Essential financial support has been delivered to 209 capital region charities, thanks to the generosity and foresight of local donors keen to make a difference in their community.
In all, the Victoria Foundation distributed just over $5.35 million to local non-profits through the Vital Stream of its flagship Community Grants Program. By providing flexible, general operating funding, the annual program works to strengthen both the charitable sector and long-term resilience of the community.
And the need is great.
This year, the 2025 Community Grants Program received a record 346 submissions, including 68 from first-time applicants. In addition, the total requested – $9.1 million – represented a 6.8 per cent increase from last year.
“We continue to see a growing demand this year for support within our community’s charitable sector, as organizations face even greater pressures for their services,” explains Sandra Richardson, Victoria Foundation CEO. “Thanks to the many generous donors and fundholders in our community, these grants will help organizations, including those small- and medium-sized, respond to this demand, make an impact and achieve their missions to the community.”
Of the 2025 grants delivered, 70 per cent will support organizations or projects that significantly benefit equity-deserving populations including Indigenous, Black, People of Colour, 2SLGBTQIA+, women, children and youth, persons with disabilities, and newcomers.
In addition, organizations working to address issue areas that received a C+ grade or lower in the 2024 Vital Signs program were also prioritized, including housing, health and wellness, safety and standard of living.
For Silver Threads Service, this year's grant will help to deliver food security programs for seniors, including the Silver Spoon Cafe, Food Bank support, Soup Socials and prepared meals for takeout.
On the youth front, the Hockey Education Reaching Out Society's grant will help secure crucial programming, including ice-time, equipment and transportation for young players, This will allow “HEROS to focus more on creating additional personal development opportunities for the young people we serve, giving them the opportunities to learn important life skills and become leaders in their community,” says HEROS’s Josh Delves.
And for the W̱SÁNEĆ Lands Trust Society, their community grant will support the vital work of land return and cultural renewal. “Reconnecting W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples with our territorial lands and waters is about healing the past and safeguarding our future," says board member Adam Olsen. "It’s about restoring a sacred relationship that has sustained our people for generations – and will sustain generations yet to come.”
The community itself is key to the grant program.
Most of the $5.35 million distributed came from funds held and managed at the Victoria Foundation, where donors have given the Foundation the discretion to distribute annual grants. Other funds come from donor-advised funds and Community Action Funds where individuals can donate directly to issue areas including housing, health and wellness, food security and more.
Learn about the Community Grants Program here or visit victoriafoundation.bc.ca. To support the Foundation's next round of grants and the charitable organizations at work in the community, visit victoriafoundation.bc.ca/community-action-funds.