Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Victoria Foundation

The Victoria Foundation is one of Canada’s oldest community foundations, serving the Greater Victoria region of British Columbia since 1936. It manages charitable gifts in permanent, income‑earning endowment funds and other vehicles, using the investment returns to provide stable, long‑term funding to registered Canadian charities. With more than $609 million in assets under administration and over $374 million granted to date, the foundation channels philanthropy into strategic support for local and national organizations.

The foundation distributes millions of dollars every year through multiple mechanisms. These include its flagship Community Grants Program, donor advised and donor designated funds, discretionary funds, hosted organization funds, and special initiatives such as Community Action Funds and Neighbourhood Small Grants. Funding reaches a broad range of sectors: arts and culture, belonging and civic engagement, economy, education, environment and sustainability, food security, gender equity, health and wellness, housing, Indigenous priorities, racial equity, and sports and recreation.

The Community Grants Program offers open grant calls, with streams such as the Vital Stream and the Collaboration Stream. These provide flexible general operating and program funding, aiming to strengthen the charitable sector and the long‑term resilience of the local community. Cause‑area pages show how pooled Community Action Funds in areas like arts and culture, food security and housing are granted strategically to many organizations, with transparent reporting of amounts granted and numbers of organizations funded each year.

The Indigenous Priorities Fund is guided by an Indigenous advisory based in the capital region. From 2022 onward, this advisory has shaped a grantmaking process that reflects Indigenous values and priorities, reviewed applications and made recommendations to the foundation’s Board. To date, more than $1.6 million has been granted to Nations and Indigenous‑led or Indigenous‑serving organizations in the region, with public recipient lists for each grant cycle.

In addition, the foundation manages hosted organization funds for charities seeking stable endowment income, and administers funds on behalf of several provincial programs, such as the Learning Fund for Young Adults and the Adoption and Permanency Fund of BC. Donor advised funds and corporate advised funds allow individuals, families and businesses to recommend grants to Canadian registered charities that align with their philanthropic interests.

The Victoria Foundation explicitly embraces a trust‑based philanthropy approach, aiming to provide thoughtful, flexible and relationship‑centred funding. It recognizes that rising costs and growing demand make grants an increasingly important revenue source for non‑profits. To guide its priorities, the foundation undertakes and commissions research, notably through the annual Victoria’s Vital Signs report, State of the Sector reports and the Architects of Belonging publication. These tools help identify pressing local needs and inform where funding can have the greatest impact.

Community members with diverse lived experience, subject‑matter experts and advisory committees contribute to application review processes and funding recommendations. For example, the Indigenous Granting Advisory established clear priorities that favour Nations and Indigenous‑led organizations, ensuring resources flow directly to Indigenous communities of the capital region.

Across its portfolio, the Victoria Foundation supports a wide spectrum of beneficiaries: community service agencies, arts organizations, food banks and food security networks, housing and homelessness services, youth and education programs, environmental groups, Indigenous communities, and many other charities. Grant stories and impact profiles on the site highlight projects ranging from whale conservation and sea garden restoration to mobile food banks, therapeutic riding, physical literacy initiatives and literacy programs for Indigenous Elders.

By combining donor‑driven funds, pooled community funds and its own discretionary resources, the foundation helps charities strengthen their services, innovate and build resilience. Its long‑term endowment model is designed to ensure support for community priorities today and for future generations in Greater Victoria and beyond.