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Photo credit: Kate Maddigan

    • May 11, 2023

Funding Opportunities and Circular Economy

Funding Opportunities and Circular Economy

Circular Economy Webinar Series

The Vancouver Island Coast Economic Developers Association (VICEDA) has been working on a Circular Economy Accelerator Project and the results will be presented in a series of webinars focused on different sectors. The program provides hands-on support to businesses north of the Malahat and on the Sunshine Coast who seek to adopt circular economy principles, reduce waste and emissions, increase revenue, and develop innovative practices. The webinar series is comprised of four free online presentations – three industry-specific workshops that will cover how businesses in the industry can incorporate circular principles into their operations and the steps involved, and one workshop for local government  that will conclude the Accelerator Program pilot by showcasing business transformations and key trends and opportunities. The workshops are as follows:

  1. Fostering a Circular Economy in Tourism and Hospitality  |  May 17, 10-11 am

  1. Fostering a Circular Economy in Construction  |  May 31, 10-11 am

  1. Fostering a Circular Economy in Food & Beverage Processing  |  June 14, 10-11 am

  1. How Local Government Can Support a Circular Economy  |  June 28, 10-11:30 am

Funding Update

 1. BC Arts Council – Arts-Based Community Development

The Project Assistance: Arts-Based Community Development program supports organizations to engage professional artists in the development and delivery of projects that provide arts-based community development impacts and benefits to a specified community. Through collaborative, community-based, arts-centred activities, these projects provide a tangible and active understanding of arts and culture as a path to health, well-being, human dignity, and social transformation.

  • Eligible Applicants: All applicants are encouraged to confirm their eligibility and the eligibility of their project with a Program Advisor prior to applying. All applicants must:

  • Be a professional or community arts organization working in collaboration with a specified community OR Be a community organization whose focus is not arts and culture, working in collaboration with a specified community OR Be an Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, Métis) community organization or Indigenous government in B.C. that offers dedicated arts and culture activities, and working in collaboration with a specified community. Refer to the program guide for more eligibility information.

  • Deadline: deadline is 11:59 p.m on May 17, 2023.

  • Maximum Funding Amount: There is no maximum request amount, but A-BCD grants typically range from $15,000 to $30,000

  • NOTE: Applications are submitted through the Grant Management System. New applicants must register and create a profile in the online system. Once the registration request is submitted, it may take up to four business days to process your request.

  • Contact information:  Program Advisors can be contacted Clayton.Baraniuk@gov.bc.ca 250-978-9839 | Krista.Patterson@gov.bc.ca, 236-478-2550

  • Program guide and more information can be found on the BC Arts Council website at https://www.bcartscouncil.ca/program/arts-based-community-development/

  • Additional BC Arts Council grants have deadlines in May 2023 and can be found here https://www.bcartscouncil.ca/program/  Please check them out and share with your networks!

Canadian Council of Arts – Creating, Knowing and Sharing: The Arts and Cultures of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples

The Long-Term Projects component of Creating, Knowing and Sharing funds First Nations, Inuit and Métis professional artists, cultural carriers, arts/cultural professionals, groups, collectives and arts/culture organizations. Grants provide support for any combination of eligible Creating, Knowing and Sharing activities for projects lasting more than 1 year, up to 3 years.

  • Eligible Applicants: First Nations, Inuit and Métis professional artists; First Nations, Inuit and Métis arts/cultural professionals; First Nations, Inuit and Métis cultural carriers; First Nations, Inuit and Métis groups; First Nations, Inuit and Métis for-profit organizations that have been in operation for at least 2 years; First Nations, Inuit and Métis not-for-profit organizations not currently receiving core funding

 2. BC Investment Agriculture Foundation- Perennial Crop Renewal Program

The Perennial Crop Renewal Program (PCRP) is a multi-commodity program that provides cost-shared funding that will be available to BC-based perennial crop producers to remove unproductive, diseased, or unmarketable cultivars; and to adopt growing systems that are better suited to environmental conditions and market demands, based on sector-specific opportunities. Funding will also be available to perennial crop associations and stakeholder groups to conduct sector development projects that evaluate or define agronomic and market opportunities. The PCRP will provide as much as $15 million to support multiple sectors with potential agronomic and market opportunities. Funding will help farmers adapt to environmental and market conditions by supporting the removal, diversification or planting of perennial crops, ensuring British Columbians enjoy local produce for years to come.

