The Community Initiatives and Affected Areas Programs are intended to be flexible and incorporate community-based funding decisions. 

The Programs support local projects that provide additional value to Basin communities and that benefit the broad community and public good.  Program funds are distributed annually to the Trust’s partners:

• Local government partners: the regional districts of East Kootenay, Central Kootenay and Kootenay Boundary, the City of Revelstoke, Town of Golden and Village of Valemount; and
• Indigenous partners: Ɂaq’am, Ɂakisq’nuk, Lower Kootenay (Yaqan nuɁkiy), Tobacco Plains Indian Band (Ɂakink’umŧasnuqŧiɁit) and the Shuswap Indian Band.

In the East Kootenay, the Community Initiatives Program funds projects that are identified as priorities within the communities and rural areas of the Regional District of East Kootenay.

The Affected Areas Program is designed to put funds back into the Basin for those communities most affected by dam construction under the Columbia River Treaty.  In the East Kootenay, the Program funds projects that meet priorities in communities which lie within 10 km of Lake Koocanusa and include the following:

• Electoral Area B: Jaffray, Galloway, Elko, Baynes Lake, Grasmere, and Newgate
• Portion of Electoral Area C: Wardner, Mayook and Bull River

Proposals are accepted once per year and must be submitted through the Trust’s online application system. Watch for information on the 2020/2021 program in November or early December. To view the approved projects for 2019/2020, see the full report below under Document Links.

Document Links

• 2019/2020 Approved Projects (June 2019)

Contact Information

For further information regarding the Community Initiatives & Affected Areas Programs please contact:

Tina Hlushak
Deputy Corporate Officer
Phone: 250-489-2791 or 1-888-478-7335 (toll-free)
Email:     thlushak@rdek.bc.ca

For information on other programs offered by the Columbia Basin Trust, please contact the Columbia Basin Trust at 1-800-505-8998 or visit: http://www.ourtrust.org/