Grant and Program Allocation Recommendations

$100,375 over 12 months (from the Toronto and Canada endowments only) to MaRS Discovery District to quantify the local and system-level impacts of data centre expansion in terms of power, energy, and emissions, and explore potential solutions to reduce those impacts both for new and existing facilities, subject to the following conditions: i. Toronto Atmospheric Fund funding be contingent on MaRS securing at least $100,375 in additional funding from external sources; and ii. Confirmed participation on the Advisory Committee of at least one local distribution company from the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area whose service territory is expected to see major data centre growth; and d. $50,000 over 12 months (from the Toronto, Ontario and Canada endowments) to Town of East Gwillimbury to undertake a full update of East Gwillimbury's Thinking Green Development Standards that aligns with other municipalities while supporting local development. 2. Declined two grant requests with a total value of $583,266. These are summarized in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (November 6, 2024) from the Senior Grants Manager, Toronto Atmospheric Fund . 3. Approved the allocation of $244,388 over three months (first quarter of 2025) to support the Toronto Atmospheric Fund programs as outlined below and to be funded from Canada, Ontario, and Toronto endowments except where otherwise indicated: a. Accelerating EV uptake: $18,750 to expand the availability of affordable public EV charging; b. Accelerating Net-Zero Ready New Construction: $25,000 to progressively strengthen codes and standards across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and advance supportive policy frameworks to ensure all new construction is net-zero ready by 2030; c. Accelerating Net-Zero Electricity: $42,500 to scale adoption of local energy solutions and clean electricity supply in support of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area's Transition to a net-zero grid; d. Retrofit Accelerator: $63,625 to build the market for deep retrofits by collaborating with leading building operators and leading industry solutions providers to deliver deeper retrofits faster and more cost effectively; e. Impact Investing: $21,250 to support prudent investments in impact-first projects/companies that are aligned with focus area initiatives, strategic directions and maintain management and compliance of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund's investment portfolio; f. Climate Policy: $12,500 (from Canada and Toronto endowments only) to be an effective and influential advocate for urban climate policy with all three levels of government in an election year with potential legal threats to core policy mechanisms (GDS); g. Grants: $8,375 to build the internal and community capacity needed to support effective design and delivery of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund-funded initiatives; h. Research and Innovation: $14,000 to deliver critical insights and evaluation to support advancement of climate priorities; provide research leadership and support to the Toronto Atmospheric Fund teams; i. Communications and Campaigns: $9,000 to increase the Toronto Atmospheric Fund's overall audience reach while maintaining our high engagement levels towards all focus area priorities; j. Program Development: $2,500 to identify new insights and opportunities for the Toronto Atmospheric Fund programming; and k. Program Support: $26,888 to ensure programs have sufficient operational and admin resources for delivery. 4. Directed that the confidential information contained in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (November 6, 2024) from the Senior Grants Manager, Toronto Atmospheric Fund remain confidential in its entirety, as it contains financial information, supplied in confidence to The Atmospheric Fund, which, if disclosed, could reasonably be expected to prejudice significantly the competitive position or interfere significantly with the contractual or other negotiations of a person, group of persons, or organization.