CFSOS opens granting cycle, free workshops are available

The Community Foundation of the South Okanagan Similkameen announced the opening of the 2018 granting cycle, which officially began on Aug, 25 and closes on Oct. 20. Grant awards will be disturbed in January.

For its 2018 grant cycle, CFSOS moved the timeline to better accommodate the local organizations planning for the upcoming year.

“We met with a good portion of the local charities and the feedback was to move the timeline to the end of the year so the organizations can plan for their upcoming year knowing what funding they have confirmed,” said manager of grants and community initiatives Sarah Trudeau.

The Community Foundation will be distributing more than $400,000 to charities throughout the South Okanagan Similkameen in 2018. Grants are open to local organizations in the RDOS region who are a registered charity or who have a qualified donee or a partner charitable organization they work with.

“We provide grants to every area of community need because every area of need is important,” said Trudeau. “Grants were approved for projects from breakfast programs, to addiction recovery and environmental awareness, to name just a few. While there is always a need for short term funding priorities it is always our goal to support a broad cross section of community need through sustainable grants that often include supporting the operating needs for charities, which is often not a priority for many local funders.”

Applying for a grant from the Community Foundation involves a two-step process with the first step being to create a profile on the Foundation’s Community Knowledge Centre website (http://ckc.cfso.net).

The Community Knowledge Centre is a publicly available database of local charities for anyone looking to make an investment in the non-profit sector. The site is designed to help donors do detailed research when they are deciding on how best to support their community.

The second step in the application process is to complete an online application form. “We’re excited to offer both a short-form and long-form application,” said Trudeau.

Projects under $1,000 in value will be able to complete the application process in a matter of minutes. For requests of more than $1,000 more detailed questions regarding project goals and budgets will be required.

Free two-hour grant writing workshops are being held Sept. 25 in Princeton (1 p.m.), Sept. 26 in Summerland (1 p.m.), and Sept. 27 in Osoyoos (10 a.m.). For details or to register contact 250-493-9311 or email: admin@cfso.net.