Engaging in Community Economic Development (CED) along with local, provincial and federal government partners, businesses, community organizations and other stakeholders, Community Futures East Kootenay (CFEK) champions economic growth and sustainability throughout our vibrant service area. We are committed to increasing community and regional capacity through CED and we nurture partnerships, inspire innovative thinking, develop best practice initiatives, and promote collaboration across our whole service area.
Robyn Peel, CED Coordinator
Email: CED@CFEK.CA
Phone: 250.489.4356 x 105
Community Economic Development is community-driven actions that improve the social, economic and environmental conditions of a community. This include policies, programs and activities that improve the livability of a community, enrich the quality of life of community members, create employment and investment opportunities, enhance the health of the environment, build on the capacities and resources within an area and support community cohesion, resilience and vibrancy.
Our Community Economic Development (CED) fund provides up to $2,000 in funding to non-profit and Indigenous organizations within the East Kootenays for projects that support the economic vibrancy and sustainability of communities within the region.
Please read the Information & Eligibility criteria before applying.
Information & Eligibility | Apply Now
In the East Kootenays there is currently a severe lack of trained Early Childcare Educators (ECEs) which means that childcare facilities are not able to run at full capacity. This has a large economic impact for the region as parents are unable to work full-time. Since August 2021, CFEK has been convening stakeholders around the region to discuss this challenge and look for solutions. You can view the write-ups from these meetings here:
December 2022 | September 2022 | May 2022 | August 2021 | December 2021
Accessing and using community and economic development data in decision making is important for communities. It allows communities to guide strategic planning and make decisions on where to put time and effort, it strengthens grant applications, allowing organizations to access funding more easily, and it also allows communities to measure the impact of projects and decide which projects are the most important at any given time.
In early 2022, in conjunction with ETSI-BC, CFEK ran a webinar series called Using Data to Your Advantage which aimed to provide training for smaller communities on how to access and use data for community decision making. The key was to grow knowledge and expertise of those working on community economic development projects within the region. Check out the recordings of this training here. There is also a resource document which is extremely useful and contains links to a wide range of data sources and information. You can find it here.