The Comox Valley Community Foundation (CVCF) is pleased to announce that over $353,000 will be available in the form of grants for registered charities and not for profit organizations in 2022-2023.
“Once again we are taking a very deliberate approach to our granting program this year and are targeting our available funding to address specific community priorities identified in recent community conversations,” said Christine Helpard, CVCF’s President.
“We are thankful for the honest and candid advice we received from individuals who are witnessing first-hand the complex challenges facing our community,” she added. “In addition to directing the community’s funds to where they are most needed, we are also expanding our commitment to the principles of community-based decisions and trust-based philanthropy within our granting program.”
CVCF will be adopting a five-pronged approach to granting for 2022-2023:
• $75,000 to address housing insecurity and homelessness
• $20,000 to assist with charitable/not for profit sector development
• $50,000 to support recreation and social programming for adults with diverse abilities
• $50,000 to support environmental and climate action initiatives
• $158,800 directed to Community Enrichment Grants to address the following four priorities:
o Food Insecurity and Food Systems
o Mental Health and Connection
o Indigenous led or benefitting projects/organizations
o Arts, Culture and Heritage
Below are further details about the granting program:
Housing insecurity, housing affordability and homelessness were again identified as the most important issues facing our community. CVCF is committing $75,000 and will take direction from the Comox Valley Coalition to End Homelessness as to how the funding should be allocated. This the second year of CVCF’s three-year commitment to address housing insecurity.
After a successful first year facilitating and funding training and development for the charitable and not for profit sector, CVCF is again committing $20,000 to support a series of training opportunities beginning September 2022, as well as the resources to coordinate informal gatherings to promote the sharing of information and collaboration within the sector.
CVCF is again committing $50,000 to support recreation and social programming for adults with diverse abilities. The Developmental Disabilities Fund was established in 2013 to promote the well-being and enrich the lives of adults with diverse abilities living in the Comox Valley. That fund now realizes almost $32,000 in income annually and CVCF has contributed additional funds to bring the total amount available to $50,000. Grant amounts will be determined by the organizations who deliver the programming.
CVCF is also committing $50,000 to support environmental and climate action initiatives, a new focus for 2022-2023. Through this funding, CVCF, a signatory to the Canadian Philanthropy Commitment on Climate Change in February 2022, will support more ambitious action on climate change by key community stakeholders and partners. A community table, comprised of environmental and climate action-focused organizations, will be convened to determine how the funding should be allocated.
Finally, $158,800 will be available through CVCF’s regular Community Enrichment Grant program. As noted above, applications will only be accepted if they address the following four priorities: Food Insecurity and Food Systems; Mental Health and Connection; Indigenous led or benefitting projects/organizations; and Arts, Culture and Heritage. After housing insecurity, these were the four highest priorities facing our community as identified in our community conversations.
CVCF will be offering a multi-year funding option for the Community Enrichment Grant program, thus applicants may request funding for up to two years. The same granting priorities will remain in place for 2023-2024.
Applications for Community Enrichment grants and Housing Insecurity grants will be accepted beginning August 15, through September 22, 2022. As mentioned above, grant requests related to social and recreation programming for adults with diverse abilities, as well as environmental/ climate action initiatives will be addressed outside of this granting process. Click here for more information and to apply.