  • Eligible Applicants:

  • Stream 1: Sector Development Projects – BC perennial food crop industry association or sector stakeholder group.

  • Stream 2: Removal Projects – BC perennial food crop producer. The applicant must be the owner or lessee of the land.

  • Stream 3: Sector-Specific Planting Projects – BC perennial food crop producer. The applicant must be the owner or lessee of the land to be planted.

  • Deadline: Application intake opened April 28th and are accepted on a continuous basis until funding is fully committed. The review dates for each application batch for the 2023/24 fiscal year is as follows:

  • The first date for review is May 25, 2023*  (if a high volume of applications is received prior to May 25, IAF will review applications on an earlier date to expedite funding)

  • Subsequent review dates are: June 30, 2023, July 31, 2023, July 31, and November 30, 2023

  • Maximum Funding Amount:

  • Stream 1: Sector Development Projects – Max $100K with 100% funding

  • Stream 2: Removal Projects – Max $100K ($5000 per acre)

  • Stream 3: Sector-Specific Planting Projects – Max 300K with 75% funding

  • Contact information:

  • Applications and more details for the Perennial Crop Renewal Program are available online: www.iafbc.ca/pcrp

Mill tradespeople and technicians can access specialized entrepreneurship training and coaching to gain the foundational business skills they need to start and grow their own business. Through a $2.95-million grant to Hubspace, the new Build Your Own Future (BYOF) program will provide foundational business skills to prepare participants to start and grow their own businesses. The program will include training in finance, marketing and sales, operations, project management, health and safety, customer service, leadership, and diversity. In addition to offering participants intensive and customized support for their business startups, those who complete the training are eligible for a $5,000 grant to cover qualified business startup expenses.

  • Deadline – Continuous. The first workshop series is happening in Houston, BC, from May 29th to June 2nd (attendance can be virtual or in person).

  • Contact information – Program staff can be reached at info@hubspace.ca or (250) 563-2663 and visit https://www.hubspace.ca/byof/ for more information.

  • One pager attached.

 4. StrongerBC Future Skills Grant

The grant will help learners access eligible short-term skills training to further their careers, upgrade their skills and enhance their productivity, giving them access to well-paid, high opportunity occupations. Learners can choose from a growing list of more than 400 programs and start training in September 2023.

  • Eligible Applicants: The StrongerBC future skills grant is open to British Columbians aged 19 years or older – regardless of financial need.

  • Deadline: Registration for the September semester is open now.

  • Maximum Funding Amount: covers up to $3,500 per person for eligible short-term skills training at public post-secondary institutions.

  • Contact information: Program staff can be reached at futureskillsgrant@gov.bc.ca

  • Program examples: There are programs on Marketing in the Digital Economy (through NIC), Office and Clerical Training (through NIC), Web Design for Small Business Owners (through VIU), Environmental Monitoring for Construction Projects (through VIU), Event Management (through VIU), Business Administration Essentials Micro-Credential (online at Royal Roads),

  • Learn more www.workbc.ca/futureskillsgrant

Other Updates:

  • Province’s new StrongerBC: Future Ready Action Plan has been launched (press release).

  • The Declaration Act Engagement Fund will help support First Nations’ involvement in efforts to implement the Declaration Act Action Plan and align provincial laws with the UN Declaration, as required under the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (Declaration Act). The fund will help First Nations offset costs associated with provincial engagement on the implementation of the Declaration Act. The flexible fund could support staffing, training, community-level meetings and other resources required to enhance government-to-government work. The one-time $200-million fund will be administered by the Indigenous-led New Relationship Trust and be available to all First Nations in B.C. (see press release).


    • May 9, 2023

KATE MADDIGAN, CCEDA’S NEW ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

The Cortes Community Economic Development Association (CCEDA) recently hired Kate Maddigan as its new Economic Development Officer (EDO). 


