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Strategic sectoral and systemic initiatives

Vancity Strategic Partnerships

Thank you for your interest in the Vancity envirofund™️ program. We accept applications on a rolling basis throughout the year until we have allocated the full envirofund budget. As of September 6th, we have now fully allocated all available funds for 2022.

The envirofund budget will re-open in February of 2023, and we invite you to submit your application via the online granting portal at that time.

If your project is of a strategic nature, you are welcome to send a project description to envirofund@vancity.com and we will follow up with you within a couple of weeks to let you know if there is alignment with other funding programs.

With our focus on lighter living, we endeavor to reduce the ecological footprint of the communities we serve by making investments that will create systems change, while improving the health and well-being of our members. Lighter living is about moving beyond a simple carbon-based approach, to a more holistic understanding of what is causing us to live beyond the planet's means.

Through strategic investments into community partners we are helping to develop an enabling ecosystem that will achieve several goals:

  1. More existing businesses alter their practices to achieve lighter living (especially in the areas of buildings, food and waste)
  2. An increase in the number and sustainability of new markets, business models, and enterprises that enable lighter living behaviors for businesses and individuals
  3. Improved awareness and engagement with lighter living in the communities we serve so that individuals are empowered to reduce their personal footprint

We invest in non-profits, social enterprises, co-ops, values-driven for-profits, labour unions, indigenous groups or First Nation governments to seed change and scale solutions that will enable lighter living within our trade region.

In 2020 we will focus largely on investments to:

  • improve the energy consumption and emissions from buildings (both new and existing)
  • reduce wasted food
  • increase uptake of plant-based diets
  • decrease consumption of fossil fuels via renewable energy and energy efficiency
  • address upstream solutions to waste for both business and households
  • develop the local circular economy

Eligibility

By using a systems-based approach we seek to build reciprocal partnerships that will serve to enhance the lighter living ecosystem and bring opportunities for the credit union and its members. By understanding the landscape, key actors, and issues around climate action we thoughtfully invest in and partner with organizations, initiatives, businesses, and projects that are working collaboratively to deliver solutions at scale.

If you have an organization or initiative that you wish to share with us and that might be a good fit for a strategic partnership with Vancity then please email us at envirofund@vancity.com with a brief description.