We bring more to a project than money. We aim to be a true partner, invested not only in what gets built but in the impact it creates and the outcomes it delivers. 

We are at our best when we work in relationship, and the earlier that relationship begins, the more we can offer. That can mean connecting you with peers across the coast who have led similar projects, introducing you to other private investors, philanthropy, and government funding programs, and helping de-risk infrastructure projects through hands-on coaching on business plans and capital budgets.

Most applications start with a conversation. This is the fastest way to confirm program fit, understand what a complete application includes, and align on timing. We welcome you to reach out at any stage, whether you are testing an early idea or close to submitting.

• Share a short summary of your idea, your location, and what you’re working toward
• Confirm program fit and discuss what you need to include in your proposal
• Talk through timing and next steps

This is where the idea becomes a plan. You’ll develop your scope of work, deliverables, budget, and any required attachments. You don’t have to do this alone. Many applicants come back to us at this stage with specific questions, about scope, eligible costs, partnership confirmations, or how best to position something.

This is also the step where we work with you to understand the long-term financial sustainability of your project, alongside the outcomes it will achieve. Strong projects are built to last beyond the Trust’s investment, and this is the moment to plan for that.

The conversation from Step 1 carries through, and we are grateful when it does.

When your application is ready, submit your completed application form, proposal and required attachments.

We’ll confirm receipt, check it’s complete, and let you know what to expect as we move into Step 4.

Our Due Diligence

Our management staff will review your application for completeness, readiness, risk, budgeting, financial sustainability, and the outcomes you anticipate achieving. We may contact you to clarify information or request additional documentation. We approach this as a partner invested in your success, not to find reasons to say no.

To prepare for review by the committee and decision by the Trust’s board, we prepare a due diligence report. This includes a risk assessment and a summary of your proposed outcomes as they align with our Wellbeing Impact Framework. Together, these brief the decision-makers on our assessment of your project and application.

The risk assessment looks at your project across four categories: project, financial, organizational, and external. Our philosophy is straightforward. Worthwhile projects carry risk, and we take it on alongside you. What matters is that we both see those risks clearly and have plans to manage them, so the project can be delivered well and create lasting positive impact. We embrace risk, and we work to understand and reduce it in partnership with you during our due diligence.

Our Project Risk Analysis Framework:

We assess each project across these 12 risks:

Project Risk

• Planning
• Implementation
• Legal

Financial Risk

• Funding sources
• Sustainability
• Timing

Organizational Risk

• Governance
• Management
• Operational

External Risk

• Market or sector
• Regulatory
• Political or social license

The most valuable work often carries the most uncertainty. We invest in innovation, in new sectors, in organizations entering new lines of business, and in genuinely diversifying local economies. That work cannot be done without risk.

Our approach is to work with you: to understand how you are identifying potential risks, to learn your strategies for managing them, and to carry that understanding into decision-making by our management team, then the committee, and ultimately our board.

Regional Advisory Committee Review

Complete applications are reviewed by the relevant Regional Advisory Committee, made up of local elected leaders from across the Trust’s service region. These are people who know your community and our region, because they help lead it.

Committee members review your application, our due diligence report, and your anticipated outcomes. The committee then provides comments and a funding recommendation to the board of directors.

Board Decision

The Board of Directors considers your application, management’s due diligence, and the recommendation it receives from the Regional Advisory Committee. The board makes the final funding decision and may approve a project, approve it with conditions, refer it back for more information, or decline it.

Once an application is approved, we will send you an approval letter. If other funding sources are still pending, or aspects of planning are still being finalized, we will work with you to confirm everything before we enter into a funding agreement for the project. The agreement creates a shared understanding of what the funding supports and how the project will move forward, including:

• Approved scope and budget
• Our expectations for public acknowledgement and inclusion in communications about the project
• Progress reporting and funding disbursement schedule
• Final Reporting

With the agreement in place, the work begins. Our partnership doesn’t end at approval. We stay available through implementation and the same conversation that started your project carries through to completion, when we then can start talking about the next project we might partner on.

As you carry out your project, we are there to support you as a true partner, in whatever way is most useful. One of the most important is advancing funds. For start-ups, local non-profits, and small communities, cash flow on a large capital project can be a real barrier. Government and other funders typically pay on a reimbursement basis, which means you carry the cost first and wait to be paid back. We do it differently. We advance funds to you, so you have the cash flow to pay the local contractors doing the work and to keep your timeline moving, rather than stalling while you wait on reimbursements.

When the project is complete, we’ll ask you for a Final Report. This is where we return to the outcomes you anticipated in your application. If you expected to create 12 jobs, attract $1.4 million in partnership investment, or form a joint venture, this is where you tell us how it actually went. We then report publicly each year, in aggregate, through our Wellbeing Impact Framework. If this part of our work interests you, we invite you to read Our Impact Measurement Approach.

For the specifics of reporting on your project, refer to the Funding Program you’re working with us through. We’ve shaped the reporting process and requirements for each Program to keep it straightforward, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.