The Williams Lake Community Forest (WLCF) has been running its 2026 community granting program; the project-grant intake opened Oct. 10, 2025 and closed at 4:00 p.m. on Nov. 4, 2025. The WLCF increased its annual allocation for the 2025/2026 cycle to approximately $80,000.
The grants are funded by the Williams Lake Community Forest — a legal partnership between the City of Williams Lake and the Williams Lake First Nation — which sets aside 5% of its annual profits for community granting. The funds are intended to support environmental, recreational and cultural initiatives within the WLCF’s defined “local area”: the City of Williams Lake and Cariboo Regional District Electoral Areas D, E and F.
Registered charities, non-profit organizations, schools and community groups that live or work within the WLCF “local area” are eligible to apply. In past rounds the program has funded trail restoration (including support to the Williams Lake Cycling Club for trails such as “Cherry Popper” and “Brownie Wings”) and projects at the Scout Island Nature Centre (boardwalk and accessibility work).
Application deadlines are posted on the WLCF website and have historically closed at 4:00 p.m. (local time) on the published date; different grant streams (for example, Project Grants vs. Youth Awards/Bursaries) use separate application windows. A volunteer Standing Committee reviews applications and makes recommendations to the WLCF Board of Directors on which projects to fund. For the current status and exact deadlines, applicants should consult the Williams Lake Community Forest website: https://williamslakecommunityforest.com/.