Colin Funk, the President of CCEDA, explained, “I have known Kate pretty much the entire time I’ve been on Cortes, I think I’m coming up to my 10th summer here. I’ve been on a few boards with her when I was active with Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI). We live pretty close together in the south end of the island. So like many, we bump into each other at the store or on the trails and such.”


Cortes Currents asked Maddigan about some of the work she has done in the community.


“I’m working for the ambulance station, but that will be my daytime job.”


“I did work for DFO for quite a few years up in the Yukon, and through that  I came to understand government culture better than anywhere. So when I’m writing a grant or something, I understand the brain of a bureaucrat. It really helps because you need to be able to speak their language and not everybody can do that.”


“I have written a lot of grants, and then it turns into a project management position because I know the project so well”.


“The Cortes Community Forest Cooperative approached me to write a grant with their value added project, and then I became the project manager when the grant was successful. I’ve also done some work for the partnership with the skills training of forestry workers a year and a half ago, I wrote the grant, the grant was successful and I became the project manager.” 


“I did some work writing grants for the Cortes Island Streamkeepers and help them with their fundraising strategy.”


“I’ve done a lot of work for FOCI just being on the board of directors for 10 years, and felt that my time  there was done, and CCEDA was looking for a grant writer.  So I jumped in and  I’ve done some project management for CCEDA along with all the grant writing.”



Cortes Transportation Committee (2017) Left to right: Sonya Friesen, Don Tennant, Kate Maddigan, Max Thaysen & Director Anderson. – Courtesy Noba Anderson


CF: “She’s got a deep sense of Cortes, having been a resident for many years. She’s been in the nonprofit/ social profit sector for a huge amount of time and, I think more than anybody on Cortes, has a really good understanding of the groups – whether it’s groups that are dealing with the environment, economic or social education. That’s really important because many of us sometimes just have a singular focus and she’s very much pan-Island, so that’s super important.” 


“The other thing too is she just has some remarkable skills in terms of being a real strategic thinker, and a visionary and then the ability to get things done. That’s unique because most of us are either big thinkers, dreamers, but we couldn’t tie our shoes effectively. Others can get lots of things done, but aren’t necessarily working on the right thing or the appropriate context. She’s got this whole brain approach. Kate can go from big picture and then very quickly understand what’s needed to put that forward.” 


“She’s got a wonderful personality and is really responsive to listening to people and following up on, helping us achieve our aspirations, our dreams. When you’re working in the type of work we do in the nonprofit sector and volunteer sector, it’s all about relationship. We’re doing stuff that sometimes is a surprise, or unexpected, or a challenge and quite often with limited resources. So the relationship side of things is really, really important. LIke many others, I just so enjoy being around her.”  


KM: “If you wanted to get into each of the areas that I’m interested  in working on, worker housing is one of them.  I have approached the Cortes Housing Society about this before, and they’re all about Rainbow Ridge, which is a fantastic project, but it’s a very long-term project. What are the more short-term things that we can do to help housing?”  

CC: You’re talking about looking for worker housing and they are pretty well maxed out at Rainbow Ridge.


KM: “Yes, I think that’s why they can’t really consider those shorter term housing solutions that I was talking about. This is something that CCEDA can maybe help with.”

“I’m really good at just stealing ideas from other places, so that I don’t have to recreate the wheel. I think that there’s a lot of value in seeing what the Southern Gulf Islands are doing with their Housing Now Registry. I’m trying to get in touch with the person that’s organizing that, so just to get some ideas and see if it would really work here because that’s just  a good short-term solution.  Also at the RIEP forum we talked about a  speculation tax for empty houses. There have been some initiatives to try and encourage homeowners who don’t use housing that they own on a year round basis to encourage them to use the housing for locals.” 


CC: “As I understand it, the hesitation from property owners is that  a number have had renters who maybe have trashed their house, or they’ve just been unpleasent tenants. A number of potential landlords are hesitant because they’ve heard of these incidents, and they don’t want the hassle themselves.” 


KM: “I think there are some landowners, perhaps homeowners, who are interested in renting out a room or spot on their land, but they’re hesitant to put it out there publicly that they would consider that, and perhaps the registry can be a middle person to provide that kind of support and also provide information to homeowners about what they can do to prevent problems with tenants, how to choose a tenant etc. I think I can see that being difficult for some homeowners, and so I would like to explore options to help them feel more comfortable renting to somebody.” 


