Cultural Grants Program

Eligible applicants

You can apply for this grant if your organization is a Vancouver-based:

• Professional non-profit society
• Community service co-op legally registered with BC Registry Services
• Registered charity with the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA)

To receive funding, your organization must:

• Be incorporated for at least six months
• Have a mission to develop, create, produce, present, and disseminate artistic work for the benefit of the public and the arts sector
• Be led by an arts professional
• Have artistic programming that addresses a need or opportunity in the community or the arts sector
• Be supported by an active, working board of directors with appropriate and accountable financial and administrative systems in place

Additional eligibility criteria apply. Read the information guide in the "How to apply" section below.

We don't fund:

• Organizations that don't have arts and cultural mandates
• Organizations that exclude certain people or groups because of their religion, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, language, disability, or income
• Publicly- or privately-funded educational institutions
• Social service-, religious-, or sports organizations and clubs
• Other City of Vancouver departments, branches, including community centres
• Organizations and activity outside of Vancouver city limits

Eligible projects

Your organization may apply for this grant if your project is to:

• Produce or curate a single show, or a time-limited series of arts and cultural events or programs
• Collaborate with professional artists and community members to creatively address local interests and issues
• Deliver shared services and resources
• Develop conferences, residencies, or mentorships that benefit artists, organizations, and the public
• Create outdoor projects approved by the City

The funding cannot pay for:

• Projects without a central artistic or cultural focus
• Core artistic training
• Capital projects
• Debt
• Fundraisers
• Bursaries or scholarships
• Contests or competitions

How to apply

1. Read the information guide.  (50 KB)

   The guide explains:

   • Grant objectives and description
   • Organizational profile
   • Eligibility
   • Assessment criteria and process
   • Conditions of assistance
   • Confidentiality
   • Additional resources
2. Contact Cultural Services for referral to a cultural planner to:
   • Discuss your organization and project's eligibility
   • Request a Project Grants application form
   • Receive valuable advice

Karen Hasselfelt
604-871-6045
karen.hasselfelt@vancouver.ca

Douglas Durand
604-871-6007
douglas.durand@vancouver.ca

Eligible applicants

You can apply for this grant if your organization is a Vancouver-based:

• Professional non-profit society
• Community service co-op legally registered with BC Registry Services
• Registered charity with the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA)

To receive funding, your organization must:

• Have received at least two consecutive grants from Cultural Services through either Project-, Operating-, or Community Arts Grants
• Be physically located, have an active presence, and deliver programs and services in the City of Vancouver
• Have a body of body of distinct and high-quality work or services with a track record of consistent delivery and demand
• Have an independent, volunteer-run board of directors that represents your mission and people served
• Have evidence of professional and paid leadership (artistic and administrative) generally between 0.5 to 2 full-time-equivalent (FTE) staff members which may be comprised of several part-time positions
• Have growing capacity with administrative systems (communications, human resources)
• Have growing financial resource diversification
• Sustained average annual cash budget generally between $75,000 and $300,000
• Diversified cash resources (earned, private and public)
• Independently-prepared financial statements (ideally a review engagement)
• Have demonstrated increasing capacity to consistently pay professional artists at standard industry rate

Additional eligibility criteria apply. Read the information guide's "How to apply" section below.

We don't fund:

• Organizations that don't have arts and cultural mandates
• Organizations that exclude certain people or groups because of their religion, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, language, disability, or income
• Publicly- or privately-funded educational institutions
• Social service-, religious-, or sports organizations and clubs
• Other City of Vancouver departments and branches, including community centres
• Organizations and activity outside of Vancouver city limits

Eligible projects

Your organization may apply for this grant if your project is to:

• Produce or curate a single show, or a time-limited series of arts and cultural events or programs
• Collaborate with professional artists and community members to creatively address local interests and issues
• Deliver shared services and resources
• Develop conferences, residencies, or mentorships that benefit artists, organizations, and the public
• Create outdoor projects approved by the City

The funding cannot pay for:

• Core artistic training
• Capital projects
• Deficits
• Fundraisers
• Bursaries or scholarships
• Contests or competitions

How to apply

1. Read the information guide. (40 KB)

   The guide explains:

   • Grant objectives and description
   • Organizational profile
   • Eligibility
   • Assessment criteria and process
   • Conditions of assistance
   • Confidentiality
   • Additional resources
2. Contact Cultural Services for referral to a cultural planner to:
   • Discuss your organization and project's eligibility
   • Request an Annual Assistance Grants application form
   • Receive valuable advice

   Phone 604-673-8411 or email metha.brown@vancouver.ca.

Eligible applicants

You can apply for this grant if your organization is a Vancouver-based:

• Professional non-profit society
• Community service co-op legally registered with BC Registry Services
• Registered charity with the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA)

To receive funding, your organization must:

• Have received at least two consecutive Project- or Annual Assistance Grants from Cultural Services
• Be physically located, have an active presence, and deliver programs and services in the City of Vancouver
• Have an established body of high quality work or services that are consistently delivered and in-demand
• Have an independent, volunteer-run board of directors that represents your mission and people served, where directors:
  • Meet the minimum articles of respective governing acts (BC Society Act, BC Cooperative Service Act for Community Service Coops, or the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act)
  • Function in a governance role and be active in policy, planning, legal and fiduciary responsibilities
  • Aren’t paid (except for reasonable expenses they incur)
  • Don’t fulfill other staff roles at the same time
• Employ at least one paid, full-time, and professional artistic and administrative leader
• Use well-developed administrative systems, including communications, financial, and human resources
• Have diverse, stable financial resources and practices with:
  • Sustained average annual cash budget of generally over $300,000
  • Diversified cash resources (earned, private, and public)
  • Independently-prepared financial statements (audit or review engagement)
• Compensate professional artists at standard rates

Additional eligibility criteria apply. Read the information guide in the "How to apply" section below.

We don't fund:

• Organizations that don't have arts and cultural mandates
• Organizations that exclude certain people or groups because of their religion, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, language, disability, or income
• Publicly- or privately-funded educational institutions
• Social service-, religious-, or sports organizations and clubs
• Other City of Vancouver departments and branches, including community centres
• Organizations and activity outside Vancouver city limits

Eligible projects

Your organization may apply for this grant if your project is to:

• Produce or curate a single show, or a time-limited series of arts and cultural events or programs
• Collaborate with professional artists and community members to creatively address local interests and issues
• Deliver shared services and resources
• Develop conferences, residencies, or mentorships that benefit artists, organizations, and the public
• Create outdoor projects approved by the City

The funding cannot pay for:

• Core artistic training
• Capital projects
• Debt
• Fundraisers
• Bursaries or scholarships
• Contests or competitions

How to apply

1. Read the information guide. (40 KB)

   The guide explains:

   • Grant objectives and description
   • Organizational profile
   • Eligibility
   • Assessment criteria and process
   • Conditions of assistance
   • Confidentiality
   • Additional resources
2. Contact Cultural Services for referral to a cultural planner by to:
   • Discuss your organization and project's eligibility
   • Request an Operating Grants application form
   • Receive valuable advice

   Phone 604-871-6498 or email cherryl.masters@vancouver.ca.