Cultural Spaces Grant Program

Capital Grants

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  Small grants for cultural spaces

  When to apply: spring or fall

  Grants up to $25,000 to provide improved capital building-based funding support for:

  • Space planning
  • Research
  • Building improvements and upgrades
  • Accessibility
  • Mentorships between organizations or between organizations and professionals to support space planning, knowledge sharing, and capacity building
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  Cultural Infrastructure Grants (CIG)

  When to apply: spring

  Matching grants up to $250,000 for capital building-based projects including:

  • Space planning and research
  • Acquisition (purchase), renovation, or expansion of an arts and cultural facility
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  Critical Assistance Capital Grants

  When to apply: anytime

  Grants up to $25,000 to support urgent building life-safety upgrades and other critical timely support for cultural spaces, including:

  • Unforeseen and urgent replacement, repairs and/or life-safety capital infrastructure projects
  • Hiring of code consultants for time-sensitive projects
  • Assistance with permit fee costs

Operating grants

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  Affordable Cultural Spaces Grants

  When to apply: spring

  Grants up to $50,000 for facility operating costs for local non-profit space operators who provide subsidized affordable space for Vancouver-based artists and/or cultural organizations.

  Information icon Emergency affordable spaces operational support may also be available depending on availability of funding for the year.

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  Eligible applicants

  Your organization must be a registered Vancouver-based non-profit society, charitable organization, or non-profit cooperative with a publicly stated culture-first vision, mission, and/or mandate having an independent, active governing body composed of volunteers.

  We strongly encourage applications from local First Nations band councils and urban Indigenous non-profit organizations are also eligible to apply.

  Organizations we don't fund

  We don't fund organizations with a publicly stated primary purpose, vision, mission, or mandate to support:

  • Child care
  • Education
  • Employment
  • Health care
  • Recreation
  • Religion
  • Sports
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  Eligible requests

  Your organization may apply for a Cultural Spaces Grant for:

  Capital Grant Streams

  Funds designated to support building-based planning and/or improvement projects and costs.

  • Small Grants for Cultural Spaces  (up to $25,000)
    • Funding support for smaller cultural space projects, including space planning, research, building improvements and upgrades, accessibility, and mentorships between organizations or between organizations and professionals to support space planning, knowledge sharing, and capacity building.
    • Open August 2022
    • Deadline: Deadline: Wednesday, September 21, 2022, at 11:59pm
  • Cultural Infrastructure Grants (up to $250,000)
    • Complete capital projects; buy, build, renovate, or expand a cultural facility
    • Open spring 2023
    • Deadline: To be announced in late 2022
  • Critical Assistance Capital Grants (up to $25,000)
    • For urgent building life-safety upgrades and/or urgent replacement/repair
    • Applicants to the Critical Assistance Capital Grant may complete an application at any time, regardless of deadline dates. Contact planners directly
    • Assistance with permit fee costs

  Operating Grant Stream

  Funds designated to support facility operating costs.

  • Affordable Cultural Spaces Grants (up to $50,000)
    • Facility operating costs for organizations that operate space for the express purpose of supporting independent artists and/or arts organizations
    • Open spring 2023
    • Deadline: To be announced in late 2022

  What we don't fund

  Cultural Spaces grants cannot fund:

  • Non-profit organizations that are not based in Vancouver and/or whose primary purpose or program activity is the provision of health care, social, childcare, educational, sport, recreational, employment, or religious programs and services are not eligible to apply for the Cultural Spaces Grant program. Non-profit organizations providing social, childcare, or other services may be eligible for community grants.
  • Non-Profit organizations that do not have arts and cultural mandates or whose activities do not meet the program goals and eligibility criteria, or do not align with the CultureShift PDF file (12.2 MB) directions of Reconciliation and decolonization; cultural equity and accessibility; and securing affordable, accessible, and safe cultural spaces.
  • Equipment, including equipment that is presentation or exhibition-related, non-integral portable lighting/audio/visual systems/equipment, heaters, tents, pottery wheels, computer or communication systems, furniture, or appliances.
  • Projects that are considered regular or routine repair and maintenance or part of ongoing, day-to-day operations, unless as part of an application to the Affordable Cultural Spaces grant program and integral to cultural space operations.
  • Any work that is already underway or completed prior to the application deadline, however, in the context of Affordable Cultural Spaces grants, we may consider funding support for space operation costs for the current year that exist prior to application deadlines. For Critical Assistance applications, we may consider funding support for work already underway to address life-safety issues.
  • Strategic planning, capital campaigns, fundraising, or marketing activities. See Cultural Grants Program.
  • Programming, including artistic research and/or creation. See Arts and Culture Grants.
  • Operations or administrative items such as: day-to-day staffing costs, moving expenses, tools, non-space related training, computer software, food and beverages (unless as part of community engagement for space planning project), and such.
  • Organizations with three (3) or more open capital grants for incomplete projects.
  • Projects located outside Vancouver City Limits.
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  Cultural spaces resources

  • Cultural spaces grants program information guide and glossary of terms PDF file (527 KB)
  • Culture|Shift
  • Making Space for Arts and Culture, Vancouver’s 10-year Cultural Infrastructure Plan
  • Available funding programs for cultural organizations PDF file (120 KB)
  • Sample financial statements PDF file (53 KB)
  • Final report template Excel file (31 KB)