The COF's own granting program takes place twice per year in May and October. Funds from our endowments are pooled into a Community Fund and the income that is earned on these funds is what is granted out to the registered charities that apply to us. Click below for more on:
The Foundation distributes thousands of dollars of grants each year in two main ways. The first is called an allocation. An allocation is an amount sent to a charity in accordance with the terms of an endowment fund. For example; Mr. Smith may have requested in his Gift Agreement with the Foundation, to send the annual income from the fund that he has established to the SPCA. A second donor Mrs. Jones fund directs the Foundation to allocate half of the annual income on her fund to be sent to the Art Gallery and the other half to her church. As long as the designated beneficiaries remain registered charities, the Foundation will carry out the terms as laid out in the gift agreements.
The Foundation also distributes grants. These are discretionary in nature, meaning the Foundation decides which charitable groups will receive funding. The income to support these grants comes from a group of endowments that have been created to support the broader community, leaving the specific granting decisions to the Foundation's Board of Directors. The Foundation typically has two granting cycles per year.
Current grant application deadlines are May 1st and October 1st
Please contact Central Okanagan Foundation ("COF") to confirm these deadline dates and with any application questions. Prior to completing an application you must speak with COF's Grants Manager, Cheryl Miller, who can be contacted by phone at 250.861.6160 or by email at cheryl@centralokanaganfoundation.org
A registered charity (or qualified donee) can only apply once in a 12-month period. All previous granting decisions are taken into account when grant applications are reviewed. Successful applicants will receive their grants as soon as possible after decisions have been made. In some cases grants will be given at a public event, or given in person.
We ask that registered charities interested in applying for a grant please contact our Grants Manager, Cheryl Miller at (250) 861-6160.
2012 COF Grant Application (PDF)
Grantees are required to complete a COF Grant Project Evaluation in order to let us know how your project worked out. The Evaluation Report is meant to provide the grantee with useful information in assessing the success of the project. It is also meant to inform us as funders about your project. We remind you that there are always things that go well and things that don't go so well... the evaluation takes this into account and is meant to elicit constructive information for improvement in the future.
Note the Evaluation Report must be completed before any further funding requests will be considered.
| 2011 Discretionary Grants (Spring and Fall Cycle) | |
| Alzheimer Society of BC | $ 1,000 |
| Arion Therapeutic Farm | $ 3,000 |
| Athletics 4 Kids Financial Assistance (BC) Society | $ 10,000 |
| BC Life Builders Rehabilitation Society | $ 3,000 |
| BC Teen Challenge | $ 3,000 |
| Bumbershoot Children's Theatre Society | $ 10,000 |
| Central Okanagan Community Gardens | $ 1,500 |
| Central Okanagan Elizabeth Fry Society | $ 5,000 |
| Church Serve Canada | $ 3,000 |
| Community Recreational Initiatives Society | $ 5,000 |
| Cool Arts | $ 1,277 |
| Creator's Art Centre Society | $ 2,800 |
| Elevation Outdoor Experiential Programs | $ 1,500 |
| Ellison Community Association | $ 5,000 |
| Fresh Outlook Foundation | $ 10,000 |
| Friends of the Parrot Sanctuary | $ 2,000 |
| Hope Air | $ 10,000 |
| Inn from the Cold | $ 6,000 |
| John Howard Society of the South Okanagan | $ 5,000 |
| Kelowna and District Society for Community Living | $ 9,996 |
| Kelowna Ballet Society | $ 10,000 |
| Kelowna Canada Concerts Society | $ 1,000 |
| Kelowna Community Music School | $ 1,500 |
| Kelowna Family Services Society Centre | $ 4,525 |
| Kelowna Gospel Mission | $ 5,000 |
| Kelowna Habitat for Humanity Society | $ 3,510 |
| Kelowna Visual and Performing Arts | $ 5,000 |
| Kiwanis Music Festival Society of Kelowna | $ 2,000 |
| Lake Country Art Gallery | $ 10,000 |
| Lake Country Open Air Performance Society | $ 2,000 |
| MADD Canada | $ 1,500 |
| NOW Canada | $ 7,000 |
| Okanagan Chinese Canadian Association | $ 5,000 |
| Okanagan Historical Society | $ 10,000 |
| Okanagan Lifetime Networks Association (PLAN) | $ 2,500 |
| Okanagan Mobility Solutions 2006 Society | $ 2,000 |
| Okanagan Suicide Awareness Society | $ 4,000 |
| Okanagan Symphony | $ 7,500 |
| Peachland Historical Society | $ 2,000 |
| Project Literacy Kelowna Society | $ 6,300 |
| Reach Out Youth Counselling & Family Services Society | $ 8,200 |
| Royal Astronomical Society of Canada | $ 4,000 |
| Seniors Outreach Services Society (SOSS) | $ 5,000 |
| Summer Arts Scene for Youth (SASFY) | $ 2,500 |
| The Bridge Youth & Family Services | $ 8,500 |
| The Salvation Army | $ 8,000 |
| Reach Out Youth Counselling & Family Services Society | $ 8,200 |
| Western Institute for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing | $ 8,000 |
| Wild Neighbours Society | $ 3,500 |
| Total |
$ 238,108
|
| 2010 Discretionary Grants (Spring and Fall Cycle) | |
| Science Opportunities for Kids Society | $ 3,000 |
| Reach Out Youth Counselling | $ 3,000 |
| Agur Lake Camp | $ 3,000 |
| Church Serve Canada | $ 2,500 |
| Brain Trust Canada | $ 2,500 |
| Project Literacy | $ 3,000 |
| Community Recreational Initiatives Society | $ 3,000 |
| The Clubhouse Childcare Centre | $ 1,500 |
