Request for Proposals · The StellerFuture Program
Building a Financial Literacy Program For the Future.
StellerFuture is our new community financial literacy grant program, and we are looking to provide two different grants to a partner, or partners, who can help build and deliver it across the East and West Kootenay / Boundary regions. Twenty thousand dollars per grant – one dedicated to each region. Proposals close October 20, 2026.
How to apply
Funding available: Two grants, $20,000 each
Proposals due: October 20, 2026
Program year: 2027
We serve a big area. So should the StellerFuture program
$20,000
East Kootenay
Cranbrook, Fernie, Sparwood, Elkford
+
$20,000
West Kootenay & Boundary
Castlegar, Slocan Park, Greenwood
One organization is welcome to apply for the full $40,000 (both grants), if you can genuinely deliver the program in both regions.
What we want to build.
We are looking for a partner that understands the life basics. We are not looking to get into complex banking matters or investing – but instead we want to build clear insight on what it takes to meet the basic expectations of life, and how to use widely available tools to build up towards your goals. How can we simplify paying bills, managing debt, rent costs, buying a home, and recognition of the most common pitfalls. This includes:
Everyday financial wellness
- Budgeting and cash flow
- Saving, emergency funds, TFSA and RRSP basics
- Understanding and building credit
- Managing and paying down debt
- Banking basics, accounts and fees
- Spotting predatory lending, payday loans and scams
- Government benefits and supports
As well as housing and the general costs of living, including:
- Rent-to-income math and what is actually affordable
- Tenant rights and responsibilities in BC
- Damage deposits, moving costs and utilities
- Saving a down payment, including the FHSA
- Mortgage basics and the true cost of owning
- First-time home buyer programs in BC and Canada
- Renting compared to buying, honestly
The program should be open to anyone, but written for:
- Young adults, roughly 18 to 40
- Renters and households under cost of living pressure
- Low and moderate income individuals and families
- Newcomers to Canada
- Indigenous community members
- People on fixed or unpredictable incomes
Our purpose goes beyond banking, and financial confidence in our communities is a large part of it.
The Education: Simplicity Matters
Above everything else, we are looking for a partner who can make new concepts seem simple. Someone who can explain a mortgage, a credit score or a tenancy rule without jargon, and without talking down to anyone.
Your proposal is the first sample of your communication skills we will see, and we will score it that way. Clear, plain language writing counts. Length does not.
How it has to reach people - Three formats.
1. IN PERSON:
Real sessions, in real venues in accessible local spaces people already know how to get to. We want to bring this program to the community, to ensure people can find this material in neutral spaces.
2. LIVE ONLINE:
Scheduled, joinable from home and built for people who cannot, or who choose not, to participate in person. From those with time constraints, to rural participants, and everyone in between, we want to make education available in this more modern way as well, while keeping the interactive elements as much as possible.
3. ONLINE, ON DEMAND:
Recorded webinars and short segments that stay up, for when the kids are finally asleep. Ultimately, some people just have to do it on their own time, and we want to ensure that can happen as well.
And it has to travel! We serve several communities spread across a wide area, and we cannot fund something that only works in one town. Content has to be packaged so it can be picked up and delivered somewhere else with minimal rework. Local flavour and one-off local events are very welcome, as long as the material behind them can be boxed up and moved.
A partner, not a boss. What you get from us:
What we can offer
- Subject matter expertise while you build and review content
- Promotion through our seven branches, website, email and social channels
- Help hosting or co hosting sessions where we reasonably can, subject to staff availability
- Our existing financial literacy library, including the Learning Centre and Mortgages 101, free to use
- The hope to renew and keep developing this in future years, so you can build something that lasts instead of a one-season project
What we cannot offer
Our staff have full-time roles serving members. We cannot provide facilitators, handle registration and logistics, or carry the day-to-day operation of the program. You need to be able to run this start to finish on your own, and treat our involvement as a bonus rather than a dependency.
Local, trusted, and able to run it. Who can apply.
- Registered non-profit society, charity, designated educational institution, Indigenous organization or social enterprise operating in BC
- A track record delivering community programs, and existing trust with the people you plan to reach
- The capacity to manage grant funds and report on them
- Good standing with BC Registry Services or the equivalent governing body
New groups are welcome too. We may award to a group forming specifically to do this work. Partnerships between two or more eligible organizations are also welcome, just name one lead applicant to hold the agreement.
The RFP Submission
Proposals answer six questions in ten pages or fewer, not counting appendices. We score on fit with what we are trying to achieve, how clearly and concisely you communicate, whether you can deliver all three formats, your trust with the people you serve, your capacity as a long-term partner, and value for money. Full weighting is in the RFP.
- August 18, 2026: RFP issued
- October 20, 2026: Proposals due, 11:59 PM Pacific
- Oct 21 to Nov 6, 2026: Review and shortlisting
- November 13, 2026: Decisions announced
- November 27, 2026: Grant agreement signed
- January 2027: Program delivery begins
Ready when you are!
Read the full RFP for the six questions, the budget rules, the scoring weights and the terms. Then send it in. Again, we believe concise communication is a very real indicator of your ability to educate in the world of financial literacy. Clear, definitive, and impactful.
SUBMISSION FORMAT
- One PDF file
- Submitted by Email to marketing@stellervista.com
- Subject line “RFP Submission, Financial Literacy Program, [your organization name]”