It takes more than conversation to create lasting change. In 2023, the Victoria Foundation introduced the Spark Funds, an innovative
initiative that supports exploring solutions and cross-sector collaborations to address the key issues in our community. In line with the fund’s goal, the application and evaluation process is concise, swift, and efficient to ensure the “sparks” remain lit. Seven initiatives received $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 of the $75,000 available funding. Coast Capital also contributed $20,000 in support of two projects.
Community Social Planning Council of Greater Victoria (CSPCGV) received $15,000 for community convening to further “digging into concrete solutions around housing and housing for all.” Executive Director Shelley Cook shares, “Spark allowed us to do several things
we could not have been able to do.” Focused on building connected communities within and across municipal boundaries,
CSPCGV brought city councillors, non-profit executives, daycare providers, and developers together to establish “very concrete solutions.”
Topics included creating affordable home access and ownership through municipal policy, financing, and development.
“CSPCGV also held a well-attended national webinar that showcased community response to homelessness based on a model out of London, Ontario,” explains Cook.
One of the Spark Funds strengths is the trust it places in grantees. The Victoria Foundation recognizes the expertise of each charity and non profit and supports the nimble use of funds. “It was hard to tell where the Spark Fund began and ended because it fed into a few key initiatives,” explains Cook.
Partnerships or collaborations among at least two organizations, preferably across sectors, are Spark Funds cornerstones. This approach acknowledges that organizations, businesses, and groups contribute distinct skillsets and tools. “We want to build solutions and local agency to improve the community. Spark Fund seeds ideas that take that next step to discover what we can do and how we can do things differently. We don’t want to repeat old conversations. We want to get off the treadmill and build promising solutions together,” clarifies Hall.
In partnership with the University of Victoria, Scale Institute Society received a $15,000 Spark Funds grant for community-owned asset mapping. This involved researching and developing a comprehensive visual of community-owned (non-profit and municipal) land, buildings,
and real estate in the Greater Victoria region to identify underutilized assets and/or those at risk
for privatization.
Scale Institute Society conducted a broad-based asset scan and in-depth interviews with the people who manage/oversee them. “We wondered about the potential for existing assets owned by older non-profits that may be coming to the end of their business cycle. What happens to the assets? Can we develop strategies around affordability and prioritize retention?” shares Kristi Fairholm Mader, Director,
Innovation and Initiatives, Scale Collaborative (Scale Institute Society is the non-profit arm). Many of the 15 organizations interviewed voiced the need to divest assets when operations became too burdensome.
This mapping initiative revealed that many traditionally volunteer-run legions, churches, and community halls with an aging demographic “need renewal and require a different revenue-generating model to support that shift. Some can make that change, and some may not be able to. Organizations may need to transition, renew, or sunset — this change is hard.” Many assets are located on high-value land, and the property tax has become prohibitive. Also, when assets are new, they do not need much money to run; now they are older and require funds for upkeep and maintenance.
So, what solutions can Scale Institute Society further with this funding? “In partnership with Royal Roads University, we have been exploring
creating a non-profit-owned real estate investment ‘trust’ in community-owned assets that allows us to get an economy of scale. Is there an appetite for that? Other solutions include social enterprises and business acquisitions where profits generated support non-profit programs and activities. It is important to try not to lose the assets — once they are gone, they are gone.” For Scale Institute Society, the Spark Funds fuelled the capacity to understand the problem. Their next step is to study the collected data and assess the appetite for change.
This first year of the Spark Funds has revealed the need and benefits of supporting further exploration of carefully considered ideas to evaluate their legitimacy and power. Some ideas may prove successful, and others may not, but “one of the many benefits of the Spark Funds initiative is that it acknowledges the need to try different ideas. By exploring innovative solutions and cross-sector
collaborations, we can generate new ways of creating an affordable community for all,” reinforces Hall.