Cultural Spaces Grant Program

Capital grants

Review the 2025 capital grants information guide PDF file (509 KB)

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  Small Grants for Cultural Spaces

  The 2025 intake is closed.

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

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

  The 2025 intake is closed.

  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 in 2025 (until budget is fully allocated)

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

  • Unforeseen and urgent replacement, repairs, or life-safety capital infrastructure projects
  • Building code consultation for time-sensitive projects
  • Assistance with permit fee costs

  Review Appendix C of Council report 17703 PDF file (351 KB)

Affordable Spaces operating grants

Review the 2025 operating grants information guide PDF file (418 KB)

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  Affordable Spaces grants

  The 2025 intake is closed.

  Grants up to $40,000 for facility operating costs for local non-profit space operators who provide subsidized affordable space for Vancouver-based artists and/or cultural organizations.

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  Eligible applicants for any cultural spaces grant program

  Cultural spaces grant programs may be available to provincially registered, Vancouver-based (within Vancouver city limits) non-profit societies or cooperatives in good standing External website, opens in new tab, and/or federally-registered charitable organizations 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 xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, səlilwətaɬ, and urban Indigenous non-profit organizations.

  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
  • Social services 
  • Sports
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  Eligible requests

  Your organization may apply for a cultural spaces grant for:

  Capital grant streams

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

  • 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 planning, knowledge sharing, and capacity building related to cultural space.
  • Cultural Infrastructure grants (up to $250,000)
    • Matching funds for space research and planning, or to complete capital projects; buy, build, renovate, or expand a cultural facility
  • Critical Assistance capital grants (up to $25,000)
    • For urgent building life-safety upgrades and/or urgent replacement/repair
    • Assistance with permit fee costs that are not already supported in an approved CIG or Small Cultural Spaces grant project for renovation, construction, or change of use permits for secured (owned or leased) cultural space, with landlord approval. Visit the Small Business Commercial Renovation Centre (CRC) for information on what permits are needed and to obtain documentation checklists for submitting permit applications. Contact planners to determine eligibility for permit fee assistance under the Critical Assistance Capital Grant program.
    • Assistance with building code consultation for time-sensitive projects
    • Open January 2025 - contact planners for access

  Affordable Spaces operating grant stream

  Funds designated to support facility operating costs.

  • Affordable Spaces grants (up to $40,000)
    • Facility operating costs for organizations that operate space for the express purpose of supporting independent artists, arts organizations, or both.

  What we don't fund

  Cultural spaces grants cannot fund:

  • Non-profit organizations
    • Organizations not based in Vancouver
    • Organizations whose primary purpose or activities involve childcare, education, employment, health care, recreation, religion, social services, or sports. These organizations may be eligible for community grants.
    • Organizations without arts and cultural mandates, or whose activities do not meet program goals, eligibility criteria, or align with CultureShift PDF file (12.2 MB) priorities, including:
      • Reconciliation and decolonization
      • Cultural equity and accessibility
      • Securing affordable, accessible, and safe cultural spaces
    • Organizations with 3 or more open capital grants for incomplete projects
  • Equipment
    • Presentation or exhibition-related
    • non-integral items like:
      • Lighting, audio/visual systems, heaters, tents, pottery wheels
      • Computer or communication systems
      • Furniture or appliances
  • Projects
    • Located outside Vancouver city limits.
    • Considered regular or routine repair and maintenance or part of ongoing, day-to-day operations, unless as part of an application to the Affordable Spaces Grant Program and integral to cultural space operations
    • Projects already underway or completed before the application deadline. However, we may consider funding support for: 
      • Space operation costs for the current year under Affordable Spaces grants
      • Critical Assistance applications addressing life-safety issues
  • Housing and businesses
    • Residential housing or home-based businesses
  • Operations and administrative activities
    • 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
    • Strategic planning, capital campaigns, fundraising, or marketing activities. Review Cultural Grants Program
    • Programming, including artistic research and/or creation. Review Arts and Culture grants
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  Cultural spaces resources

  • 2025 Capital grants information guide PDF file (509 KB), including glossary of terms
  • 2025 Affordable Spaces grants information guide PDF file (418 KB), including glossary of terms
  • Culture|Shift
  • Making Space for Arts and Culture, Vancouver’s 10-year Cultural Infrastructure Plan
  • Capital projects planning cycle PDF file (172 KB)
  • Available funding programs for cultural organizations PDF file (188 KB)
  • Sample financial statements PDF file (53 KB)
  • Final report template Excel file (37 KB) for projects funded before 2022, otherwise, find this in your VanApply account