June 8, 2026 – Communities across British Columbia’s Southern Interior are set to benefit from a new round of investment through the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior. On June 5, 2026, ETSI-BC approved $1,011,000 in funding for 33 projects, representing a combined project value of $3 million. The funded initiatives will help communities diversify their local economies, support innovation, and respond to regional opportunities
Recovery Advisors Soon To Be Deployed To Support Southern Interior Communities and Businesses
Communities and businesses in the Southern Interior will soon be receiving new support for economic recovery. ETSI-BC, the newly re-named Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (formerly SIDIT), announced today that it has selected the successful funding recipients of the Rural Business and Community Recovery (RBCR) Program.
“We are very excited with the interest shown by communities and business support organizations in the Southern Interior to add Recovery Advisors through this funding. This funding intake was oversubscribed. Applications were received from 27 different organizations, and requests totalled $2 million,” said Laurel Douglas, CEO of ETSI-BC. “We’re delighted to provide this assistance in our region with support from the Province of British Columbia as it delivers on its StongerBC Plan.”
After careful consideration, the adjudication team selected 20 successful applicants, whose projects will create a total of 30 part-time and full-time Recovery Advisor positions, to assist businesses and rural communities in the Southern Interior with COVID-19 economic recovery. Of the 30 positions approved so far, 14 are based in the Thompson-Okanagan and 16 are in the Columbia-Kootenay regions.
The RBCR Program will provide up to $1.5 million in grant funding to support economic business recovery initiatives within rural communities in the Southern Interior. Eligible communities have a population of less than 25,000 and applicants are required to be local, municipal, or regional governments, First Nations, or non-profit business support organizations serving the region.
Successful applicants will be receiving up to $75,000 to create Community and/or Business Recovery Advisor positions. Recovery Advisors will support businesses with marketing, e-commerce, capital planning, referrals, research, business retention, and other economic development initiatives.
“It’s inspiring to see so many innovative ideas come forward. We assessed the applications as quickly as we could, to make this support available as soon as possible,” said Douglas. “Our team is working with the successful proponents to finalize their workplans and funding agreements so the Recovery Advisors can be engaged and begin providing much-needed recovery support.” There are 59 communities in all 9 ETSI-BC regional districts being served with these projects, including 10 First Nations communities.
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