Grants program focus areas
Grants program focus areas
Introduction
The Real Estate Foundation of BC supports real estate and land use practices that contribute to resilient, healthy communities and natural systems. We provide grants and information to non-profit organizations working to enable transformational change in BC communities.
The Foundation’s mission is “to transform land use attitudes and practices through innovation, stewardship, and learning.” In order to effectively address this broad mandate and the immense scope of real estate and land use in BC, the Real Estate Foundation must be strategic in its grant making. We focus our granting in specific ways (principles, guidelines, subject matter) to help us make effective investments in the work of non-profits. For the Real Estate Foundation, the most effective grants support progressive projects that lead to on-the-ground change.
Here are some of the lenses we apply to help determine whether or not a project is a good fit for a Real Estate Foundation grant.
- We take a systems approach, preferring projects that recognize the interconnectedness of, for example:
- natural and built environments;
- social, economic, and ecological facets of issues;
- local, regional, provincial, national, global scales;
- various sectors and communities; and
- land use, water use, energy use.
- We value collaboration, preferring projects that involve the logical partners. This means:
- working partnerships amongst organizations;
- cooperation of relevant government, business, and/or non-profit organizations; and
- financial investment or contributions from a range of organizations that have a stake in the outcomes of the project.
- We look for leadership, preferring those projects that demonstrate innovation, or new ways to solve a problem that has eluded solutions.
- We prefer projects that anticipate long-lasting outcomes (sustainable) that can be used in other communities or contexts (scalable), and thus benefit a greater number of people.
The Foundation also has subject matter lenses called “focus areas.” In June 2011 our Board of Governors approved three grants program focus areas. Until further notice, they are:
For more information on these focus areas and the Real Estate Foundation’s particular interest in each area, please read the pages linked just above. If, after reading the narratives, you would like further clarification or to discuss a project idea with us, please contact a member of the Foundation’s grants team.
We look forward to working with you to make a positive difference for BC communities.