ALLYSON PRESCESKY
VANCOUVER ISLAND – In response to community needs during the pandemic, Coastal Community retooled its Building Healthier Communities Fund (BHCF) to create the Relief and Resiliency Fund (R&RF). Now that the environment has evolved, the credit union is ready to replace the R&RF with a new version of the BHCF. Applications for funding open on July 31st and can be found on cccu.ca.
BHCF has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in seed money to activate dozens of local organizations over the years. The grants help fund long-term initiatives that meet the criteria of sustainability, support for a broad range of people, and visible and meaningful impact in one of our local communities. The newly overhauled program now has a bigger budget to support holistic community health through four specific areas of support. They include:
- Housing
- Mental health
- Healthcare
- Homelessness
“We’re looking for organizations that share our vision of social responsibility, leadership and strengthening and sustaining our Island communities,” said Allyson Prescesky, Senior Manager, Community & Communications for Coastal Community. “Any projects that also include an element of financial health will receive additional points in the scoring criteria for the grants.”
The original $100,000 funding for the program has been increased to $250,000 for 2023. The extra monies have been allocated from the $1.6 million in one-time special community funding recently announced by the credit union. Some other ways Coastal Community plans to share its success through the special funding this year include:
- $250,000 to launch a bursary program for students who are current members of Coastal Community and attending post-secondary education 2023 or 2024.
- $200,000 in member-allocated funding, to be determined through member research.
- $100,000 in increased funding to the credit union’s Community Investment Fund. This program supports local projects and initiatives with grants up to $2,500.
- $50,000 in support for local initiatives that focus on financial literacy and improving financial health.
Stay tuned for more details on these and other ways Coastal Community will be using the $1.6 million to help build strong communities throughout the coming months.
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