Community Grants

 

2025 Community Grants Application Intake

Total funding available for the 2025 DCFS Community Grants is $15,000.

Deadline: March 31, 2025

The Dunster Community Forest Society will accept applications once a year from qualifying community organizations and individuals for funding in our Community Grants program.  Application forms may be picked up at the Dunster General Store or downloaded from this page. The application time frame will be published annually in the late fall of each year.

The applications are reviewed by a committee of community-minded individuals not directly associated with the DCFS, and they award funding based on the application’s adherence to the Community Grants Policy and the available funds available to be awarded.

Grant applications will be accepted until March 31, 2025, with the results to be announced soon after.

Who Qualifies to Apply

Individuals

Post-secondary students resident in the Robson Valley may apply for funding to support their education, which may include cost of tuition, books, or supplies. We will also consider funding graduate or post-graduate students who wish to undertake research within the DCF footprint. Applicants for this funding will be required to submit a 1,000 word essay explaining how their studies will be beneficial to the Robson Valley, and submit proof of registration at a post-secondary institution.

Student Application Form (PDF form)

Student Application Form (Word document)

Grant Application Assessment Tool

 

Groups

Any organization based in the Robson Valley, whether an officially registered society or not, that wants to undertake a project or activity within the footprint of the Dunster Community Forest and has been operating for a minimum of three years, may apply for funding. The organization’s annual financial statements for the last two years will need to be submitted along with the application.

Project Application Form (PDF form)

Project Application Form (Word document)

Grant Application Assessment Tool

What Projects Qualify

We have developed an Grant Application Assessment Tool to help applicants ensure that they are eligible for our grants, and that all the necessary documentation is included with the grant application.  The completed checklist should be included with the grant application.

Post-secondary funding may include tuition, books, and supplies, as well as local research costs.

Projects or activities must be carried out mainly within the Dunster region (from the Holmes River to Small River), and must broadly benefit the Dunster community. The requested funding must be for a single year’s duration, and can include requests for operational expenses. Specifically, the DCFS will consider projects that:

  • Promote volunteer engagement and community involvement,

  • Examine new approaches and techniques to meet community needs, and

  • Are accessible to a large portion of the community’s residents.

Applicants must show a clear need for the funding requested, and projects with multiple funding sources will be viewed more favourably.

Successful applicants will be required to submit a final report at the completion of their project, and cannot apply for a subsequent grant until the project is completed and the final report is submitted.

More details on our Community Grants program may be found in our Community Grants Policy.

Please submit your application and checklist by mail to Dunster Community Forest Society, General Delivery Dunster BC V0J 1J0 or by email to admin@dunstercommunityforest.ca

2023 Successful Grant Recipients

  • Robson Valley Music Society application by Shara Gustafson for 2023 music festival expenses
  • Open Gate Community Garden application by Penny Rivard for 2023 Seedy Saturday
  • Wishbone Theatre application by Sharon Stearns to produce “Showdown – A Western Musical”
  • Jayde Richter awarded a student bursary
  • Dunster Fine Arts School Society application by Shara Gustafson to be put towards
    school siding and insulation

2022 Successful Grant Recipients

  • Dunster Fine Arts School Society application by Shara Gustafson for
    ski rental storage and bottle bins
  • Robson Valley Beekeepers Association application by Monica Zieper for the student mentoring program and pollinator houses

2021 Successful Grant Recipients

  • Dunster Community Association application by Richard Chambers for
    picnic grounds fund
  • Ozalenka Alpine Club application by Roy Howard for the new cabin
    project
  • Kerry McNaughton awarded a student bursary
  • Dunster Fine Arts School Society application by Shara Gustafson for
    propane fuel for the school
  • Robson Valley Beekeepers Association application by Monica Zieper/Lyn
    Smith for student beekeeper suits awarded

 

Thank you to all those who applied and for your continued support of the the Dunster Community Forest Society.