“In 2017, when I was with FOCI, we partnered with a consultant out of Victoria and did the transportation demand study for Cortes. The gap that we weren’t able to address, if we had one here on Cortes or on Quadra, is operating budgets.” 


“I was working with the Community Bus Coalition, which is a little ad hoc group made up of a bunch of islands (Galliano, Gabriola, Bowen).  A really effective group. They were basically sending briefing notes to the transportation minister to try and get  more support for community buses. We all pay taxes into the BC transit system, but do we all benefit from that? No, we don’t. The rural areas are really left out of that.” 


“It’s not official, but my source tells me there is an announcement coming up that will actually advance a lot of these ideas for rural areas on Vancouver Island. So I’m really excited to work on that for CCEDA as well.” 


“Another area is business mentorship and skills training. This  came up through my work with the Village Commons. We have received a bunch of funding to advance the Village Commons and part of that funding includes business mentorship. The Village Commons  is intended to provide gathering space and also commercial space for vendors and local entrepreneurs. We don’t have the office, retail, studio space. That was identified as a gap in the local economic action plan of CCEDAs. Now we’ve got the funding, so I will be helping with that.”


“I’m interested in advancing the work that Filipe Figuera started when he was CCEDA’s coordinator last year. He was creating a bookkeeping program for locals and  there was a lot of people that signed up for that.  I would really love to take what Filipe did and advance it more because he did some good work with that.”


“There’s other skills training that we could do. I’ve worked with the skills training funds before when I did the forestry skills training.” 


“We’re going to be releasing the Value Added Wood Processing recommendations for Cortes Island at 7 AM, Monday, May 15 in Manson’s Hall. That project is going to end and I’m going to be helping the Community Forest Co-Op advance those recommendations.” 

“We want to update the Local Economic Action Plan (LEAP) for Cortes. That LEAP report is about five years old now, and it can  serve as a quasi official community plan but we do need to continually check in with the community about where they wan to go with economic development on the island.” 


“This is a team approach.  Colin Funk is the President on the CCEDA board, and along with the other board members including Amy Robertson and Barend Van der Vorm – great people, I really need them – is amazing at helping direct my activities in this role.”

“I think that Colin was really instrumental in spearheading the local economic action plan, and I refer to LEAP quite a bit in any grants that I’m writing.”


“When you are looking for evidence of what the community wants, and funders really look for that, you need to provide evidence of what the community wants. That’s why we do these public engagements. They’re really important.”


“Some people are a little bit frustrated, we put all this energy into these reports, and what do they do? They sit on the shelf. Well, no, that’s not actually correct. People like me and other people who are trying to advance these projects, absolutely need those reports and those community engagements to direct our actions. It’s not what Kate wants, it’s what the community wants. So updating LEAP is another one.”


“Climate Action – That was on the list in that recent public announcement of this position. There’s some gaps on the island , a lot of climate action isn’t being initiated.”

“At the RIEP  forum last week, I met one of the authors of the climate action document for Salt Spring and that’s through Transition Salt Spring. It’s an amazing group. Go on the website. They’re doing amazing things and so is ICAN on Quadra. I love what those guys do with climate action, water security, food security and the transportation announcement that’s coming up is going to be a really great thing to do for climate action as well.” 


“Regenerative tourism – There’s so many things we could do.  Getting people out of their cars is a big one. Having people come over to have  tourist experiences on Cortes on the e-bike for example.  I was recently involved with the museum who are about to launch their Garden and Studio Tour, and I just kind of threw it out there, ‘Why don’t you advertise it as an amazing e-bike experience and give people ideas of where they can rent an e-bike.”


“We’re in touch with Jack over on Quadra. He’s got e-bikes for rent at Island Cycle.  There’s so many things that we could do to have experiences over here that don’t take away from the community. Experiences that actually support the community, and relieve ferry pressure.” 


CC: “Last year I was hearing  about a cycle trail that went through Cortes, through Quadra, down to Campbell River, over to Comox, over to Powell River, to Lund, and back to Cortes. it’s called the North Salish Cycle Route, but I haven’t heard anything about that since.” 


