered charity, a not-for-profit without share capital, or a First Nations council or authority, and be currently operating in the province.
- You need to hold gatherings of religious, spiritual or cultural significance at least once a month. 2SLGBTQQIA+ organizations holding annual gatherings can also qualify.
- You need to own, lease, licence or rent a non-residential indoor facility, or hold event permits for the space you use.
That second one catches groups that meet quarterly. That third one catches groups that gather in a member's home. If either sounds like you, read the guide carefully before you invest time in an application.
Always check the official source. Eligibility wording changes between rounds. The program page at ontario.ca and the application portal at Transfer Payment Ontario are the authorities here. We're a security installer, not the ministry.
What you can spend it on
This is where most write-ups stop at "security upgrades" and leave you guessing. Officially, eligible protection measures include building upgrades, enhanced locks, cameras, staff training, security assessments, cybersecurity measures, professional security services, and repairs.
Here's what those categories look like in real equipment terms, based on the systems we install for community organizations across Niagara, Hamilton and the GTA.
| Eligible category | What that means in practice |
|---|---|
| Cameras | Exterior coverage on entrances, parking areas and donation or memorial spaces. Interior coverage on lobbies and corridors. Cameras with built-in lights, sirens and voice deterrence are worth asking about, since they intervene rather than just record. |
| Intrusion alarms | Door and window contacts, motion detection, glass-break sensors, and a panel connected to 24-hour ULC-certified monitoring so an actual person responds overnight and on holidays. |
| Enhanced locks and access control | Access control on main and side entrances, fobs or codes instead of keys that walk away, and audit trails showing who entered and when. Often the highest-value item for a building with many volunteers. |
| Building upgrades | Exterior lighting on dark approaches, door and frame reinforcement, and intercom or video entry so staff can see and speak to someone before unlocking the door. |
| Security assessments | A professional walkthrough that documents the gaps in your building. Useful on its own, and useful as evidence inside your application. |
| Cybersecurity | Network and technology improvements. Relevant if your camera system, donor database or member records live on the same network. |
| Training and planning | Staff and volunteer training, emergency planning, and education on responding to hate-motivated incidents. |
| Repairs | Fixing property damaged in a hate-motivated incident. |
How to prioritize if you only get $5,000
Plenty of organizations get approved at the lowest tier and then try to spread it across everything at once. That usually produces a system that half works.
A better approach is to fix the weakest point in your building completely, rather than partially fixing five of them. For most community facilities that means one of two things.
Is your building empty overnight with nobody watching it? Monitored intrusion detection plus a couple of well-placed cameras on the main entrances buys you the most protection per dollar. Busy building where anyone can walk in off the street? Access control on the entry doors does more.
Ask whoever quotes you which one applies to your building, and ask them to say why. If they can't explain the reasoning, get a second quote.
What to do before applications open
The last two cycles gave applicants four to five weeks. Start your prep the week the portal opens and you're already behind the organizations that started in the summer. Here's the order we'd suggest.
Confirm your organization is eligible
Check your charitable or not-for-profit registration status now, not in November. Confirm your gatherings meet the monthly requirement, and confirm the facility you use fits the non-residential rule. If your registration has lapsed, fixing that takes time you won't have later.
Walk your building and write down the gaps
Do it at night, not on a Sunday morning. Which entrances are dark? Which doors don't lock properly? Who has keys, and do you actually know? Where would someone go if they wanted to damage the building without being seen?
Write it down. This list becomes the backbone of your application, and it tells any installer exactly what to quote.
Get a written quote before the rush
Every installer in the province gets busy the week this grant opens. Book your site visit in late summer or early fall and you'll get a considered quote instead of a rushed one. Quotes normally hold long enough to cover the application window, and a good installer will reissue at no charge if pricing shifts.
Get your supporting documents in one folder
Registration numbers, proof you occupy the facility, board or leadership contacts, banking details, and any documentation of past incidents. Scattered paperwork is the most common reason a ready organization still misses the deadline.
Decide who is actually submitting it
Name one person and give them the folder. Applications that belong to a committee tend to belong to nobody. Make sure that person has access to your Transfer Payment Ontario account, or can set one up, well before the window opens.
Watch for the opening announcement
Last round opened November 13 with a press release the same day. Keep an eye on the program page, and if you're on your local MPP's mailing list, you'll usually hear about it there too.
What a grant-ready quote should include
A quote that's one line reading "security system" and a total doesn't help your application. Reviewers want to see that you know what you're buying and why. A quote you can attach with confidence should spell out:
- Every piece of equipment listed individually, with model numbers
- Where each item goes, so the quote maps to your building
- Installation and labour broken out from equipment
- Monitoring terms stated clearly, including whether the monitoring centre is ULC-certified
- Warranty and service coverage
- A total that matches the tier you're applying for
- Your organization's legal name, not the informal one people use day to day
That last one matters more than it sounds. If your quote says "St. Mark's" and your registration says something longer and more formal, make them match.
