Communitas Grant-in-Aid Program

2026 Cycle is Now CLOSED.

In 2026 the Cortes Foundation is continuing the tradition of leveraging our tax dollars impact via Grant-in-Aid by bringing $30,000 more Communitas Community Granting dollars to the $25,000 made available from the Strathcona Regional District.
The Community Foundation has heard feedback from island community groups that one key barrier is the lack of flexible and capacity oriented funding.
Thus, this years joint Communitas/Grant-in-Aid round Community Granting will have 2 streams:

  •  Projects up to 5,000
    Application will demonstrate Cross-organizational collaborations and new initiatives that seed ongoing change.

    and

  • Capacity Development up to 10,000.
    Application will demonstrate how these funds can help the organization pivot, diversify revenue, and/or work collaboratively to address community needs.

Organizations may apply for both streams of funding but note that the SRD Grant-in-Aid have their own set of rules and recommendations made by the Foundation with input from the Community Advisory are only recommendations put forward to the SRD board for final approval.

Applications are DUE by midnight June 8th 2026

For questions reach outreach@cortesfoundation.ca

Project Stream

1- Write a project description of approximately one page describing the project, detailing the collaboration or innovation, or the way it will seed change or financial sustainability and the budget. (Keep it brief. Feel free to send an audio file, email, word doc. Tell us how much you are asking for and why that amount.)

2- Download and complete the SRD fillable pdf

Both documents and supporting files must be submitted simultaneously to outreach@cortesfoundation.ca

Capacity Development Stream

1- Write a project description of approximately one page describing the project, how these founds can help the organization pivot, diversify revenue, and/or work collaboratively to address community needs.

2- Provide detailed budget

3- Provide yearly financial and yearly budget

4- Download and complete the SRD fillable pdf

All documents and supporting files must be submitted simultaneously to outreach@cortesfoundation.ca

We highly encourage you to reach out to book a consult if you have questions about your project.

Cortes Island Community Foundation has assisted with the strategy and adjudication of the Grant-in-Aid funds since 2022.  In this process, the Foundation engages the experience of Foundation staff and board and a volunteer advisory made up of community members that both use a matrix to guide their recommendations examining: organizational/project need, past funding, depth or breadth of impact, and capacity.

The final recommendation receive a final vetting by the SRD staff and if eligible are submitted to the Strathcona Regional District board by Regional Director, Mark Vonesch, for final consideration.

All the fine print: The Strathcona Regional District uses Cortes tax payer money for funding the Grants-in-Aid pool of money. They set the guidelines for eligibility.
Please familiarize yourself with these requirements and the application at https://srd.ca/grant-in-aid/.
As well, the Community Foundation further considers the standing of an organization based on past grants received and a Grant Report or an update is required for eligibility before applying again.

Past Projects

The 2025 Grant-in-Aid funding prioritized:
- Cross-organizational collaborations and
- New initiatives that seed ongoing change or revenue potential for community causes.

 

The 2024 Grant-in-Aid funding prioritized projects supporting Arts, Culture and Environment. Applications outside those themes from organizations facing a particularly urgent need were welcome to apply as well.

 

The 2023 Grant-in-Aid Funds prioritized projects related to .

 

The 2022 Grant-in-Aid Funds prioritized projects related to continued community recovery after COVID and particularly those groups facing urgent needs.