KM: “I haven’t heard that, sounds amazing though.” 


“This whole idea is fashioned off of the Farm Cycle Tour in the Comox Valley. it’s promoting the very same thing that we’re trying to do here on the island for the Garden and Studio tour. It’s just great that we have so many people with e-bikes these days because it does offer some new opportunities for people, for tourist experiences that, again, support the community instead of taking away from it.” 


“I’m looking forward to coming up with more ideas to stimulate regenerative tourism on Cortes.”


“Another thing on that list was the Village Commons and how CCEDA can help advance that development. As you know the new owners of the Village Commons land is the Cortes Foundation, and we have agreed to be active partners in that development.  I’ve been involved with the Village Commons development quite a bit in the past couple years, and so I think it’s important to contribute to the furthering of that project.  It’s  a transfer of information, ideas and energy that CCEDA can support the foundation with.” 


CC: “There’s also strengthening partnerships with nonprofits and the Klahoose First Nation.” 

“CCEDA is going to continue to be involved with the social profit network. There’s a in-person gathering coming up on Tuesday, June 20 at Hollyhock and we’re going to be involved in that.”


“Klahoose First Nation – through the Village Commons, we’ve included a welcome pole in that project. I started talking with Chief Steven Brown about that, and how to really bring that incredible cultural connection to the Village Commons and to downtown Manson’s Landing. I’m really looking forward to being involved in that and, I think it’s just going to be a really great way to try and develop further working relationships with the Klahoose.”  


“Also the Value Added Project will involve work with the Klahoose.  We’ve already met with Kevin Peacey about how the Forestry Co-op can support value added in partnership with the Klahoose. I look forward to seeing where that goes too.”


“I just wanted to say  the title of this position is  Economic Development Officer,  I am not really wild about the title, but there are EDOs, it’s called an EDO –  Economic Development Officer – all over the place. I really look forward to connecting with other EDOs that have been hired across the region  and supporting each other and sharing ideas and so on for our communities.”


    • May 8, 2023

CCEDA hires a new Economic Development Officer


The Cortes Community Economic Development Association (CCEDA) is pleased to announce that Kate Maddigan has been hired as its new Economic Development Officer (EDO) for a 2-year term. Kate brings extensive experience in community development work to this new position for Cortes Island, and has advanced many valuable local initiatives including: Village Commons development; value-added wood product business development; skills training for forestry workers; secondary education solutions for island youth; and many others.


The position was funded by the Province of British Columbia’s Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program (REDIP), through the Economic Capacity stream. Other coastal communities receiving REDIP’s Economic Capacity funds include Port Alice, Port Renfrew, Tofino, Ucluelet, Sc’ianew Beecher Bay First Nation, Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Ucluelet First Nation, Port McNeill, Sointula, and others.


CCEDA is committed to taking a “community economic development” approach with this new position, one that is holistic, community-driven, and focused on generating greater well-being and prosperity for all Islanders. A special focus of the position will be to assist existing and new businesses with identifying opportunities and resources, along with helping locals gain the necessary skills needed to create a thriving and sustainable local workforce.


Specific initiatives for CCEDA’s new EDO may include

– Worker housing solutions

– Business mentorship & skills training

– Advancing value-added wood products recommendations

– An update of the Cortes Local Economic Action Plan (LEAP)

– Climate change action & Regenerative Tourism initiatives

– Assisting with the Village Commons development in Manson’s Landing

– Strengthening partnerships with Island Non-profits, and the Klahoose First Nation


Please find out more about CCEDA at www.cceda.ca. Kate Maddigan can be reached at Kate@cceda.ca for any inquiries about CCEDA’s upcoming community economic development initiatives.


Also on this topic:


Cortes Island is part of the traditional territory of the Klahoose, Tia'amin, and Homalco Nations. We acknowledge this prior ownership and stewardship and strive to support economic reconciliation and justice for First Nations peoples.

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Cortes Community Economic Development Association [CCEDA] is dedicated to the long term wellbeing of Cortes Island and those who live here. Through community economic development [CED] we support the growth of diverse, sustainable, and fulfilling livelihoods and enterprises.

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