At their September meeting, the Real Estate Foundation of BC’s Board of Governors approved 10 grants totalling $612,567.

This funding supports applied research, public education, and policy and law reform to advance sustainable land use, built environments, freshwater stewardship, and food lands programming with a view to upholding Indigenous rights and title and racial equity and justice.

Including these latest grants, REFBC has awarded more than $90 million to non-profit organizations working to strengthen BC communities and protect our shared land and water.

The Fall 2021 grants are listed alphabetically by recipient organization below.

The Central Kootenay Food Policy Council will convene First Nations, local governments, organizations, and academics with the aim of achieving forestry law reform that better protects fresh water in BC. ($40,000)

Ecotrust Canada will undertake legal research on innovative land tenure models needed to support development in First Nations jurisdictions and implement B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. ($75,000)

The Foodlands Cooperative of BC will, through engagement with Indigenous peoples, build a decolonized land trust that supports inclusion and food security. ($60,000)

Kwikwetlem First Nation will assess freshwater resources (above and below ground) in their territory through a field measurement program and high-resolution computational modelling. ($45,000)

Lhtako Dené Nation will train personnel and build capacity within the Nation and neighbouring Nazko First Nation to assess and mitigate the cumulative effects of industrial development and climate change on freshwater ecosystem and salmon health. ($32,500)

Raincoast Conservation Foundation will support First Nations on the Lower Fraser River in building their freshwater stewardship capacity and incorporating their values into plans and policies. ($63,417)

South Vancouver Neighbourhood House will provide an engagement platform for racialized people to address historic underinvestment in infrastructure and social services, identify needs, and influence change in the Killarney, Victoria-Fraserview, and Sunset neighbourhoods. ($30,000)

The Vancouver Aboriginal Community Policing Centre Society will bring inner-city groups together to explore the feasibility of assembling a land trust to protect community organizations from rising real estate prices and threatened security of tenure. ($16,650)

West Kootenay Community EcoSociety will engage racialized, rural, small, and suburban communities using the deep canvassing model to build support for sustainable land-use planning and renewable energy. ($100,000)

Young Agrarians will work with kinSHIFT to support First Nations’ land and food systems and provide reconciliation training for new and young farmers and build their capacity to collaborate with First Nations for mutual benefit. ($150,000)

Looking for project funding?

Our upcoming Real Estate Industry Grant application cycle opens in mid-November and closes on December 15, 2021. This intake will be limited to local real estate boards, the BC Real Estate Association, and the Real Estate Institute of BC.

The next General Grant application cycle opens in January 2022 and closes in February 2022.

For information on eligibility and funding priorities, visit refbc.com/grants or email grants@refbc.com to discuss your project idea.

What We’ve Funded