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Columbia Valley Community Directed Funds webpage established
Residents of the Columbia Valley now have a new way to access information about the Columbia Valley Community Directed Funds (CVCDF) Program and the funding process for projects.
“The Community Directed Funds program in the Columbia Valley was the first such program in the Regional District,” explains Electoral Area F Director Wendy Booth, Chair of the Columbia Valley Community Directed Funds Committee. “Being the first to implement the program has required some learning on everyone’s part. The committee is now at a point where we are ready to more fully engage with the public, implement our plan and fund some projects. To help us do that, we want people to be able to easily find out about the program.”
To that end, the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) website has a new page dedicated to the CVCDF Program. There you will find a copy of the Community Priorities Plan, background information about the program, and information about how to present funding proposals to the committee.
To date, the program has allocated over $160,000 to a variety of organizations in the Columbia Valley. One project supported by the committee, a $26,000 grant to the Family Resource Centre for a housing needs assessment in the Columbia Valley, helped secure $1.5 million in funding for an 18-unit affordable housing project in Invermere.
“One of the main objectives of this program is to fund valley-wide priorities, consistent with the plan,” notes committee member Andi Dzilums. “I really hope that local groups with projects aimed at meeting the needs of all valley residents will see an opportunity to advance their projects and leverage other financing through the use of the Community Directed Funds.”
The committee, made up of five local elected officials and five members of the public, is a standing committee of the RDEK and responsible for the CVCDF Program. The RDEK gratefully acknowledges the financial support of Columbia Basin Trust which supports efforts and ideas of the people of the Columbia Basin. More information about the Program can be found on the RDEK website at www.rdek.bc.ca.
RDEK
