Small Island, Big Impact

The Cortes Foundation is one of the first Foundations in Canada to be able to invest in significant local impact without an endowment.

 

On Giving Tuesday we ask that you consider giving to the Community Foundation’s new Cornerstone Supporter Fund to support our key initiatives such as the Vital Signs, Social Profit Network, and Community Granting.

 

Together we can keep this small foundation with big impact going. Join us on Giving Tuesday and become a Cornerstone Supporter. Your donation will help the Cortes Community Foundation to run all of our programs.

I'd love to support!

Vital Signs Report

We have a diversity of human experiences in one little community. In order to understand more about the stories behind these experiences, this year the Cortes Foundation led a Vital Signs report with an astonishing 330 local respondents making this the most in-depth report of its kind ever done on Cortes Island.

A few things we learned:

  • Cortesians feel a strong sense of belonging and contribute significantly to volunteerism
  • Cortes has approximately twice as many low-income families and half-as-many upper middle class families as elsewhere in our region and as the province as a whole
  • Many Cortes residents have vulnerable housing situations, are struggling to regularly access healthy foods, and are unable to access basic healthcare needs including medications, dental work, hearing aids, and more.
  • The lack of access to education remains an issue for many families and young people who aren’t able to access high-school or post-secondary training

Community Granting

In the two years since we gave our first grants, we have:

  • Developed a unique community granting process that allows democratic input from the community
  • Developed the Giving Well pilot in partnership with philanthropic partner and gifted $300,000 to island’s most vulnerable
  • Run annual MicroGrants for Neighbours Program funding about 5,000 a year to individuals for community projects.
  • Faciliated Community Granting process for the Strathcona Regional District’s Grant in Aid program (about $25,000/year of community tax money for Cortes projects), which included projects by: CCHA Youth programs, Cortes Museum & Archives, School House Gallery, CCEDA, the Cortes School PAC, Food Bank, Island Deathcare, Cortes Island Academy, Folk U, Friends of Cortes Island, and Linnaea.
  • Granted over $450,000 directly to community organizations, raised from government funds and community foundation of Canada partnerships, for community recovery, poverty reduction, and gender equity work.

Social Profit Network

At the heart of our mission is partnering with our community “social profits” to help make the work of caring for the people and place of Cortes Island as rewarding, effective, and supported as possible. We are particularly proud of our bi-annual large sector gatherings, our first State of the Social Profit report, our regular ED/Manager meetings, our work incubating or stewarding projects such as Cortes Island Academy, Cortes Literacy, and the new Cortes School Creativity Fund.

We have also partnered with philanthropists and community organizations to help them reach their goals and have helped raise almost 3 million that have gone directly to our local community organizations for affordable housing, educational scholarships, island deathcare, community radio, forest stewardship, education, and the new Tideline Communications hub.

Support a Fund!

We create funds to support organizations with their fundraising goals. Please consider donating to funds in our community:

Climate Adaptation and Energy Transition Iniatives Fund

Cortes Community Radio Project

Deathcare Collective Project

Emily Ellingsen Scholarship Fund

Folk University Fund

Housing Fund

Live Music & Entertainment Incubation

Local High School Scholarship & Knowledge Holder Fund

MicroGrants for Neighbours

Social Profit Network Fund

Village Commons Enhancement Fund