What is a Community Advisor?
Community advisors are local residents of the South Okanagan Similkameen who care deeply about improving the quality of life for their neighbours and community. They are keen to learn more about the issues facing our communities and about projects and programs that are working to address these concerns.
What do they do?
Community advisors provide feedback to the Community Foundation during its funding cycles and help select projects and programs that are working to improve the quality of life in our communities.
Here are some of the programs community advisors could potentially support:
- Community Foundation’s Annual Grant cycle
- Neighbourhood Small Grants
- Community Foundation Bursary Program
- Fund for Gender Equality Grants
- Plus, other funding opportunities!
How long do Community Advisors serve?
Community advisors serve a one-year term and may be invited to take part in multiple grant selection processes during that time, if they meet the criteria for each program. Advisors can elect to step down from their commitment at any time. The Community Foundation will undertake an annual review of the program to ensure it is meeting its objectives.
Remuneration
Community advisors receive an honorarium of $100 per grant process for their time and participation.
Who can be a Community Advisor?
Community advisors must be residents of the South Okanagan Similkameen area. The ideal candidate will have the interest and capacity to read and evaluate applications; because our application processes are completed entirely online, the candidate must also have reliable access to the Internet. Additional requirements and time commitments may also include:
- Attending a Community Advisor on-boarding session*
- Attending a training session specific to the grants program you will support*
- Participation in a grant selection meeting*
- Optional: note-taking for each application you review
- Optional: attend a grants awards celebration
*Note: these sessions may be held in-person or virtually.
Who cannot take part in the Community Advisor program?
Community Advisors may not be:
- An employee, consultant or contractor for an applicant organization or project
- Elected officials
Community Advisor Details and Code of Conduct
A community advisor’s contact information will not be shared with anyone except Community Foundation staff. We will only use this information to select a diverse and representative committee for the grant program.
If selected to serve on a selection committee, and after the awards are announced, advisors will be asked to be listed on our public website to promote and increase transparency around the selection process. However, advisors must maintain strict confidentiality about projects, applications, and decisions outside the group selection committee process to ensure fairness and consistency. We will provide advisors with instructions to direct any questions from grant applicants to program staff.
Once they are selected to serve on a committee, community advisors will be required to sign a Confidentiality Policy form to acknowledge and accept that the information they are reading, and the feedback that is shared in meetings, remains confidential. They will also be required to declare any conflicts of interest they may have with applicant organizations during the grant selection process.
During the application review process, community advisors will not be permitted to reach out to applicant organizations for further information. If more information is needed, Foundation staff will provide support and contact applicants on the committee’s behalf.
When forming a selection committee, we will strive to mirror the broad diversity that exists in our region, including gender identity, race and ethnicity, age, lived experience and community/neighbourhood representation.
The Community Advisor application process is currently closed. For further information, please contact Kevin Ronaghan at grants@cfso.net
