Congratulations to our 2025 Foundation grant recipients!
Agur Lake Camp Society; B.C. Wildlife Federation; Bethel Church Penticton Food Pantry; Canadian Mental Health Association – South Okanagan Similkameen Branch; Cawston Primary School PAC; DB Foundation for Health Research; Desert Sun Counselling & Resource Centre; Desert Valley Hospice Society; Dragonfly Pond Family Society; École Entre-Lacs PAC; Interior Wildlife Rehabilitation Society; Kaleden Community Association; KISU Swim Club; Lower Similkameen Community Services Society; Maggie’s Lunch Program (Princess Margaret Secondary); Naramata Cittaslow Association; NeighbourLink Summerland; Ntamtqen Community Garden & Food Hub, Lower Similkameen Indian Band; Oasis United Church Food Cupboard; Okanagan School of the Arts; Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance; Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship Society; Osoyoos Desert Society; Penticton & District Community Arts Council; Penticton Academy of Music & Dramatic Arts; Penticton Art Gallery; Penticton Lawn Bowling Club; Penticton Secondary School; Penticton Soupateria Society; Princeton & District Community Services Society; Ryga Festival Society; School District #53; South Okanagan Loss Society; South Okanagan Montessori School Society; South Okanagan Recope Society; South Okanagan Similkameen Mental Wellness Society; South Okanagan Similkameen Metis Association; Summerland Community Arts Council; Summerland Food Bank & Resource Centre; Summerland Museum and Archives Society; Take a Hike Youth Mental Health Foundation; Tempest Theatre & Film Society; The Penticton Centre for Exceptional Learning Society; Vermilion Forks Metis Association; Wide Arts National Association; Wiltse Elementary School
General Information
Who can apply for a Foundation grant?
The Community Foundation will consider funding projects, programs and activities of not-for-profit and charitable organizations which align with our charitable purposes. The applicant’s project, program or activity must also demonstrate a fit with our funding guidelines and priorities.
If you’re an individual hoping to host a neighbourhood event or fund a small local project, please consider applying for a neighbourhood small grant here. The next application cycle for the Neighbourhood Small Grant program will take place in Spring 2025.
Annual Timeline
The following is our typical timeline for the Foundation grants program:
- Late August: letter of interest submission period. Upon acceptance of the letter of interest, organizations are invited to submit a full application.
- September/October: Application submission period.
- November/ December: Grants Evaluation Committee reviews applications and makes funding recommendations.
- January: Community Impact Committee receives and approves grant recommendations. Applicants are notified. Grant payments begin to successful applicants.
Funding Guidelines
Our Funding Guidelines are reviewed and updated each year. Here are the Guidelines for 2025:
How do I access the application portal?
Access to the application portal will reopen in August 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are grant decisions made?
Grant recommendations are made by a volunteer Grants Committee that reviews applications received. The Grants Committee is made up of independent community members from across the South Okanagan Similkameen. Smaller, community-specific committees may also contribute to the process by evaluating applications from their community/area and providing the Grants Committee with their non-binding recommendations.
The Grant’s Committee’s recommendations are approved by the Community Impact Committee of the Foundation’s Board of Directors.
Are faith-based projects eligible for funding?
We do not make grants for projects specifically intended to promote a specific faith or faith-based perspective. However, faith-based organizations are encouraged to apply for projects that provide direct support or benefit to the wider community.
Can you apply for funding outside of the service area of the CFSOS?
We provide grants to charities and non-profits for projects, programs and activities taking place within the boundaries of the RDOS. If you are unsure of your eligibility based on this criteria, please contact us before applying.
Do demographics play a role in deciding who will get money?
We have more than 100 endowment funds, and all have the opportunity to assign grant criteria to their money.
Some of these endowment funds restrict granting based on geography (only Penticton, for example) and/or a field of interest (only animal welfare).
So the answer is, yes, demographics can play a role in granting decisions. However, these decisions are made based on the criteria chosen by the donors, not by the CFSOS.
