We Granted $20.93 Million to Create Systems Change in BC

We’ve granted $20.93 million to charities and non-profits that are exploring and embarking on projects that aim to create change by getting to the very root of a problem to work towards solving it. We tripled what we tend to grant in one Systems Change and Participatory Action Research (PAR) cycle by distributing our entire year’s granting budget at once. This means we won’t be offering these two grant programs again in 2021 (stay updated on our grant programs).

We hope this fuels charities and non-profits as they work to rebuild our communities. Understanding what is holding a problem in place, and implementing solutions to these issues are both important to pandemic recovery.

Distributing our granting budget now also gives our granting team the time and flexibility to pursue systems change within Vancouver Foundation. Throughout 2021 and 2022, we are pursuing a way of doing things that shifts and shares power with people and communities who have been left out too often in the past, so that everyone can be part of our mission and vision.

Granting breakdown

Of the $20.93 million we granted:

• • $18.75 million was spread out across 112 Systems Change projects

• • The other $2.18 million went to 11 PAR projects. PAR projects involve a researcher co-leading a project with a community group.

• • 95% of our dollars were granted as multi-year project funding

Themes in this round of funding:

Projects led by First Nations or Indigenous-led organizations:

• • Ahousaht First Nation is improving public health and safety through new animal care and control measures.

• • Tsleil-Waututh Nation is decolonizing the curriculum at Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN) School with a culturally appropriate learning model for students that combines conventional curriculum with TWN values and ways of knowing.

• • First Nations Educational Foundation is collaborating with three First Nations to record languages in a decolonial way as well as create interactive digital language platforms to sustain language revitalization.

Arts non-profits advancing reconciliation and increasing representation of racialized artists:

• • vAct (Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre) is helping Asian Canadians gain experience directing theatre shows, which is a crucial part of the skillset of Artistic Director roles at theatre companies.

• • Alley Theatre , in partnership with Axis Theatre , will tour “Inheritance: a pick-the-path experience ” and adapt it for film, audio, and community reading. The play engages everyday people and policymakers to understand that reconciliation cannot occur without making right the colonial systems of land ownership.

• • BC Alliance for Arts & Culture ‘s partner organization Greater Vancouver Society to Bridge Arts and Community is working with Visceral Visions to launch a portal for employers on CultureBrew.Art , an online directory of Indigenous and racialized artists in performing and media arts.

Environmental non-profits and educators prioritizing Indigenous voices and leadership in their sectors:

• • Pembina Institute seeks to re-position First Nations leadership in clean energy development by changing policy.

• • Ecotrust Canada is expanding its home retrofit project in Indigenous and rural communities in partnership with the Heiltsuk First Nation , Regional District of Mount Waddington , Quatsino First Nation  & ‘Namgis  First Nation.

• • School District No. 87 (Stikine) is integrating Tahltan ways of teaching to create a culturally appropriate classroom for Tahltan students.

We are so excited by every project that we’ve funded.

We do not currently have any upcoming grant cycles. For the latest schedule of our grant programs, please visit Grant Program Updates or sign up to be notified about upcoming grants .