Vancity is calling on local organizations to apply for roughly $800,000 in grants available for initiatives that enhance the environmental well-being of our communities through the Vancity enviroFund™ program, funded by enviro™ Visa.

“We want to support projects that share our vision of a more sustainable future,” says Morgan Beall, Vancity’s community investment portfolio manager of energy and environmental sustainability. “For the next five years, we’ll be embracing the concept of lighter living.”

Organizations involved in projects that work toward lighter living—minimizing the waste we create, the water we consume and the food we eat—will be considered for funding. Another area of focus for the program is reducing the impact of the built environment on our communities. For example, projects that involve zero-emissions buildings, renewable energy or transportation efficiency could be eligible for a Vancity enviroFund grant.

Organizations that have received grants this year include:

  • Green Bloc Neighbourhoods
  • Saturna Ecological Education Centre
  • Synergy Sustainability Institute

The Vancity enviroFund is supported by the Vancity enviro Visa, which contributes five per cent of its profits to the program. Since 1990, the Vancity enviroFund has raised $8.7 million to support local organizations working to address environmental concerns and build the sustainability of our communities.

About Vancity

Vancity is a values-based financial co-operative serving the needs of its more than 525,000 member-owners and their communities in the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw territories, with 59 branches in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Victoria, Squamish and Alert Bay. With $26.4 billion in assets plus assets under administration, Vancity is Canada’s largest community credit union. Vancity uses its assets to help improve the financial well-being of its members while at the same time helping to develop healthy communities that are socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.

Originally published on Vancity.com on September 19, 2018