The Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC) is an independent, regionally focused not-for-profit corporation established in 2006 by the Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust Act. Its mandate is to steward public endowment funds and invest them back into the BC Southern Interior to grow and diversify the regional economy. ETSI-BC works closely with local governments, First Nations, non-profit business support organizations, industry associations, accelerators and public post-secondary institutions.
Role of ETSI-BC in the funding ecosystem
ETSI-BC positions itself as a first-in, seed funder that helps communities and sector groups launch innovative economic development initiatives and leverage additional funding. The trust has approved over $70 million in funding across more than a thousand projects, contributing to hundreds of millions of dollars in total project value and supporting thousands of jobs created or maintained in the region.
Main funding streams and themes
The organization structures its support around five Strategic Pillars, delivered through several recurring funding streams and targeted initiatives:
- Building Economic Development Capacity – grants for small, rural and Indigenous communities to strengthen local economic development capacity, including planning, feasibility studies, research, business retention and expansion projects, sector analyses, revitalization initiatives and regional collaboration.
- Supporting Business Resilience and Competitiveness – programs delivered in partnership with government and ecosystem partners to help SMEs adapt, recover and expand, especially in areas like technology and innovation, export market development and sector-specific recovery programs.
- Innovating and Advancing Key Sectors – funding for industry and community groups to advance cluster development, adopt innovative technologies and business practices, collaborate on shared challenges and opportunities, and implement projects that improve sustainability and reduce environmental impacts.
- Developing Human Capital – initiatives such as research partnerships with Mitacs that connect students and researchers with organizations in the Southern Interior to build talent, applied research capacity and knowledge transfer.
ETSI-BC focuses on legislated priority sectors including agriculture, economic development, energy and natural resources, small business, tourism, and technology and innovation.
General funding approach
For its core streams, ETSI-BC typically runs two competitive funding intakes per year (spring and fall), publishing application guides, eligibility criteria and timelines. Funding amounts for many community and sector projects can reach up to $75,000, often on a cost-shared basis depending on project type and scale. The trust also issues targeted calls for proposals and manages partner programs on behalf of the Province of BC and other funders when opportunities arise.
Publics served and impact
Eligible applicants commonly include municipalities, regional districts, Indigenous governments and their economic development arms, regional and sector-based non-profit organizations, accelerators, and post-secondary institutions. Through these actors, ETSI-BC supports initiatives that enhance local capacity, drive innovation, diversify industry bases, and strengthen overall economic resilience in the Columbia-Kootenay and Thompson-Okanagan regions and surrounding communities of the Southern Interior.
