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About HICEEC

Hornby Island Community Economic Enhancement Corporation (HICEEC)

HICEEC is a non-profit corporation established in 1996 to foster a healthy, sustainable and diversified economy on Hornby Island. HICEEC administers its own programs and works with partners towards achieving this goal. We are located at 2115-B Sollans Road (Next door to the Union Bay Credit Union)

Our Mission and Vision

The mission of the Hornby Island Community Economic Enhancement Corporation or HICEEC (pronounced "high seek") is to take leadership in developing and implementing solutions to social and economic issues facing the citizens of Hornby Island. Our vision is a healthy, sustainable, resilient and diversified economy on the Island.

Who We Are

The Directors:

The Staff

Our Partners

HICEEC is a member of the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce and works with other partners on specific programs and projects.

Programs and Activities: 2011 to Present

The HICEEC Board was pleased to confirm a five year funding agreement with CVRD, our primary partner, in Spring 2011. Secure funding has allowed us to implement an ongoing cycle of fund disbursement and establish a physical office. Community consultation will continue to be instrumental in determining the development of programs of activities.

Community Marketing

Marketing is a key element in the success of community businesses, most of which are home-based. HICEEC continues to operate realhornby.com as a valuable community marketing platform and to provide businesses, organizations and residents with information and links to resources. Realhornby.com continues to evolve and grow and offers:

In 2012 we upgraded realhornby.com to be optimized for viewing on hand held devices and we are continually increasing content.

Tourism and off-season visitation

Tourism is a major element of Hornby Island's economy. It also presents challenges in terms of the annual "boom and bust" cycle, the stress it can put upon the Island at peak times and its vulnerability to external factors.

HICEEC continues to work with partners and stakeholders to help shape the kind of tourism that works best for Hornby Island.

Business and employment support

HICEEC provides support to businesses and members of the workforce in a variety of ways:

Workshops

In 2012, HICEEC presented a very well attended workshop "Knowing Yourself, Knowing Your Work", facilitated by Darlene Gage, and co-presented with Denman Works!, a Community Tourism Foundation Workshop facilitated by BC Tourism (see final report here).

In January 2013, HICEEC once again partnered with Denman Works! to present a workshop on Peer-to-Peer Lending. We also held a workshop in April, Putting the Pieces Together - A Social Media Primer for Artists and Small Businesses, facilitated by John McLachlan.

Community support

HICEEC welcomes opportunities to work with community partners with similar goals. We recently established a granting cycle that will see us accept funding applications in April and November. Click here for more information and for the grant application

We are pleased to provide support for many sectors of the community, including; arts and culture, food and farming, housing, job creation, and community organizations addressing capacity challenges. Full list of grant recipients and the projects funded:

HICEEC is also participating in community discussions to determine the feasibility of establishing a commercial community kitchen to be used to process food to address both food security issues (personal use) and economic (commercial use) needs.

HICEEC has developed a comprehensive database system to manage membership and volunteer needs of local organizations. This service will be managed and maintained by HICEEC at no / minor expense to the users and will support administrative capacity and revenue generating abilities of the organizations.

We continue to pursue the possibility of establishing mechanisms in which to provide community micro-loans in support of business and entrepreneurial efforts.

For more information on activities and programs that took place from 2002 to 2010 please click here.

Strategic Plan

The HICEEC board developed a Strategic Plan to guide the organization's work over the coming years.

A five-year strategic plan was adopted by the Board of Directors of HICEEC on 26 April 2010. It is envisioned as a rolling five-year plan which will be updated each year.

Its purposes are to:

Strategic Plan 2012 to 2016
Strategies and Objectives 2011 to 2013

HICEEC's Operating Principles

Goals and Objectives for 2011-2015

Goal 1

To facilitate the availability of resources to respond to economic needs and opportunities.
Click here for more information.

Objectives:

Goal 2

To enable the successful marketing of Hornby products on and off Hornby Island.

Objectives:

Goal 3

To support the growth of a year-round economy to reduce dependence upon the peak season.

Objectives:

Goal 4

To promote economic resilience to external factors, including by meeting local needs locally.

Objectives:

Goal 5

To encourage diversity and capacity through the participation of all age groups in the economy.

Objectives:

Key HICEEC Documents

Financial Information

Annual Reports

AGM Minutes

Reports and Discussion Papers

Core Documents:

Tourism

Housing

Discussion Papers

Other documents