This upcoming month is a big one for the Victoria Foundation, and we’re very excited about it.
First, it marks the opening of our applications for Community Grants for 2019. Community Grants are one of the core ways the Victoria Foundation supports the civil-society sector in the capital region. In 2018, of the $24.6 million in grants we distributed, our Community Grants saw $2.2 million go to more than 100 charities, funding programs contributing toward building a vibrant, caring community for all.
These grants are also yet another example of our Vital Signs program in action, as each grant application must address at least one of the issue areas from the report, such as Arts and Culture or Housing. All federally registered charities in the region are invited to apply for grants in three different funding streams, some of which go up to $40,000.
Applications open Friday, May 31, at noon and will close Monday, July 29.
The other reason June can’t come fast enough for the foundation is we’re playing host to the Community Foundations of Canada All In 2019 conference from June 6-8. This is the first time this conference has been held in Victoria and it will see more than 700 delegates from across the country and around the world gather to collaborate and inspire one another as we work toward a better future for our communities and the planet.
I know the Victoria Foundation team left the last conference, held in Ottawa in 2017, full of new ideas and approaches for the community-building work we do, and with an impressive list of guest speakers and workshops, this year’s event is set to do the same. The energy and inspiration gained from meeting people from all over the world who are just as committed to and passionate about community well-being is palpable.
And the inspiration is a two-way street. While these guests are in our region, they will have the chance to head out into the community to visit some of the success stories we have to offer as examples of community leadership. These will include trips to the Food Security Distribution Centre in Esquimalt (a recent recipient of provincial funding that will ensure its longevity), the Victoria Native Friendship Centre, some of our safe-consumption services and sites, and PEPÁKEN HÁUTW, an Indigenous food-sovereignty organization.
I’m certain our guests will see our community as an example of what can be accomplished through partnerships, kindness and determination.
So if you see any of our visitors out and about, please welcome them to our region. We’re a friendly bunch, us foundation folks, and I know they would do the same for us.
Sandra Richardson is CEO of the Victoria Foundation.
