How could our local residents use their knowledge, skills and talents to connect with neighbours and build new relationships? That is the question the Squamish Community Foundation asks through the Neighbourhood Small Grants program. And our community project leaders have come up with many wonderful answers.
The Neighbourhood Small Grants or NSG provide grants of up to $500 for project ideas that connect people across boundaries of age, ethnic background, income level, sexual orientation, physical ability, etc. The goal of the program is for neighbours to share their skills and knowledge and learn from each other.
There are six very simple principles that the grants encourage:
Everyone has gifts – we all have passions, skills and knowledge we can pass on to other and in turn, we can learn from the gifts of others.
Small is beautiful – a little act of kindness, of reaching out to our neighbours goes a long way to building a strong community.
Local is best – neighbours know what is best for their community and are best placed to make a difference in their own neighbourhood.
Where we live matters – in building community, it is the community that is the expert.
We learn together – a sense of belonging requires engaged and empowered residents.
Everyone is invited – we must always be conscious of barriers to action and support efforts to overcome them.
Any resident of Squamish or Britannia Beach can apply – young, old or in between. The application is very straightforward; we will want to know “What is your idea?” and “How can we help make it happen?”. There is no financial reporting for your project and all we ask is that you provide photos and descriptions of your results for our NSG yearbook. We will help and support you every step of the way.
So what ideas have our project leaders had in the past? Here are just a few:
Rural community fire response training
Block parties to meet new neighbours
Community small library boxes
Area cleanups and plantings
Outdoor movie night
Children book package and online story hour
Shared class on food canning
And many, many more.
If you have an idea for an NSG project in your neighbourhood, you can get more information by going to the grants section, and scroll down to the Neighbourhood Small Grants section and click the ‘Apply’ button.
Those who wish to apply can also get some inspiration from last year’s grant yearbook. Applications are open until April 25, 2022. If you need a paper application or one in a different language, please contact the Squamish Community Foundation. NSG@squamishfoundation.com
We are excited see your project ideas to create neighbourhood impact in the places we live.
Doug Hackett is one of the coordinators of the Squamish Neighbourhood Small Grants program.
