COLIN ROBINSON
Clayoquot Biosphere Trust
Tight-knit, supportive communities. Beautiful, vibrant, ecosystems. These hallmarks of west coast living are what many residents love about home, and what draw visitors back year after year. But less visible are the passionate social and environmental charities whose work is to care for the communities and ecosystems we rely on.
From youth opportunities, to environmental conservation, to social justice, regional non-profits play a crucial role maintaining the vitality of this place for all human and more-than-human residents.
But as we adapt to the post-pandemic normal, many organizations are struggling to keep up with increased need for their services and programming, while facing significantly lower revenues than past years. On top of this, inflation and rising costs make it more expensive for them to carry out their important social and environmental work.
That’s why the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust (CBT), the regional community foundation, is bringing back the Giving Catalogue: an online crowdfunding campaign that lifts up the work of west coast non-profits. It’s a “one-stop-shop” where donors can learn about these dedicated organizations and support their work. Some donors make a single gift, while others use the catalogue to conveniently make multiple donations. The CBT provides in-kind all administration (like payment processing, tax-receipting), with 100% of the donation going to support the activities of the receiving organization.
“The Giving Catalogue helps us fundraise without the headache and costs associated with promotion and administration, at a time when we’re already running at reduced capacity,” says Karyssa Arnett, Executive Director of the Strawberry Isle Marine Research Society. “It also expands our reach to new donors we might not encounter with our own fundraising efforts,” she adds.
The catalogue also enables donors to donate to specific funds held at CBT, like the Nuu-chah-nulth Language Fund (which supports grass-roots language revitalization grants) and the Warrior Program Fund (which supports healthy Indigenous youth development).
In short, everything starts with community. And through this united, public portal to support funding during challenging times, together we are stronger. You can access the Giving Catalogue through the home page of www.clayoquotbiosphere.org, and can call the CBT office at 250-725-2219 to learn more.
Colin Robinson is the CBT’s operations and communications coordinator.