Sandra Richardson is CEO of the Victoria Foundation
VICTORIA – A record amount of funding is being distributed through the Collaboration Stream of the Victoria Foundation’s Community Grants Program, with $721,318 supporting 17 non-profit and charitable collaborations in the capital region. This funding will help meet the growing need for resources in the philanthropic sector and will help organizations work together to address solutions to the complex challenges facing the region.
The funding is made up of discretionary endowed funds, the Foundation’s Community Action Funds, and $270,000 in one-time funding by the Government of British Columbia through the Community Prosperity Fund.
The funding represents an eight per cent increase in the total amount of Collaboration Stream funding recommended over 2023. This year, a record 39 applications were submitted for a total request of $2.4 million. 25 of the submissions were from first-time applicants.
“This funding through the Collaboration Stream will help to strengthen collaboratives between philanthropic organizations working so hard to find solutions to some of the deeply rooted issues in our community,” said Victoria Foundation CEO Sandra Richardson.
“The record-amount of funding requested from the community underscores the increasing need for support in the sector. It also conveys the ambition and eagerness of local organizations to put their minds and resources together to create lasting change. The community knows that great things can happen when we work together,” she said.
For the second year, there were two funding sub-streams, including Practice Innovation and Systems Change, with two-thirds of all applications to the Practice Innovation sub-stream.
Grant recipients were chosen with an emphasis on an equitable distribution across the region’s geography and equity-deserving populations, while prioritizing organizations working on key Vital Signs issue areas.
Click here for a full list of successful applicants to the Collaboration Grant stream.Matthew Kemshaw, Executive Director of Flourish! School Food Society, one of the successful applicants, says the grant of $15,000 “will help the organizations working at the Mustard Seed’s Food Security Distribution Centre to strategically align their efforts and activities.”
“We hope this will lead to an increased capacity to process and distribute food to support school and community food programs,” he explained.
Likewise, Kabir Hosein, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Sport for Life, says their grant of
$42,000, through strategic collaboration, will provide newcomers to Greater Victoria with opportunities to engage in sports and other physical activities while connecting with others in their new community.
“By connecting Victoria’s leaders, this grant helps foster inclusion, community building and safety, and opportunities for employment and well-being. The collaboration will help break down barriers to participation and create a supportive environment for newcomers to stay active,” said Kabir.
This funding announcement comes in light of the latest State of the Sector report, titled ‘Under Pressure.’ The report found that many non-profits in BC today are grappling with high costs of inflation and skyrocketing demand for services, that they often experience burnout, and that they’ve seen a decline in revenues and volunteerism, among other findings.
The Community Grants Program is one avenue that helps address these challenges by supporting registered charities and other qualified donees whose work benefits community wellbeing in the capital region.
The 2024 Community Grants Program has two grant streams, including the Vital Stream and the Collaboration Stream. Starting in 2024, the grant streams had separate intake timelines, to better recognize the distinct program goals for each stream and to align better with the community’s capacity for collaborative projects.
Source: Victoria Foundation
