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REFBC Grants Support Indigenous Land and Water Governance
Widzin Kwah Canyon, Witset. Photo: Stephen Hui
REFBC Grants Support Indigenous Land and Water Governance
The Real Estate Foundation of BC is pleased to announce 25 new grants totalling $3,724,305.
REFBC’s Board of Governors approved the General Grants at their September 2026 meeting. Seventeen of the grants are going to new recipients.
Our grants support law and policy reform, applied research, community engagement, professional education, and public education to advance sustainability, equity, and social justice in land use and real estate practices across BC.
In our work, we are committed to upholding the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). We prioritize grants to Indigenous-led organizations. We are also particularly interested in projects that advance justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility — by and for racialized and equity-seeking communities.
Since 1988, REFBC has awarded more than $145 million in grants to strengthen BC communities and protect our shared land and water. The projects we support are led by First Nations, nonprofits, and other organizations.
Grants are listed alphabetically by recipient organization below.
Fall 2026 Grants
| Organization | Project | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| ʔakisq̓nuk First Nation | ʔakisq̓nuk Guardians ʔamak (Land) and wuʔu (Water) Stewardship | $200,000 |
| Bonaparte First Nation (St’uxwtéws) | Bonaparte Land Use Planning and Governance Project | $100,000 |
| Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society | Building Community Capacity and Support for N’Quatqua First Nation’s IPCA Vision | $50,000 |
| Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance Society | Indigenous-Led Benchmarks for Salmon Fisheries Governance | $200,000 |
| Gitxaała Nation | Support for UNDRIP: Legal Research and Community Engagement | $50,000 |
| Kwantlen Lands, Resources and Stewardship Ltd. (Kwantlen First Nation) | xixáɬəmət ʔi ct tə n̓a χeʔχeʔ qaʔ ʔiʔ kʷθə sɬiʔaʔəqʷt per q̓ʷa:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ šxʷtəʔes | $150,000 |
| Lake Babine Nation | Restoring Wild Sockeye Source Waters With Beaver Dam Analogs (Babine Lake Tributaries) | $68,805 |
| Lax Kw’alaams Fishing Enterprises Ltd. (Lax Kw’alaams Band) | Lax Kw’alaams Bivalve Sustainability Plan | $120,000 |
| Lheidli T’enneh First Nation | Advancing the Dzulhyun-Walker Protected Area: Planning, Capacity, and Engagement | $200,000 |
| Northwest Critical Conservation Coalition Society | Wilps Tsa’bux Territorial Stewardship Initiative | $300,000 |
| Pellt’iq’t First Nation (Whispering Pines/Clinton Indian Band) | Wildfire Risk Reduction to Enhance Habitat, Forest Carbon, and Food Sovereignty | $200,000 |
| SC’IȺNEW̱ (Beecher Bay) First Nation | SC’IȺNEW̱ Guardians Program | $100,000 |
| Sech’iziqi Arts and Culture Society | Restoring Relationships: Tŝilhqot’in Ceremony and Warrior Training on the Land | $247,000 |
| Semiahmoo First Nation | Restoring Steloqwen Salmon Watershed Resilience | $200,000 |
| Sḵwálwen Indigenous Botany Society | Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Speném: Reconnecting With Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Plant Foods | $100,000 |
| Sumas First Nation (Semá:th) | Semá:th Guardians Program | $200,000 |
| SȾÁUTW̱ (Tsawout First Nation) | SELE₭TEȽ Cultural Stewardship and Guardian Patrol Pilot Project | $180,000 |
| Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association | Thompson Watershed Wildlife Corridors: Pathways to Implementation | $180,000 |
| University of British Columbia (School of Community and Regional Planning) | Strengthening Indigenous Professional Education in Community Planning in BC | $80,000 |
| Watershed Watch Salmon Society | Connected Waters: Safe, Resilient, and Healthy Floodplains for All | $150,000 |
| Witset First Nation | Witset Community Food Sovereignty Training and Leadership Program | $150,000 |
| ’Wuìk̓inux̌v Nation | Təll̓naqvəla: Building Capacity and Restoring Connection to Our Land | $200,000 |
| Xa7tús Advocacy Society | Syilx Headwaters Stewardship: Community Care for Land and Water | $75,000 |
| Yadānx Ghātagwedił’alh Society | Culturally Grounded Indigenous Building Systems for Resilient Housing and Food Sovereignty | $75,000 |
| Young Agrarians (Agrarians Foundation) | Rooted Approaches to Land Back: Reimagining Agricultural Lands as Shared Spaces | $148,500 |
| Total: | 25 grants | $3,724,305 |
Funding Opportunities
General Grants
These grants can fund projects led by First Nations, non-profits, and other organizations working on projects relating to land use or real estate in BC.
We prioritize applications from Indigenous-led organizations.
Next intake opens:
January 2027
Application deadline:
February 2027
Real Estate Industry Grants
These grants can fund projects led by non-profit organizations serving real estate professionals in BC.
Next intake opens:
November 12, 2026
Application deadline:
December 8, 2026
Published on: September 2, 2026
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