$1.6 million in Emergency Community Support Fund grants
60 local programs supported in response to COVID-19
VICTORIA – United Way Greater Victoria and the Victoria Foundation are investing $1.6 million into local charities to help them adapt their frontline services to support vulnerable citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A total of 60 grants will help organizations across the Capital Region District, the Gulf Islands and north to Cowichan thanks to funding received from The Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF). A grant call that launched on May 19 asked local charities to submit proposals to receive funding for a variety of purposes, including to cover staffing and/or emerging needs especially related to transitioning to digital services and platforms. A collaborative community review panel between United Way and Victoria Foundation sifted through over 120 applications to determine feasibility and need.
Out of the 60 grants approved, eleven programs were co-funded by United Way and Victoria Foundation. Two examples of these are the Island Deaf and Hard of Hearing Centre Association, which received support to safely re-open and deliver hearing health services including hearing aids to people whose social isolation has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis, as well as the Victoria Native Friendship Centre, which received support to access technology to help transition to virtual programming for staff working with at risk children and youth as well as funding to fill food hampers for vulnerable Indigenous elders and families.