Building Stronger, More Inclusive Communities
Recent SPNO and Member Organization Projects
SPNO initiates and supports projects on a wide variety of topics related to social planning. Our
current focus areas are Housing and Homelessness, Poverty elimination, Newcomers, Youth, and
Nonprofit leadership.
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SPT Toronto
is a proposal to develop a community-based funding model that centres the voices of newcomers and racialized leaders within small and ethno-specific service provider organizations.
The primary purpose of this research project was to develop a funding model that is reflective of the Toronto South newcomer-serving sector. We conducted a participatory research project using co-design principles and methodologies to centre the voices of newcomers and racialized leaders within the newcomer-serving sector.
SPRC Hamilton
This is the first ever report dedicated to Personal Needs Allowance (PNA), a hidden part of Ontario’s social assistance system. At only $149/month and frozen since 2019, the PNA is the only personal income for tenants in residential care facilities (RCFs). The report shows how the PNA has lost half of its value since 1992, and there seems to be no specific policy or financial reason for this neglect of the PNA.
SPCK&D Kingston
On May 14, 2025, the Social Planning Council of Kingston & District hosted a Kingston Community Housing Forum with a focus on Affordable Rental Housing
The “What We Heard” Report and full set of slides from the event are below.
Download documents by hovering over the image and clicking the symbol in the top right corner to launch in a new window
Reimagining Social Solidarity Through a Care-Based Lens
The Social Commons: Transformational Thinking on Social Solidarity for the 21st Century is an initiative aimed at sparking national dialogue on a new vision for collective well-being in Canada. This project invites young leaders, policy-makers, advocates, academics, researchers, and community organizers to explore what a care-based approach to social policy might look like in today’s world. Rooted in the concept of the “commons”—resources and responsibilities shared for the good of all—this initiative challenges conventional systems and promotes transformative thinking about how communities support one another.
Pulling Poverty Out by the Roots (2011–2016)
Poverty Free Ontario – Pulling poverty out by the roots was an SPNO project from 2011–2016. This five-year project was an effort to provide data and support policy changes to end deep poverty, end working poverty, and protect food money so that people of limited income can eat as well as pay their rent. Poverty Free Ontario brought together community voices, researchers, and advocates to produce evidence-based policy proposals and grassroots campaigns. The project supported public education, local engagement, and provincial advocacy to influence government decisions affecting low-income Ontarians.
