The application for the Neighbourhood Small Grants program closes on April 4.
Neighbourhood Small Grants is based on a simple but powerful idea – that everyone is a valuable member of the community and that we all have something to share. The grants provide up to $500 for residents to strengthen their community by bringing people together, sharing skills and knowledge, celebrating diversity and increasing people’s sense of belonging.
Related: Neighbourhood projects boosted
Block-parties and parties-with-a-purpose, such as a neighbourhood beautification, welcoming new comers, or intergenerational connections, are only some of the themes to build from.
Examples of projects awarded funds last year include neighbours of Hastings Avenue hosting a garden party that included a variety of demonstrations, a neighbourhood planting trees and a community garden, a culture feast in a Cawston neighbourhood and habitat and pond restorations.
This year the program seeks to prioritise projects that connect indigenous and non-indigenous community members, and projects led by young people age 18 to 24.
True to the grassroots spirit of the program, each Neighbourhood Small Grant will be awarded by South Okanagan | Similkameen residents themselves. Local volunteers will review the ideas submitted and decide which ones to fund.
Neighbourhood Small Grants help connect and engage residents in their community regions through co-funding partnerships with Vancouver Foundation and the City of Penticton.
Applications to apply can be found online at www.cfso.net. The Neighbourhood Small Grants will be handed out in the second week of May.