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RBC has a longstanding commitment to environmental sustainability. Water has become an integral part of that commitment, as water is fundamental to the sustainability of all life on the planet. The first phase of the RBC Blue Water Project, announced in late 2007, is a grant program of $50 million over ten years to support charitable initiatives that foster a culture of water stewardship.
Funding
The project has three grant levels:
Visionary Grants are significant grants to global organizations that show vision, foresight and innovation to support programs around the world related to watershed preservation, access to safe drinking water, and that provide education and awareness on these issues. Our inaugural Visionary Grant was to ONE DROP, created by Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté. Additional Visionary Grants will be announced on an irregular basis over the 10 years of the RBC Blue Water Project. RBC will not have an open call for proposals for Visionary Grants and unsolicited applications will not be accepted. We will proactively contact and work with prospective grant recipients directly.
Leadership Grants. Ranging from $25,000 to $500,000, these grants focus on watershed protection and/or access to safe drinking water and are available to local, regional, national or trans-border organizations for projects in any of the countries in which RBC is located, including Canada, the United States, the Caribbean and the UK. Deadlines for applications are June 30 and March 1 annually. Applications received after a deadline will be deferred to the next funding period. RBC Blue Water Project Leadership Grant Application
Community Action Grants: Ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, these grants are focused on watershed protection and are available to local or community organizations in Canada, United States or the Caribbean. Some restrictions apply. Applications are accepted year long, starting in June, 2008. RBC Blue Water Project Community Action Grant Application
Grant Principles
The RBC Blue Water Project Grants Program rests on four principles:
Focus: The issues affecting sustainable water resources are wide-ranging and complex, and there are literally thousands of projects and organizations across all sectors worldwide dedicated to helping the cause. RBC has chosen to narrow our philanthropic focus to two distinct areas so that our donations can make a significant, measurable environmental and social impact. These focus areas are "watershed protection" and "access to clean drinking water." More on our focus areas.
Prioritization: We believe that the water challenges facing the world represent a serious humanitarian crisis in developing nations, as well as a growing economic challenge in all nations. That's why we have expanded our traditional domestically-focused scope for RBC Blue Water Project grants so that we will fund watershed protection and clean drinking water projects in developing nations. However, our primary focus for both grant streams will remain on regions in which we are active, including Canada, the United States, the Caribbean and the United Kingdom.
Collaboration: Fostering a culture of water stewardship is a responsibility shared by individuals, businesses, governments and non-governmental organizations, and cannot be accomplished by any one group alone. We will strive to collaborate in innovative ways with these groups and others through our donations, as well as through other Blue Water Project activities in the future. We strongly encourage collaborative approaches from prospective grant recipients, in order to reduce duplication of effort and ensure an efficient use of both human and financial resources.
Impact: Our goal is to make a measurable, meaningful social and environmental impact through the RBC Blue Water Project. With our Advisory Panel, we will develop metrics and indicators in order to measure and report on how the RBC Blue Water Project contributes to:
- Better understanding by more people of the sources and uses of, and threats to, fresh water resources in their communities;
- More protected and restored natural areas within watersheds;
- More individuals with access to clean, safe drinking water in rural and indigenous communities.
We will also work with individual grant recipients to ensure they are able to report on the impacts of their projects.
Focus Areas
Watershed protection: Grants through the RBC Blue Water Project will focus on programs ensuring that watersheds, particularly those that are heavily affected by human use, continue to provide ecosystem services such as drinking water supply, critical habitat for plants and animals, areas of natural beauty, use of water for cultural purposes, and water bodies for recreation. Issues of interest to RBC include:
- Watershed awareness
- Community-based watershed stewardship programs
- Protection and restoration of sensitive natural areas
- Sustainable water use and conservation
Access to Safe Drinking Water: Grants through the RBC Blue Water Project will focus on programs ensuring that communities, particularly rural and indigenous communities, have access to clean, safe drinking water when and where it is needed.
How the Blue Water Project grant guidelines were developed
RBC convened an advisory panel of North American water experts to help us develop a strategic approach for RBC Blue Water Project granting activities, recommending key program assessment criteria, including social and environmental impact metrics. The Panel will review specific project proposals and act as a sounding board for to help RBC identify water-related issues, trends and developments. The advisory panel will not make funding decisions. More on the Advisory Panel.
Learn about other activities and initiatives relating to the RBC Blue Water Project.
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