What happens if I forgot to submit last year’s grant report?
If you forgot to submit your report for a previous year’s grant, please contact grants@cfso.net before proceeding through the application process. We will still accept your report, but your application will only be eligible for funding if the report is in before the application deadline or you have made prior arrangements with the Grants Manager (because the project for which previous funding was received is not yet complete, for example).
How soon do we receive the money?
Grant awards are generally approved at a meeting of the Community Impact Committee following the Grants Committee’s decision-making process. Grants will be payable starting in February, assuming the project is ready to receive the funds.
We do not release money until the grantee confirms they are ready to use the money. For example, if your project begins in March and you won’t be spending money on it until June, you will be eligible to receive the money in June. It’s important to note that you will not receive the money until you formally request the funds.
What does the application review process look like?
Applications are initially reviewed by Foundation staff to ensure they are complete, meet the basic requirements for applying, and include enough information to allow the Grants Committee to make informed decisions. Staff also provide additional information to supplement the application, including a history of past grants and other background details that may assist the Grants Committee in making its decisions.
Grants Committee members first review and rate the applications independently. Applications are ranked on merit using several key criteria that remain confidential. This means that a seniors’ project will be ranked in direct comparison to a heritage project, for example. The individual rankings are combined by staff to create an aggregate ranking of all applications.
The Committee then meets to discuss the specifics of who will receive grants, and for how much. A initial review of the aggregate rankings takes place, which sometimes results in an application moving up or down the rankings list. After this initial review, the Committee begins to make its funding recommendations. The process generally moves from the top of the rankings list downward until all available funding is allocated.
As the Committee recommends a grant amount for an applicant, staff immediately confirm which endowment fund is available to grant for their application. Because most endowment funds have some grant criteria, it is possible funds will not be available to grant to a specific project, even if it ranks very high on the list. For example, if the top three projects happen to be for youth, we may run out of “youth-specific” funds after we award #1 and #2. In that case, the third high quality youth grant request could potentially not receive funding.
Foundation staff take the Grant Committee’s funding recommendations to the Foundation Board’s Community Impact Committee for review and approval.
How long does it take to decide who will receive funding?
From application deadline date to final approval by the Community Impact Committee (CIC), the decision-making process will take approximately 8 to 10 weeks.
After the CIC’s approval, all applicants (successful and unsuccessful) are notified by email.
What are eligible expenses?
The Foundation will accept application requests for most types of expenses. In fact, it’s easier to consider what we won’t fund, as you will see in another FAQ below.
We will fund the start up of a new project, wages associated with a specific program, bridge financing, organizational development activities, training costs, operating expenses like rent (under certain circumstances), and most other things you can think of.
It’s important for applicants to understand that the Foundation wishes to invest in change, but we recognize that change takes time. We don’t want to be a regular revenue line item on your annual operating budget, but if you need an infusion of cash to get started (or stay afloat) then perhaps we can work together.
If you have plans for how to improve the long-term prospects of your charity or clients, but need funding to test the idea and move towards measurable outcomes then, again, maybe there’s a fit.
How much money is available each year?
The total amount of funds available for granting is determined annually. About 1/2 of our annual granting is pre-designated by donors.
Keep in mind that the Foundation doesn’t usually have FULL discretion with its grant decisions. Most of our funds have some criteria that we must honour when selecting recipients. For example, the Smith Family Fund may have $10,000 available for granting, but if Mr. & Mrs. Smith have specified animal welfare projects as their area of interest, then we can only grant to groups that fit that criteria.
What are ineligible expenses?
- Establishing or adding to endowment funds
- Establishing or adding to operating reserves
- Establishing or adding to a capital campaign
- Sponsoring a general fundraising event
- Projects that have a primary purpose of promoting political or religious activities or beliefs
What is the value of a typical grant?
Most of our grants fall in the $3,000 to $15,000 range. Multi-year operating grants are typically $12,000 to $15,000 per year. The value of our annual discretionary granting pool greatly impacts the sizes of grants we are able to provide.