| Kelowna & District Society for People in Motion | $ 2,500 |
| John Howard Society of the Central and South Okanagan | $ 3,000 |
| Kelowna Habitat for Humanity | $ 4,000 |
| Mental Health Assoc Kelowna & District | $ 3,000 |
| Central Okanagan Community Gardens | $ 1,000 |
| Festivals and Special Events Development Society | $ 2,500 |
| Lake Country Open Air Performance Society | $ 1,250 |
| Gellatly Bay Trails & Parks Society | $ 1,500 |
| Kelowna Community Music School | $ 1,500 |
| Summer Arts Scene for Youth | $ 2,250 |
| Central Okanagan Heritage Society | $ 3,500 |
| Central Okanagan Hospice | $ 4,000 |
| Central Okanagan Search and Rescue | $ 10,000 |
| Children's Festival Society of Kelowna | $ 4,500 |
| Hope Air | $ 10,000 |
| Kelowna Art Gallery Association | $ 5,000 |
| Kelowna Ballet Society | $ 5,000 |
| Kelowna Community Food Bank | $ 6,000 |
| Kelowna Family Services Centre | $ 4,000 |
| Kelowna Museums Society | $ 5,000 |
| New Opportunities for Women (NOW Canada) | $ 5,000 |
| Okanagan Artists Alternative Association | $ 4,000 |
| Seniors Outreach Services Society (SOSS) | $ 4,000 |
| Sing for Your Life Foundation | $ 3,000 |
| The Salvation Army | $ 3,000 |
| The Sunshine Foundation of Canada | $ 1,000 |
| Total |
$ 121,000
|
| 2009 Discretionary Grants (Spring and Fall Cycle) | |
| Kelowna Canada Concert Society | $ 1,000 |
| Kelowna Visual and Performing Arts Centre | $ 2,500 |
| Sunshine Theatre Society | $ 1,000 |
| Lake Country Open Air Performance Society | $ 1,250 |
| Peachland Centennial Steering Committee | $ 2,000 |
| Festivals Kelowna | $ 3,000 |
| Kelowna Ballet Society | $ 2,000 |
| Kelowna Community Music School | $ 1,500 |
| The Okanagan Film Festival Society | $ 1,000 |
| Kelowna Art Gallery Association | $ 3,000 |
| Generation II Dance Society | $ 3,750 |
| The Okanagan Festival Singers | $ 5,000 |
| Okanagan Artists Alternative Association | $ 10,000 |
| BC Student Leadership Conference | $ 3,000 |
| Okanagan Mobility Solutions 2006 Society | $ 2,500 |
| Kelowna Community Resources | $ 2,500 |
| Centre Cultural Francais de l’ Okanagan | $ 1,600 |
| The Bridge Youth and Family Services | $ 6,800 |
| NOW Canada | $ 2,500 |
| Astronomical Society of Canada | $ 5,000 |
| Central Okanagan Elizabeth Fry Society | $ 5,000 |
| Silver Lake Forest Education Society | $ 1,600 |
| The Clubhouse | $ 2,500 |
| Community Recreation Initiative Society | $ 3,000 |
| Canadian Red Cross | $ 2,000 |
| Inn from the Cold | $ 2,000 |
| Kelowna Family Services Centre | $ 8,000 |
| Elevation Outdoor Experiential Programs Association | $ 1,400 |
| The Design Centre for Sustainability at UBCO | $ 3,750 |
| Okanagan Boys and Girls Clubs | $ 5,000 |
| The McCreary Centre Society | $ 1,000 |
|
Total |
$ 96,150 |
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A public foundation can only make grants to "qualified donees" which are organizations that can issue official donation receipts according to CRA standards under the Income Tax Act. These organizations include a registered charity; a registered Canadian amateur athletic association; a housing corporation resident in Canada constituted exclusively to provide low-cost housing for the aged; a Canadian municipality; the United Nations and its agencies; a university that is outside Canada that is prescribed to be a university the student body of which ordinarily includes students from Canada; a charitable organization outside Canada to which Her Majesty in right of Canada has made a gift during the fiscal period or in the 12 months immediately preceding the period and Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province. If you are unsure of whether you are a "qualified donee" or not contact the COF office for advice.
Central Okanagan Foundation grants are not intended to be sustaining grants to support the general operating costs of organizations committed over several years. However, through our grantmaking, it is our intention to be useful to charitable agencies at critical junctures and times of particular need which may include organizations requiring funds to reorganize their work, policy and/or practice. During these times of transition, the greatest need for funding support may be grants that enable agencies to strategically manage or adapt to changes that significantly impact their scale, mandate or core services. Committees may consider grants towards these types of activities. In addition, we also consider requests for time-limited operating/core funding for new 'start-up' agencies when it can be demonstrated that such funding will enable new initiatives to meet emerging needs not currently served by existing organizations.
Our Conflict of Interest Policy is very explicit about the need for Advisory Committee members to remove themselves from discussion pertaining to applications when they are on the board of, or employed by, the applicant organizations. In situations where the involvement is less direct, conflict of interest is most effectively avoided by declaring the bias and asking for guidance in terms of participation in the discussion. A Committee member can do this by contacting the Grants Coordinator prior to the meeting, discussing the potential conflict with the Chair, or by declaring the potential conflict to the whole Committee during the meeting.
This workshop will:
Click here for eligibility criteria and application forms:
2012_cof_grant_application.pdf
To register for the information workshop contact Cheryl Miller, Grants Manager at:
Central Okanagan Foundation
217-1889 Springfield Road., Kelowna, B.C. V1Y 5V5
Tel 250-861-6160 Fax 250-861-6156
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