Community Action Initiative Community Counselling Grants

This grant fund is closed and we are not accepting new applications.

We are pleased to share Showing Up As Yourself: Impact Stories from the CAI Community Counselling Fund, a collection of stories from counsellors and people with lived and living experience over first 3.5 years of the Community Counselling Fund. You can read and download the report here.

Background

Community Action Initiative, in partnership with the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions and the Ministry of Health, has awarded 49 Community Counselling Grants to organizations across British Columbia. The initial funding was for projects running from November 1, 2019 – October 31, 2022. The fund has been renewed, for existing grantee organizations only, until March 31, 2025.

Grant Funding Priorities

Increase access to community-based counselling for improved mental health and substance use outcomes, with a focus on reaching individuals or families who are not likely to engage in mainstream services, or who would not typically have access to counselling opportunities
Increase the quality of community-based counselling through the provision of necessary infrastructure to support non-profit, grassroots and/or volunteer-run programs.

Community Counselling Fund (Wave 1)

This funding opportunity focused on community counselling for adults in relation to mental health and substance use, with the goal of reaching underserved or hard to reach populations that do not have access to counselling opportunities. Priority was given to proposals that demonstrated the ability to reach these populations through the application of an equity lens. Health equity, inclusive of mental health, exists when all people can reach their full health potential and are not disadvantaged from attaining it because of their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, age, social class, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation or other socially determined circumstance. Non-government, not-for-profit, community-based organizations or First Nations, Metis or Urban Aboriginal organizations in British Columbia were invited to apply for up to $120,000 in annual funding, distributed over 3 years. 29 organizations were selected as recipients of this funding. This fund has been renewed until March 2025 at up to $130,000 per grantee per year.

COVID-19 Surge Funding (Wave 2)

To ensure British Columbians had increased access to vital mental health and substance use supports during the COVID-19 pandemic, CAI awarded 20 one-time only $50,000 grants to organizations across the province to expand online and virtual mental health and substance use programming. This funding was not an open call, but rather, prioritized previously submitted applications to the Community Counselling Grant initiative at Community Action Initiative. Projects were extended until March 31, 2023 at $120,000 per grantee per year. This fund has been renewed until March 2025 at up to $130,000 per grantee per year.

‣ Click here to view Community Profiles by Health Region

Community Counselling Grant Recipients

COVID-19 Surge Fund Recipients

Public Statement on Community Counselling Quality Enhancement Funds

$1M of the total initial $10M investment was earmarked for quality enhancement initiatives in 2020-2021 and 2021-2022. Quality enhancement funds supported grantees to make one-time investments in quality enhancements for their counselling program, staff, and clients beyond the life of the grant. They also ensured funds were available to support sector-wide quality enhancement initiatives.

Initiatives included micro-grants, the Support to Practice supervision training developed in collaboration with the Federation of Community Social Services of BC, a virtual teleconferencing platform developed with Metis Nation BC, and a monthly virtual community of practice.

Contact

Adrienne Yeung, Community Grants Manager
[email protected]

Community Counselling Grants