Welcome to the Salmo Valley Fund, the community endowment fund dedicated to serving the communities of Salmo and Ymir, BC, and the surrounding rural areas of RDCK Area G.

As a proud affiliate of the Osprey Community Foundation, the SVF has two functions: we accept and invest donations from individuals, groups, and businesses who wish to leave a permanent legacy for our communities, and we grant out the earnings from those investments to serve local charities and non-profits. This infographic shows how it works.

The current endowed value of the SVF is almost $145,000. We hope that community members and businesses will help us make to $150,000 soon!

2025-2026 Grant Applications

Our 2025-2026 granting season opens on October 1. We have $7100 available for community projects this year. Please follow the links in the Grant Applications tab to start applying!

2024-2025 Grant Recipients

The Salmo Valley Fund is pleased to announce our 2024-2025 grant recipients. We distributed $9760 to nine different projects:

  • Salmo Elementary School PAC — support for the purchase of school zone speed control signs
  • Ymir Community Association — funding for the annual Ymir Community Christmas Gathering
  • Friends of Salmo Public Library Society — funding for equipment to support fundraising activities for the Salmo Valley Public Library
  • Salmo Community Resource Society — support for the purchase of supplies and equipment to enhance family support programming in Salmo and Ymir
  • Salmo Valley Youth and Community Centre — purchase of countertop composting equipment to help reduce and divert organic waste
  • Kootenay Emergency Response Physicians Association — support for the purchase of mobile ultrasound equipment
  • West Kootenay BMX Racing — funding for the purchase of loaner bikes
  • Salmo Secondary School PAC — support for the purchase of shop supplies
  • Salmo Ski Team Society — support for the Junior Ski Coach program

As always, we thank the Kootenay Savings Community Foundation and Columbia Basin Trust for their founding support of our endowment.

Advocating for Salmo: $30k Grant to Salmo Community Services

This past year, the Salmo Valley Fund, as part of the broader network of Community Foundations, was able to help guide the distribution of the provincially-funded Community Prosperity Fund in our region. We were pleased to be able to advocate for the delivery of a grant of thirty thousand dollars to help Salmo Community Services enhance its food bank program. This is just one of several times now that we’ve been able to bring in funding that would not otherwise have been available to our community, and we are so pleased that we can help to make these things happen! 

Thanks to Our 2025 Donors

We would like to thank those who contributed to the Salmo Valley Fund in the past year:

  • Anne Williams
  • Mike van Wijk and Sally Whitman

Help Us Grow

We are proud to have helped close to two dozen organizations in our area since we started in 2011 and, with additional financial support from generous community members, we know that our impact could be even greater. We’re reaching out to our incredible community to help us build our endowment fund and increase our yearly granting dollars.

You can help build this legacy for our community by making a contribution today. This can be as simple as a one-time gift or a modest monthly donation, or it can be through planned giving and estate bequests. Click the donation button above to explore the options!

Remember, every act of kindness contributes to the good that can be done in our community. Let’s make giving a part of our everyday lives and plant the seeds for a brighter future together.

Explore different ways to contribute:

  • One-Time Donation: Make an immediate impact with a single contribution.
  • Monthly Recurring Donation: Join our community of sustained support with a small monthly contribution.
  • Gifts with Purpose: Consider donating in memory of a loved one, as a birthday gift for someone who already has everything, or as an estate bequest.