At their annual June grants meeting, the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia’s (REFBC) Board of Governors approved 12 grants, totalling $875,000, taking their total to $1.2 million for 2015. This list is ordered alphabetically, by recipient organization:
- Rivershed Society of British Columbia for the Watershed Solutions Project to guide community plans to improve land and water land use practices within the Fraser River Basin. $20,000
- Stewardship Pemberton Society to create an plan for “Community Agricultural Parks” on local government land, in partnership with the Village of Pemberton. $20,000
- Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources, Inc. to review existing and emerging indigenous watershed initiatives and co-governance arrangements to help watershed planning and governance in BC. $40,000
- Fort Nelson First Nation to develop objectives and management options for water use in the territory that maintains traditional use and treaty rights. $50,000
- Fraser Basin Council to develop a Nechako Watershed Strategy to advance stewardship and ecosystem-based management, and identify priorities for action. $45,000
- Wildsight for a Citizen Science Series to engage and help communities to collect data and monitor lake, river, wetland and aquifer health. $150,000
- Community Energy Association for a Community Energy Leadership Program, to build climate and energy knowledge among elected officials and interested sectors. $80,000
- University of British Columbia for the next stage of the Community Energy Explorer project, an online resource to help build understanding on community energy planning. $80,000
- Cowichan Green Community Society for the Cowichan Incubator Farm Pilot project to support training and education of new farmers in the region on an urban demonstration site. $20,000
- Fraser Basin Council for stage 3 of “Smart Planning in Action” – a program that helps rural and First Nation communities understand integrated sustainability planning. $90,000
- Sierra Club of BC Foundation for the Youth Environmental Leadership Program, hosting youth-led conservation workshops and leadership training on Vancouver Island. $20,000
- Simon Fraser University Adaptation to Climate Change Team to build on the Climate Change Adaptation and Water Governance Program with focus on the intersection between water, food, energy and biodiversity. $300,000
The Real Estate Foundation of BC is a philanthropic organization whose mission is to transform land use attitudes and practices through innovation, stewardship, and learning. Through grants, the Foundation provides funding to non-profit organizations working to enable positive change in BC communities.
Under the Real Estate Services Act, the Foundation receives interest from pooled real estate deposits held in trust by real estate brokerages. The Foundation gives those funds back to the BC community to support real estate and land use related education, research, law reform, and other real estate and land use related activities intended for the public or professional good.
Pictured: REFBC CEO Jack Wong and REFBC Governors and REALTORS® Kelly Lerigny and Jim Rempel meeting with BC Minister of Finance Mike de Jong. They updated him on what the Foundation is up to and shared the Annual Report. The Minister of Finance currently appoints two of REFBC’s five board members.
