About Grid & Ground
It's a calendar. A sexy, civic calendar.
What it is
A simple feed for Toronto that maps the grid of city systems to real-world action on the ground, opening clear doors for residents to build their personal civic agenda.
I manually curate this feed of events and opportunities that invite Toronto residents to understand, participate in or shape their communities and civic life. Public learning, community organizing, neighbourhood action, a say in a pending decision: a clear invitation and a concrete next step.
Peaceful rallies, community consultations and fireside chats are all welcome when they help Torontonians understand or improve their city.
The curation is human. No automated imports or AI-generated listing content.
Who's building it, and why
I'm Deneille Macas. For years, my building energy went into the Toronto Housing Society. As I started bringing on more contributors to help it become civic housing infrastructure beyond me, I wanted a little development playground again. Something small, useful and deliberately narrow.
Something I could build slowly. Enjoy the process. Occasionally piss myself off with how slowly.
The idea clicked when I couldn't find a workshop I wanted to share with someone I'd met at a CivicAction work event. It was their first policy and engagement event. They'd had fun and wanted more. I thought I had just the thing: a workshop I'd seen only days before.
Had I seen it on LinkedIn? Civic Tech TO Slack? An accidental Eventbrite discovery? Absolutely no idea.
That same week, a conversation about civic “apathy” bothered me. The people I know care about making life in Toronto better. They're also tired, broke, far away or strapped for time. Finding a way in shouldn't be another job.
So, calendar.
Built to get you to action
The Grid is the city's systems and structures. The Ground is people, lived experience and the energy we bring to shape our communities. The calendar brings a little clarity to the first, so there's more room for the second.
Where they meet, something brilliant happens.
Every initiative has to pass the test: does this help someone gain the knowledge, relationships, resources or collective voice to influence their community or civic systems?
Keeping it simple
No accounts necessary, love; the only engagement I need from you is civic. Find a match and take the next step with the organizer.
Have an initiative to share? Submit it for review.
Questions or something I've missed? gridandgroundca@gmail.com