What We Do
The Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC) uses its $50 million endowment from the Province of BC to contribute to stronger communities in the Southern Interior by helping build a strong and diversified economy. We work with the region’s local governments, economic development practitioners, non-profit business support organizations, post-secondary institutions, industry associations, and accelerators to grow and diversify our region’s economy. We partner with these organizations and provide grant funding throughout the year to:
- Help expand economic opportunity in communities
- Assist our partners as they support local businesses
- Encourage entrepreneurship and the creation of meaningful jobs
- Connect the region’s post-secondary institutions to industry
- Provide support to key sectors of our region`s economy to innovate and be more sustainable.
We have a special focus on our region`s smaller and First Nations communities. In our funding approach, we encourage collaboration, regional thinking, and sustainability.
Our Vision
We envision a future for our region in which our strategic investments in economic development projects have long-lasting and measurable benefits, whereby:
- economic opportunities are expanded, especially in smaller and First Nations communities
- our investments create significant positive impacts across the region
- there is a strong and diversified economy in the Southern Interior that supports vital and sustainable communities throughout the region.
Creating Value for the Ecosystem
ETSI-BC creates value for the economic development ecosystem by facilitating meaningful connections, collaboration & sharing of best practices, and by stewarding its assets in the best interest of the region, maximizing our grant funding each year while protecting the Trust`s remaining capital for future generations.
We build and support collaborative networks throughout the Southern Interior by
- Working with our Regional Advisory Committees (RACs) to encourage engagement in the granting process
- Supporting regional Economic Development education
- Hosting regional economic development practitioner, post-secondary and lender forums to ensure dialogue and connections within the region and the inclusion of First Nations Economic Development entities in those gatherings and groups.
We ensure the ETSI-BC programs are relevant to the region’s stakeholders, through
- On-going engagement with stakeholders and RAC members
- Conducting an annual environmental scan as part of the strategic planning process
- Facilitating on-going engagement with grant recipients and partners, including satisfaction surveys and needs assessments.
We provide effective stewardship of the capital assets, brand, internal operations, and partnerships of ETSI-BC to ensure long-term viability and credibility, by
- Effectively stewarding the organization and the funds in its investment portfolio
- Creating and building a strong brand and relationships with partners and funders
- Maximizing our commitment to partnerships through all activities.
We help build economic development capacity and knowledge, through
- Support for regional economic development networking and dialogue
- Support for economic development training
- Access to relevant economic development research sources and services that can be made available for Southern Interior communities.
To learn more about our Funding Streams, click here.