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RBC announces 2008 Blue Water Project Leadership Grant recipients
12 North American organizations to share more than $1.7
million
TORONTO, October 22, 2008 — RBC today announced
its latest round of RBC Blue Water Project Leadership Grant
recipients. Twelve organizations, selected from 206 applicants
from across North America, will share more than $1.7 million
in grants to support programs that help protect watersheds
and ensure access to clean drinking water.
"We were overwhelmed by both the quantity and the quality
of grant applications in this first year of the RBC Blue Water
Project," said Gordon M. Nixon, president and CEO, RBC.
"It's gratifying to see such a vital network of organizations
at the regional and national level doing the critical work
of protecting fresh water resources."
RBC Blue Water Project grants totaling $1.76 million will
go to:
CANADA
- Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources.
A grant of $400,000 will fund an online education tool to
improve watershed management in traditional territories
in British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Alberta, where inadequate
resources and capacity often limit a community's ability
to engage in watershed planning.
- Learning for a Sustainable Future. A grant of $400,000
will support a Water Action Project Program for elementary
and secondary school children across Canada, with a focus
on underserviced schools and First Nations communities.
- The Yukon Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness
Society. A grant of $100,000 will help protect the Three
Rivers watershed in the Yukon, a hotspot for mineral and
fossil fuel extraction, and traditional territory of the
Na-cho Nyak Dun and Tetl'it Gwich'in First Nations.
- Green Communities Foundation. Many wells and communal
drinking systems are at risk of contamination in aboriginal
communities. A $100,000 grant will fund the "Well Aware"
Program, providing education about well-water monitoring
in aboriginal communities in north-eastern Ontario.
- H20 Chelsea Partners. Many rural regions
and municipalities in Quebec rely exclusively on groundwater.
The health of these communities depends on monitoring, education
and legislation to protect water resources. A grant of $100,000
will support the development of a model for managing groundwater
issues, to be shared across the province of Quebec.
- Royal Botanical Gardens. A grant of $100,000 will
fund the remediation of a seriously degraded wetlands area
caused by heavy industry and urban development in Hamilton,
Ontario.
- Waterlution. A grant of $60,000 through the Sage
Foundation will support water education workshops for young
leaders who are working on water issues in several locations
across Canada, with a focus on water issues in First Nation
communities.
UNITED STATES
- North Carolina State Engineering Foundation. A
grant of US$200,000 will fund an outreach program to educate
elected officials and community leaders about water management
issues in this quickly growing region which suffers from
limited opportunities to develop new water resources.
- World Wildlife Fund. There is a lack of credible
data on the ecological health of the Little Tennessee River,
a watershed that supports a region undergoing tremendous
growth. A grant of US$100,000 will fund a project to monitor
and map the watershed, and train community water monitors.
- Donors Choose. It is increasingly common for teachers
to spend their own money on classroom materials, especially
in rural and disadvantaged inner city communities. A grant
of US$100,000 will help public school teachers all across
the United States purchase classroom supplies for projects
dealing with water.
- Friends of the Mississippi River. Rapid growth
of the real estate and agricultural sectors are leading
to increased sources of water pollution. A grant of US$75,000
will support community outreach and education with landowners
to restore and protect sensitive natural areas and rare
habitats.
- Alabama Coastal Foundation. Rapid urbanization
and construction has caused a loss of wetlands and serious
degradation of water quality in this region. A grant of
US$25,000 will support the development of best practices
for homeowners and businesses about non-point water source
pollution and wetland protection.
"It was a daunting challenge for RBC to evaluate and
choose from the 206 applications received for this round of
grants," said Rob de Loë, professor and University
Research Chair in Water Policy and Governance, University
of Waterloo, and chair of the RBC Blue Water Project Advisory
Panel. "I am confident that the finalists represent a
strong cross-section of projects in key regions across North
America that will result in better protection for watersheds
and ensure access to clean drinking water."
These 12 organizations are now added to a growing list of
RBC Blue Water Project grant recipients announced recently,
including commitments to the Institute for Public Health and
Water Research at Texas A&M University for a project in
Trinidad & Tobago; Lake Ontario Waterkeeper's Swim
Drink Fish Project; an elementary school education program
in Nova Scotia through Ducks Unlimited, and the Tides Canada
campaign for conservation management in the Great Bear Rainforest
region in British Columbia.
Launched in late 2007, the RBC Blue Water Project, will help
foster a culture of water stewardship in Canada and abroad,
and includes a 10-year, $50 million philanthropic commitment
to programs supporting watershed protection and access to
clean drinking water. To date, RBC has now committed more
than $13 million in grants to 39 organizations. The RBC Blue
Water Project was kicked off with a $10-million commitment
to ONE DROP, founded by Cirque du Soleil's Guy Laliberté.
RBC is recognized among the world's financial, social and
environmental leaders and is included on the Dow Jones World
and North American Sustainability Indices, the Jantzi Social
Index, the FTSE4Good Index, and the Global 100 Most Sustainable
Corporations ranking. RBC is among 67 companies and one of
only 18 financial institutions worldwide named to the 2008
Global Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index. RBC contributed
more than $82.8 million to community causes worldwide in 2007,
through donations of more than $47.7 million, and an additional
$35.1 million in sponsorship of community events.
Applications for the next round of Leadership Grants are due
by March 6, 2009. Applications for Community Action Grants
are accepted year-round. For more information on the RBC Blue
Water Project, as well as grant guidelines and application
forms, visit www.rbc.com/bluewater.
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For more information contact:
Jackie Braden, RBC, Media Relations, (416) 974-2124
Lindsey Coulter, (416) 355-7430, lindsey.coulter@ketchum.com
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