REFBC General Grants Stage 1 Application Form

APPLICATION & PROGRAM INFO

The application deadline is 5:00 PM on Tuesday, January 28, 2025.

The Real Estate Foundation of BC's General Grants program provides funding for time-bound projects involving public education, professional education, applied research, policy analysis, and law reform activities that advance sustainable, equitable, and socially just land use and real estate practices in the province Equally important is our commitment to advancing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as well as the BC Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA). Indigenous-led initiatives and projects developed in collaboration with Indigenous communities that advance UNDRIP and Indigenous rights are also prioritized.

Please see our Funding Priorities and Assessment Criteria for the questions we consider in evaluating your proposal. See our website for more information about our commitment to UNDRIP including the Transformative Actions for UNDRIP Advancement (TAUA) report from UNDRIP Fellow Tara Marsden/Naxginkw.

Eligible organizations include: Non-profit organizations, First Nations, local and regional governments, educational institutions, and social enterprises (C3s). Applicants may be, but are not restricted to, CRA Registered Charities or Qualified Donees.

We encourage applications from First Nations, Indigenous-led non-profits, and organizations that are led by and serve equity-seeking groups.

Eligible project expenses for REFBC Funding include: staffing and program delivery, project coordination, communications, consultant fees, convening & relationship building, workshops, travel, Indigenous ceremony & cultural protocols, honoraria, and building cultural competency.

REFBC General Grants do not fund:

Activities that primarily provide financial benefits for individuals
Debt retirement, reserves, mortgage paydowns
Retroactive expenses (costs incurred prior to funding being approved)
Large scale capital projects (purchase or development of land and buildings)
Endowments
Partisan political activities

Application Process

This form is Stage 1 of the application process. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to revise and add to their applications in Stage 2.
We aim to shortlist Stage 1 applications within 6-8 weeks of the intake deadline.
Shortlisted applications will be split, with some applications being carried forward for a funding decision in June, and the rest to be decided on in September.
Deadlines for Stage 2 applications may be set for as soon as 2-4 weeks following the notification of shortlisting. REFBC Staff may reach out to provide feedback or raise questions of clarification that should be addressed at Stage 2.

Please contact our Grants Coordinator (grants@refbc.ca| 604-343-2629 or toll free on 1-866-912-6800 ext. 109) if you have any questions about the application process or our funding criteria and eligibility. If our Grants Coordinator is unavailable, please contact one of our Grants Program Managers.

TECHNICAL NOTES:

Some helpful hints to help you navigate the online form and submission process.

Questions with an asterisk (*) are required and must have responses in order to submit the form.

You can use the zoom on your browser to make form text larger if that makes it easier to read

The online application form is in Plain Text format and cannot accommodate Rich Text like bold/italic styling or formatted bullet points. You can easily strip formatting when copy/pasting by pasting in plain text. (Ctrl+Shift+V for PC or Option+Cmd+Shift+V for Mac)

You will be notified of any errors in your online form responses upon clicking Submit and will be able to correct them

Your online application form can be saved while in progress so that you or a colleague can return to it later. When you click on Save My Progress, you will be asked to set a username (email) and password to re-open the form. You will receive an email with a link to return to the form. Once you’ve logged back in, navigate to where you left off and continue. Click “Save My Progress” again only if you want to close or navigate away from the form before you complete and submit.

When you click Submit, you will be redirected to a confirmation page and a PDF copy of your submission will be emailed to you.

All applications must be received through the online form. To avoid frustration with internet connection issues, we recommend using this Word template to draft responses before copy/pasting into the online form.

SECTION 2 - PROJECT INFORMATION

Details

Project Name

Aim for under 80 characters, including spaces.

Project Description
Please provide a brief overview of your project idea, including goals or objectives and major activities. Aim for under 500 words.

Project Rationale
What is the land use barrier or opportunity that your project will address? (Why this project? Why now? What need does it fill?) Aim for under 500 words.

Geographical Area served
Please select the option that best represents the region of the province in which your project activities will take place:

Geographic Impact

If your project impacts multiple regions and you wish to explain, please comment briefly. Please also list the First Nations territory/territories on which your project will take place. Aim for under 250 words.

Project Duration
Please estimate the number of months required to complete your project.

Estimated Project Start Date
When do you hope to begin your project work? Summer, Fall or Winter start dates are all welcome. Projects need not be “launch ready” at this stage.

REFBC Assessment Criteria

UNDRIP and Indigenous Rights

How does the project support Indigenous rights and interests in land use? As a framework for inherent Indigenous rights, consider how the project can advance the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and DRIPA . Aim for under 200 words.

Indigenous-Led Projects

Indigenous communities each have their own distinct perspective on advancing their inherent rights grounded in their own culture, governance, and land relationships. UNDRIP is one recognized articulation of the inherent rights of Indigenous peoples. . If you'd like to share, we invite you to describe how your community is protecting and upholding inherent rights, including if and how UNDRIP might be informing your approach. Aim for under 200 words.

Justice
How does the project support Indigenous rights and interests in land use? How does it support equity and justice for communities most impacted by land use and real estate policy and practices but least heard? Aim for under 200 words.

Leadership and Innovation
How does the project strengthen leadership in a field or support emerging leadership? How does it demonstrate an innovative approach? Aim for under 200 words.

Relationship Building
How are the communities most impacted or served by the project involved in its design, direction and/or implementation? If there are other communities, organizations, or sectors whose partnership and collaboration are key to project goals, how are you engaging them? Aim for under 200 words.

SECTION 3 - Project Budget

For requests over $50,000, REFBC generally does not serve as the sole cash funder of a project. Funding from other sources need not be fully confirmed and committed at the application stage. For requests up to $50,000, matching funding from other sources is encouraged but not required.

Eligible expenses for REFBC Funding include staffing and program delivery, project coordination, communications, consultant fees, convening & workshops, travel, Indigenous ceremony & cultural protocols, honoraria, and building cultural competency.

Project Budget

Amount Requested
Total amount of funds you are requesting from REFBC

Please enter an unformatted number (no $ or ,) eg: 99450.50

Description of Expenses
Please briefly describe how you intend to allocate requested REFBC funds. Aim for under 300 words.

Total Project Cash Budget
Total estimated required funds for the project, including project staffing but excluding in-kind expenses

Please enter an unformatted number (no $ or ,) eg: 99450.50

Project Funding Confirmed
Total funds confirmed to the project to date from your own organization and/or other funders, if applicable.

Please enter an unformatted number (no $ or ,) eg: 99450.50

First Name	Last Name
Are you an employee of the proponent organization? YesNo, I am a consultant/partner	Job Title
Your Organization's Name	Your Organization's Website
Email Address	Cell Phone
Office Address	Office Phone
City	Province
Postal Code