The City of Penticton is kicking off 2021 by eyeing new funding through grants. During its January 19 Regular Meeting, Council directed staff to apply for the following grants - a Vancouver Foundation Grant, an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Grant and a Community Emergency Preparedness Fund Grant.
The Vancouver Foundation’s Systems Change Test Grant supports projects that take action to address the root causes of pressing social, environmental or cultural issues by influencing behaviours of populations, organizations and institutions. The grant would provide up to $100,000 per year for three years and will be used for the creation of a substance use response strategy.
The EOC Grant is a $25,000 funding opportunity from the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) that would be used towards costs for equipment, supplies and training for the City of Penticton EOC.
The Community Emergency Preparedness Fund Grant is a suite of funding programs intended to enhance the resiliency of local governments and their residents in responding to emergencies. The $25,000 in funding would be used for equipment, planning, recruitment, training and other eligible and related expenses for Penticton’s Emergency Support Services team.
And finally, earlier this month, the City applied for a grant to enable funding for Penticton Creek Flood Mitigation totalling $3,867,180 from the Government of Canada’s Resilience and Disaster Mitigation program.
“It’s more important than ever that the City turn to funding initiatives involving sources not drawn from local taxation,” stated Penticton Mayor, John Vassilaki. “It’s vital for staff to monitor other levels of government and secure this funding, when available.”