Services Provided: Clear Course teamed up with Indigenous-led, Swiya Farms (under the Salish Seas Regenerative Farm Society), to support their funding strategy, grant writing, and submission management. This work included identifying aligned funding opportunities, coordinating multi-party contributions to proposals, translating technical farm plans into funder-ready language, and managing revisions and compliance requirements. Clear Course also helped develop a layered funding approach—which included infrastructure, programming, and capacity-building—to ensure the project could move from concept to implementation with the right systems in place to sustain the farm over time.
Outcome: Swiya Farms received funding to develop a regenerative farm model rooted in Indigenous knowledge, food sovereignty, and long-term community capacity building. The project advanced from early-stage planning to farm development through a coordinated funding approach that combined infrastructure investments, workforce development, and organizational capacity building. This work demonstrates that successful projects are not driven by funding alone. Swiya Farms succeeded in securing funding because their deep subject matter expertise, a clear and community-driven vision, passionate team members, strong implementation capacity, and sustained effort over time.
In a region of BC that produces only 2% of the food needed to feed the local population, Swiya Farms’ annual harvests will strengthen the local food system and advance food sovereignty. Swiya Farms produces approximately 40,000 lbs of organic produce annually and supplies fresh produce to shíshálh Elders, the local food bank, Sechelt Hospital, community programs, and local outlets, strengthening regional food security and reducing reliance on imported produce.
“Dawn and her team have been instrumental in helping us secure and manage grants across our work at Swiya Farms and Salish Soils. Their attention to detail, strong writing, and clear communication make the grant process far less daunting, and their project management keeps everything moving forward. What stands out most is how they show up. They genuinely believe in our mission, they’re a pleasure to work with, and they feel like an extension of our own team rather than an outside resource. I’d recommend them without hesitation to anyone looking for a true partner in this work.”
