The Sunshine Coast Foundation has awarded over $115,000 to 16 community-based programs that will be used to address local and current needs across the region.
The grants are part of the annual Responsive Community Grants program which impacts the lives of people living on the Sunshine Coast.
Applications were taken in February and 28 community submitted letters of intent to receive funding, but communications and grants administrator Emily Schach says a review was done and funding was dispersed from there.
“In April the charities going forward complete a more robust application which goes into greater detail about their program or project,” she says. “Then in May more adjudication is done by the committee and a decision is made to award grants.
“In the end, we had 16 applications and we awarded 16 grants. The foundation ended up distributing $115,235.”
This year’s projects included environmental wetland restoration and ocean monitoring to community-based programs including the Pender Harbour food bank and community gardens, and support for seniors.
Photo credit: Lisa Furfaro
She says organizations didn’t receive the same amount and that is why the foundation asked for a very comprehensive project list to determine how much was needed.
“Each organization applies based off their needs or requirements,” Schach says. “We were able to fund 13 in full, and three were given partial grants.”
Photo credit: Supplied
The next round of grant applications is expected to start in February, but Schach says there will be a more definitive answer once the foundation meets in the fall.
