Local Impact Funds and Programs
Accelerating impact in your own backyard
Our local impact funds invest in bold, collaborative solutions to some of our region’s most complex challenges. By supporting one of these flexible funds, whether through your fund at the Victoria Foundation or a direct gift, you can help strengthen our ability to mobilize resources, test new approaches and respond to emerging community needs.
These funds allow us to:
- Seed and scale innovative solutions to complex challenges
- Invest in collaboration, systems change and sector resilience
- Convene partners and strengthen the charitable ecosystem
- Sustain impact through changing economic conditions
Together, these investments help our community thrive now and into the future.
Community Impact Fund
This fund is a vehicle to seed, replicate or scale promising innovative solutions to our community’s most pressing challenges. Specifically focused on equity-deserving groups, it aims to uplift projects creating solutions that will strengthen community wellbeing. This fund also ensures the Victoria Foundation can maintain continuity of work and impact even during market downturns.
Innovation and Impact Fund
This fund enables the Victoria Foundation to test new models of philanthropy rooted in systems change that address the region’s most complex challenges. It also supports the development and implementation of new approaches to grantmaking, investing and coordinating to accelerate impact.
Operating Fund
This fund supports the Victoria Foundation’s general operating activities designed to deliver services and programs that accelerate impact in our community. This includes general administration, outreach, community convening, storytelling and more.
Vital Victoria Fund
This fund has been in place since our inception and continues to steward our first gift of $20 by Fannie Gadsden, mother of our founder Burges Gadsden. It funds granting priorities identified in Victoria’s annual Vital Signs report and supports other community and leadership initiatives.
Local Impact Programs
The Victoria Foundation leads, facilitates and/or supports a range of local impact programs that respond to community-identified priorities across the capital region. From youth engagement and Indigenous priorities to grassroots community initiatives and innovative approaches to grantmaking, these programs are creating meaningful change close to home. Whether making a gift through a fund you hold with us or making a direct gift to another fund that supports the programs below, you can uplift the initiatives that resonate most with your vision for addressing our region's challenges and opportunities.
Growing Collabs Program
This program delivers funding and resources to local organizations working in groups of three or more partners, networks or coalitions to address various complex community challenges that cannot be solved by any single organization. Collaborations within the program work on topics such as housing, food security and other complex issues in our community. When organizations work together, they can have greater community impact by intentionally aligning their goals, activities and resources.
Indigenous Priorities Fund Program
The purpose of this program is to support social, cultural and legal infrastructure for Indigenous communities in the capital region. It was developed by an Indigenous advisory who are all living in the capital region. With deep knowledge of community needs, they shaped the new granting process, completed application reviews and made granting recommendations from the Indigenous Priorities Fund.
Neighbourhood Small Grants Program
This program helps residents of any age, experience or background bring a community project to life. Grants of up to $500 fund multicultural events, block parties, community gardens, skill-sharing workshops and more. The wider Neighbourhood Small Grants program has helped neighbourhoods across become British Columbia stronger, safer and more welcoming since 1999.
Sector Resilience Program
This program supports charitable organizations in becoming more financially stable. We believe that when our sector has the tools and funding strategies to thrive, our region will have the capacity to address the most pressing issues of our time. Examples of funding activities this fund supports include research, building a case for support, financial modeling, business modeling and market testing. It also finances legal advice and opinions that can increase an organization’s ability to access capital or investment to further their mission-related work.
Vital Youth Program
This program supports the Vital Youth Program which introduces local youth to community issues and how they intersect with philanthropy. The Victoria Foundation partners with local schools to deliver the program and allocates $4,000 annually to each student committee, to recommend grants to registered charities of their choice on southern Vancouver Island.
Our expert staff are here to help
If you don’t see the cause you want to support above, visit our Make a Donation page or contact our knowledgeable staff for timely, personal advice and assistance with charitable giving.
