The Valley First Community Endowment will be funding projects supporting familes, children and youth at risk of hunger in the Okanagan, Thompson and Similkameen regions.

• Funding is available for a wide range of programs that address "families, children and youth at risk of hunger."
• Types of projects that will be considered for funding include (but not limited to):
  • Children's breakfast/ lunch programs
  • Community kitchen programming
  • Food preparation education programs (e.g: senior's teaching the art of canning, or food preparation workshops for immigrant families)
  • Meals on wheels/ senior's or community lunch programs
• Please note: funding will not be available to food banks as Valley First currently runs a "Feed the Valley" campaign to raise funds for all the food banks in its communities.

Applications for projects supporting the funding focus area will be considered using the following criteria:

• Preference will be given to projects benfiting the communities in which Valley First operates. (Currently: Pentiction, Kelowna, Kamloops, Armstrong, Keremeos, Lumby, Oliver, Peachland, Princeton, Vernon, and Winfield)
• It is preferred that the requesting organization should be contributing toward some of the project costs or should be raising funds from other sources, as the Foundation's role is one of partnership.
• Proposals should be for clearly presented specific projects or programs.
• Projects should benefit many and offer equal access.

Funding Restrictions

In general, the Foundation will not make grants for the following purposes:

• research, surveys or studies
• conferences
• medical or scientific research
• operating costs
• deficit reduction
• retroactive expenses
• wages
• annual fund-raising drives
• to individuals
• to religious or political organizations
• sports and recreation; team or club sponsorship

Application Process

The Foundation currently reviews grants once per year. The grant application deadline for 2012 is July 20th.

If you are interested in applying for a grant with our next granting cycle, please submit a short expression of interest to the foundation office through our contact form. This expression of interest should provide a brief overview of your organization and the project for which you’re seeking funding. If your project fits within our criteria, you will be invited to submit a full application for a grant in mid May of 2012.