Repair Cafés Everywhere Strategy

Goal: A Repair Café Everywhere strategy would build on Toronto’s existing repair community, supporting organizations like Repair Café Toronto to expand the network while keeping local Repair Cafés independent and volunteer-led. Inspired by the success of Toronto’s Nature Stewards program, the City would support organizations like Repair Café Toronto to provide funding, insurance, access to facilities, purchasing support and administrative assistance, to make it easier for new Repair Cafés to get started and existing ones to be sustainable. This strategy would allow local Repair Cafés to access support through an umbrella organization while remaining focused on what they do best: fixing things and building community. By reducing the burden of grant applications and reporting, the City can ensure small, hyper-local volunteer groups aren’t forced to choose between accessing funding and scaling down the impact they have on their communities.

The program would provide:

Repair Community Growth

• Support Repair Cafés in recruiting and connecting with local volunteers and skilled fixers.
• Make it easier for residents to find and attend Repair Cafés in their neighbourhood.
• Help build a network of people who can share skills, learn to repair, and get involved in their local community.

Training & Insurance

• Provide annual training for new Repair Café organizers on safety, event coordination, and best practices.
• Offer shared City insurance coverage so community groups aren't burdened with individual insurance costs.

Dedicated Funding & Sponsorship

• Create a dedicated Repair Café Community Grant Fund to help local Repair Cafés cover food, tools, parts, accessibility, and other event costs.
• Simplify grant reporting so that organizations that choose to participate can spend less time on paperwork and more time supporting the community.
• Develop City-wide sponsorship opportunities with local businesses and manufacturers that Repair Cafés can rely on for food, parts and more.

Access to City Spaces

• Make existing libraries, community centres, and other City spaces available for Repair Cafés.
• Ensure residents in every neighbourhood have access to regular local repair events.

Bulk Parts Purchasing, Storage and Sharing

• Help establish a monthly bulk purchasing system for commonly needed repair parts and equipment, with centralized storage and sharing.
• Ensure purchasing and sharing is as frictionless as common e-commerce platforms
• Pre-assess parts for quality and compatibility.

Support for Local Repair Economy

• Build a referral network with local repair shops and skilled professionals
• Refer repairs that require specialized tools, expertise, or certification to qualified local businesses

Centralized Repair Tracking

• Support creation or adoption of a centralized system for Repair Cafés to track the number and types of items repaired
• Use the data to demonstrate the program's impact, identify common repair needs, and guide future policy

Endorsed By
Scarborough Repair Cafe Leaders: Andrew Holden and Quentin De Becker
Toronto Wide Repair Cafe Organizers: Paul Magder, Fern Mosoff, Wai Chu