Kootenay Employment Services (KES) is a registered Canadian charity with operations in the communities of Creston and Invermere located in south-central British Columbia (BC). Historically, KES has been best known for the organization’s support of the local economy including the promotion of wage subsidy programs, career counselling, and a range of preparation services for community job seekers, employers, and small businesses. In addition to investigating new program options KES remains focused on strengthening local economic development and empowering stakeholders to engage in community-based, sustainable development initiatives.

This report has been completed to assist KES’s ongoing research of community investment models by offering a study of jurisdictional information and practitioner knowledge on community economic development (CED) in Canada.

Download Community Investment Funds: Local Investment in British Columbia

A jurisdictional scan and a discussion of community investment practitioner interviews support the report’s conclusions and the basis for three recommended options for consideration:

1. Support further research on CIF development in BC and participate and utilize a multi-stakeholder CED body to affect regulatory reform and public education/marketing in BC.
2. Take a role in increased information sharing among CED/CIF practitioners and organizations to ensure the most efficient use of financial and personnel resources can enable KES to become a knowledge hub for the community investment sector.
3. Build a collaborative plan with interested practitioners/investors in BC that seeks to get input from the wider community, including businesses, individuals, and regional/municipal levels of government that shows the interest and future focus of specific community investment initiatives.

These options have been developed to complement and support the leadership and knowledge currently at work at KES.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary
   Acknowledgements
   List of Figures and Tables
1. Introduction
2. Background
   Project Client
3. Methodology
   Research Methods
   Conceptual framework
4. Limitations and Delimitations
5. Literature Review
   Community Economic Development
   Community Investment Funds
6. Jurisdictional Scan
   Nova Scotia (NS): Community Economic Development Investment Funds
   Prince Edward Island (PEI): Community Economic Development Business (CEDB) program
   New Brunswick (NB): Small Business Tax Investor Credit (SBTIC) and Community Economic Development Corporation (CEDIF)
programs
   Manitoba: Community Enterprise Development (CED) Tax Credit
   Quebec: Cooperative Invest Plan (CIP)
   British Columbia
7. Findings and Discussion
   Response Analysis
   Aggregated thematic discussion
8. Recommended Options for Consideration
9. Summary
   References