A note on timing your install. Grant funds are tied to the program's own timelines, so don't sign anything or start work on the assumption you've been approved. Get the quote, submit the application, and wait for the province to confirm. Any installer pressuring you to commit before that is doing you no favours.
How Force Security helps
We're a family-owned security company in Niagara Falls, and we've been installing and monitoring systems since 1988. We work with churches, cultural centres and community organizations across Niagara, Hamilton and the GTA.
For organizations applying to this grant, here's what we do:
- A free site walkthrough. We come out, look at the building the way someone with bad intentions would, and tell you where the real gaps are.
- An itemized written quote built to attach directly to your application, with equipment, placement, labour and monitoring all broken out.
- Honest scoping to your tier. If you're likely to land at $5,000, we'll tell you what actually fits in $5,000 rather than quoting you a system you can't fund.
- Local ULC-certified monitoring from our own central station, so when the alarm goes at 2am on a holiday weekend, a real person here handles it.
- No lock-in contracts. We'd rather earn next year than trap you in this one.
We're not grant consultants and we won't pretend to be. We don't fill out the application for you and we can't influence whether you're approved. What we can do is make sure the security half of your submission is solid, specific and ready to go before the window opens.
Get your walkthrough booked before the fall rush
Free site assessment and an itemized, grant-ready quote for your church, mosque, synagogue, cultural centre or community organization. No cost and no obligation.
Call (844) 360-1234Frequently asked questions
When does the Anti-Hate Security and Prevention Grant open for 2026-27?
The province hasn't published official dates yet. MPP Michelle Cooper's office announced in May 2026 that the next intake is expected to open in fall 2026. The last two rounds both ran in late fall on a short window: 2024-25 opened October 31, 2024 and closed December 2, 2024, and 2025-26 opened November 13, 2025 and closed December 11, 2025. That's roughly four to five weeks each time. Watch the official program page at ontario.ca for confirmed dates.
How much money can my organization get?
Grants are awarded in one of three tiers: $5,000, $7,500 or $10,000. It's a one-time grant, not annual funding, and the province assigns the tier based on your organization and facility. Organizations with non-registered chapters that meet the eligibility criteria may qualify for additional funding beyond a single grant.
Can the grant pay for security cameras and alarm monitoring?
Yes. The province lists installing cameras and making building upgrades among eligible protection measures, along with enhanced locks, professional security services, security assessments, cybersecurity measures, staff training and repairs after a hate-motivated incident. In practice that covers camera systems, intrusion alarms, access control, exterior lighting and video entry systems. Check the current application guide for the exact eligible-expense wording each round, since details can shift between cycles.
Do I need a quote from a security company to apply?
Check the current application guide for the exact document requirements, since they can change between rounds. Regardless of what's strictly required, a detailed written quote makes your application far stronger. It shows you've costed the work properly rather than estimating, and it gives reviewers something concrete to assess. It also means that if you're approved, you can move immediately instead of starting the quoting process from scratch.
Is my church, mosque or synagogue automatically eligible?
Not automatically. Beyond being a religious, spiritual or cultural organization, you generally need to be a registered charity, a not-for-profit without share capital, or a First Nations council or authority, currently operating in the province. You also need to hold gatherings at least once a month and to own, lease, licence or rent a non-residential indoor facility. Groups that meet quarterly, or that gather in a member's home, are the ones most often caught out.
Can I apply if my organization received the grant in a previous year?
Rules on repeat applicants have varied between rounds, so this is one to confirm in the current application guide rather than assume. If you were funded before, have your previous grant details and any required reporting ready when the new round opens. Being able to show you spent the earlier funding as intended is never a disadvantage.
What's the difference between this and the federal security grant?
They're separate programs with separate applications. The Anti-Hate Security and Prevention Grant is provincial, run through Transfer Payment Ontario. The federal government runs its own funding for communities at risk of hate-motivated crime through Public Safety Canada, with different amounts, timelines and criteria. Some organizations apply to both. If you're considering that, check each program's rules on stacking funding for the same expense.
How long does it take to install a system once we're approved?
For most community facilities, a camera and alarm install is a one or two day job once equipment is on hand. Access control on multiple doors can take longer, and older buildings sometimes need extra work to route cable cleanly. The bigger variable is scheduling. Approvals tend to land around the same time for everyone, so installers get busy in the same few weeks. Booking your walkthrough early puts you nearer the front of that queue.
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Force Security serves Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, and surrounding areas. View all service areas.
