New Grants Support Land-Based Learning, Inclusive Planning, and Indigenous Housing Strategies

At their December 2021 meeting, the Real Estate Foundation of BC’s Board of Governors approved 13 grants totalling $603,420.

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 Winter 2021 grants are listed alphabetically by recipient organization below.

The Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness Society will develop a culturally supportive housing strategy focused on the needs of Indigenous people living on Vancouver Island. ($46,420)

CityHive Youth Engagement Society will broaden and deepen its engagement activities to ensure that more Indigenous, Black, racialized, and LGBTQ2S+ youth inform decision-making at local governments across Metro Vancouver. ($120,000)

Collingwood Neighbourhood House Society will, through the Indigenous Foodlands Revitalization project, conduct activities grounded in the spirit of learning and sharing at Norquay Community Food Forest. ($20,000)

The En’owkin Centre (Okanagan Indian Educational Resources Society) will support land-based learning and promote public education along the Okanagan River, in keeping with Syilx eco-cultural values, in partnership with SnPink’tn (Penticton Indian Band) and the Okanagan Nation Alliance. ($20,000)

The Grizzly Bear Foundation will support the Indigenous Roundtable on Grizzly Bear Conservation and Bear-Viewing Ecotourism, which involves more than 30 First Nations, in advancing Indigenous-led conservation opportunities and land-use planning. ($75,000)

Living Lakes Canada will collaborate with partners to find data-access solutions and integrate Indigenous knowledge in the Foreshore Integrated Management Planning framework. ($100,000)

NatureKids BC (Young Naturalists’ Club of British Columbia Society) will undertake community listening research on the barriers to accessing nature faced by Indigenous, newcomer, and racialized communities across BC. ($20,000)

The Okanagan Nation Alliance will develop a K-12 teachers’ resource guide that enables students to better understand the role of water in the region and traditional Sylix approaches to watershed stewardship. ($25,000)

Resilient Waters, hosted by MakeWay Charitable Society, will convene governments, Indigenous-led organizations, academics, and water stewards for conversations in support of integrative and collaborative floodplain management. ($64,000)

The Somenos Marsh Wildlife Society will engage a Cowichan Tribes member to participate in a planning process and design a work program for the protection and restoration of the S’amunu (Somenos) watershed. ($18,000)

The University of Victoria’s School of Environmental Studies will engage and build relationships with First Nations as part of the development of a climate action plan for the Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities region. ($25,000)

The Vancouver Aboriginal Community Policing Centre Society will undertake research and community engagement to inform the development of a Downtown Eastside community land trust that will be designed primarily by precariously housed and homeless residents and the organizations that serve them. ($50,000)

Yale First Nation will engage their community to develop a housing retention strategy and support networks to help vulnerable community members stay in their homes. ($20,000)

Looking for project funding?

Our upcoming General Grant application cycle opens on February 2, 2022, and closes on February 25, 2022. This will be the only General Grant intake in 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