Community prosperity funding is available for participating First Nations to invest in businesses, economic development, infrastructure, and related activities that support community well-being.

Purpose and Goals

The community prosperity fund supports eligible businesses, infrastructure, and economic development activities that are consistent with conservation led by First Nations participating in the Great Bear Sea PFP.

Funding is designed to support initiatives that:

• Respect the Nations’ inherent rights to self-determination and encourage collaborative conservation based economic opportunities
• Strengthen the Nations’ marine governance and stewardship capacities including compliance, enforcement, and Guardian activities
• Promote the shift to more prosperous, diverse, equitable and sustainable regional economies
• Create and sustain jobs, businesses, and new conservation-based economic opportunities for the Nations and other coastal communities
• Promote investment certainty
• Support healthy coastal communities
• Promote partnerships with local governments, coastal communities, non-governmental organizations, private sectors, stakeholders, and coastal zone user groups
• Maximize leveraging of GBS PFP Funds for economic and community development investments, including federal and provincial program funds, philanthropy funds, impact investment funds and conventional finance

Before You Apply

Prior to developing an application, please ensure the project and your organization are eligible for funding. If you have any questions regarding eligibility, please do not hesitate to contact Patricia Sayer, Director of Economic Development, at projects@coastfunds.ca or 604-684-0223 ext 9.

Submitting a Complete Funding Application

The community prosperity fund supports two streams of projects:

Business and Economic Development, which can support the development, acquisition or expansion of businesses; economic development activities, including planning and capacity development; as well as contributions to the operating budgets of eligible projects.

Application Form: Business and Economic Development

Infrastructure Development, which can support the planning, development, and maintenance of infrastructure that supports conservation, stewardship, culture, and community well-being.

Application Form: Infrastructure Planning (under $150,000)

Application Form: Infrastructure Development

In order for a project to be considered ready for review, a completed funding application requires the following documents:

Business and Economic Development stream:

• Application Form – Business and Economic Development
• Comprehensive and viable business plan
• Current financial statements
• Pro forma financial projections
• Council and/or Board resolution of support

Infrastructure Development stream – applications for planning:

• Application Form – Infrastructure Planning
• Consulting Quote
• Council and/or Board resolution of support

Infrastructure Development stream – applications for projects:

• Application Form – Infrastructure
• Competed Business Case
• Completed Feasibility Studies
• Project Budget and quotes
• Project Plan and Schedule
• Current financial statements
• Council and/or Board resolution of support

Adobe Acrobat Reader version 7 or higher is required to use Coast Funds forms. Adobe Acrobat is free software. If using macOS, you will need to specifically open the form in Adobe Acrobat Reader – do not use Apple Preview or you may corrupt your application.

Resource: Business Plan Template

As a guide, our team has created a basic business plan template covering content that should be discussed in every business plan that is submitted to Coast Funds. Applicants are encouraged to contact us prior to developing a business plan, as we can offer advice on areas to focus to ensure the highest probability of success when the application is reviewed for decision by Coast Funds’ Board of Directors.

> Download the Business Plan template

Application Deadlines

Eligible applicants from participating First Nations, or Nation-approved individuals or entities, can submit an application at any time. A complete application includes all supporting documents identified above.

Applications for infrastructure planning projects up to $150,000 are reviewed on a monthly basis and approved by Coast Funds’ senior leadership team.

Applications for business and economic development projects, infrastructure projects, and infrastructure planning projects that are more than $150,000 are reviewed on a quarterly basis and approved by the Project Review Committee (up to $1 million) or the Board of Directors (over $1 million). Please see the Apply Now page for upcoming deadlines.

Funding Decisions

Once an application is complete, it will be reviewed by Coast Funds’ senior leadership team, Project Review Committee, and/or the full Board for decision, depending on the level and type of funding requested.

Project Reporting for Approved Projects

In line with its founding agreements, Coast Funds has a responsibility to collect outcomes data for funded projects and activities through the project reporting. Once approved, Coast Funds works with recipients to issue payments and quantify how First Nations are strengthening community well-being in line with the intended outcomes of the funds.

We view reporting as a collaborative process, and our staff will work with you to complete final reports in Coast Funds’ specified Adobe Acrobat PDF format – see a sample final report template available for download at the bottom of this section. The sample report PDF is for reference only; we will provide you with reports that are pre-populated with your approved work plan to make reporting as seamless as possible for you.

Prefer reporting over the phone? We can call you to fill in the report together.

For all approved projects, recipients are required to provide sign off on a final report following completion of the project that provides:

• Community well-being outcomes achieved for the year funds were provided
• Confirmation that approved work plan activities were completed
• Financial information (produced from an accounting system) that accounts for all funding contributions and expenditures occurring within the year funds were provided
• Digital photos of the project’s construction, new employees, the completed infrastructure or equipment, and others to support storytelling about the project

> View a template for Coast Funds’ Final Report (sample only)

If you are seeking to file a final report for a funded project, please contact us and we can get started together.

Contact Us

For all applicants seeking advice on submitting a funding application, and for recipients with an active, funded project who are seeking to submit a progress or final report, please contact:

Patricia Sayer
Director, Economic Development
patricia@coastfunds.ca
604-684- 0223 ext 9