Since 1997, VCH Public Health has provided grants across the VCH region each year to support over a hundred upstream health promotion programs and projects designed by community partners to build on inherent strengths and meet diverse needs of communities, and to advance the priorities of the BC Population and Public Health Framework and VCH’s Renewed Strategic Plan (2024–2029). By partnering with community organizations and local governments, we hope to acknowledge, and raise awareness, of the significant value of upstream health promotion efforts and the critical role of community organizations in these efforts.
Over 90% of funding is currently committed to providing stable, long-term core operational funding to approximately 70 programs hosted by registered not-for-profit partners. The remainder is made available to fund one-time program enhancements, development and innovation, organizational capacity building, partnership and collaboration, and innovative projects responding to emergent health promotion priorities.
"Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. It moves beyond a focus on individual behaviour towards a wide range of social and environmental interventions."
– World Health Organization
