A New West-based company is in the running for two 2018 Ovation Awards.
When the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association announced its finalists for this year’s awards, Rembrandt Renovations was nominated in two categories: Best Renovation: $400,000 to $699,999; and Best Kitchen Renovation: $75,000 to $125,000. Finalists were selected through a rigorous judging process by a peer-reviewed panel of award-winning builders, renovators and designers from outside of Metro Vancouver.
“The Ovation Awards recognize industry leaders who are changing the way we think about housing,” said association CEO Bob de Wit in a press release. “We are proud of our world-class builders, renovators and designers who are working to deliver a complete mix of housing choices to meet the demand of a broad variety of homeowners, which is essential to supporting our thriving communities.”
Rembrandt Renovations is nominated for its Into the Light project in Best Kitchen Renovation: $75,000 to $125,000 and for its My Favourite Part of the Day project in Best Renovation: $400,000 to $699,999. Winners will be announced at an awards gala on April 28.
New West biz helps Canadian non-profits access grants
A New West-based software company is helping non-profits across Canada to access much-needed funding from various sources.
Incorporated in 2015, Grant Advance Solutions, which has an office on Columbia Street, has nearly 800 clients across Canada, including more than 200 in B.C.
“Grant Advance provides grant funding research and writing tools,” said Guy McPherson, co-founder and CEO of Grant Advance Solutions Inc. “It’s a software service. Our clients subscribe to our service. They basically do a monthly payment to access our software.”
Using a complex but easy-to-use search engine, McPherson said the service helps non-profits find good matches for funding partnerships, such as grant foundations and charitable trusts.
“We scratched an itch that was needed,” he said of the company’s growth. “When people have seen what we have to offer, whether they buy it or not – they just go, ‘Oh my gosh, this is amazing, I didn’t even know anything like this existed.’ We have had a really incredible positive response from the non-profit sector.”
McPherson said the company is working with clients to help them master the software and coach them if they encounter any problems.
“We are really committed to making sure this is a win-win-win, both for the company and our staff and certainly our clients,” he said. “It’s the non-profit world – we don’t want to be making money on their backs. We want to help them to get more money to do the amazing stuff they do.”
Grant Advance Solutions is offering a corporate social responsibility award and will be partnering with one new Canadian charity each month, by providing one year of free access to its fund-developing software.
“We are not simply providing free memberships, our staff is also volunteering time and expertise to work with 12 new non-profits this year, providing instruction in grant writing, access to research tools and one-on-one training,” McPherson said in a press release. “The first recipients of our CSR Award are Wolf Awareness Inc. in Golden, B.C. and the British Columbia Society for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse located in Vancouver. We are very excited to start working with these two amazing organizations.”
For more information, visit www.grantadvance.com.
