Helping families connect to nature near their home; making small Vancouver businesses more energy efficient; holding bike skills courses for low-income individuals; and creating a sustainable, community-supported fishery for Vancouver. These are just a few of the 150 projects supported in the first year of the Greenest City Fund.
February 12, 2013 – Helping families connect to nature near their home; making small Vancouver businesses more energy efficient; holding bike skills courses for low-income individuals; and creating a sustainable, community-supported fishery for Vancouver. These are just a few of the 150 projects supported in the first year of the Greenest City Fund.
The Greenest City Fund is a unique, four-year partnership between the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Foundation that is designed to help Vancouver become the greenest city in the world by 2020.
In April 2012, both organizations contributed $1 million each to create the Fund. Since launching last year, the Greenest City Fund has made grants totaling $538,492 and supported 150 projects that reinforce Vancouver’s Greenest City Action Plan.
“The response in the first year of the Greenest City Fund has been gratifying,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson. “Each grant category has been over-subscribed, and we are very encouraged by the public support and participation in the projects, from green jobs to waste reduction to energy efficiency. This year, we want to encourage even more people to get involved and raise awareness about our Greenest City goals.
“With this first year of granting from the Greenest City Fund, we have a great start.”
“One of the important features of the Greenest City Fund,” says Faye Wightman, President and CEO of Vancouver Foundation, “is that it provides an opportunity for the entire community to be involved. There are youth-led projects, projects led by neighbourhoods and individual residents, and projects led by community groups. This has resulted in an amazing diversity of projects — from restoring parts of Stanley Park, to helping neighbourhoods reduce their ecological footprint, to growing urban orchards.
“We hope that 2013 will bring even more interest in the Greenest City Action Plan, and that the grants jointly offered by the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Foundation will continue to engage residents in finding local solutions, and building connections in their community.”
Here is a breakdown, by category, of the projects supported by the Greenest City Fund in
2012:
Generation Green Grants
Support youth-led projects, with a special focus this year on sustainable food. The first round of grants were reviewed by Vancouver Foundation’s Youth Philanthropy Council (YPC), a jury of volunteer youth.
19 applications were received, and 12 projects were supported, totaling $73,197.
Greenest City Neighbourhood Small Grants
Support neighbourhood-based projects created by residents.
206 applications were received, and 121 projects were supported, totaling $73,795.
Greenest City Community Grants
Support green programs developed by charitable organizations.
61 applications were received, and 17 projects supported, totaling $391,500.
(A complete list of Greenest City Fund grant recipients for 2012 is available
within the PDF.)
The Greenest City Fund is a four-year, $2 million fund for community-led green projects that support Vancouver’s Greenest City 2020 Action Plan goals. A partnership between the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Foundation, the Greenest City Fund comprises three granting programs: Generation Green Grants, which fund youth-led projects; Greenest City Neighbourhood Small Grants, which fund projects created by Vancouver residents that benefit their neighbourhood; and Greenest City Community Grants, which fund Vancouver projects led by community-based charitable organizations. The goal of the Greenest City Fund is to help make Vancouver the greenest city in the world by 2020.
Find out more at:
Media contacts:
City of Vancouver
Corporate Communications
604.871.6336
Vancouver Foundation
Communications Department
604.688.2204
