BCAC — Arts-Based Community Development & Leon and Thea Koerner Award

• A minimum of one Professional Artist Information Form.
• A support letter from a member of the specified community you are collaborating with.
• For LTK Award applicants, a completed Professional Social Services Lead Form.

Who is eligible?

• Arts Organizations
• Book and Periodical Publishers
• Museums
• Indigenous Cultural Centres
• Indigenous Governments
• Indigenous Community Organizations
• Non-profit Community Service Organizations
• Arts Activator Organizations in B.C.

Who is not eligible

• Private or for-profit entities, except in the case of for-profit Book Publishers
• Member-funded societies
• Educational institutions and schools
• Local governments
• Industrial sites, archaeological sites, heritage sites or historic places
• Organizations solely dedicated to archives
• Community choirs attached to, or affiliated with, educational, religious, or military institutions

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• General operating expenses
• Budget deficits or surpluses
• Contingency expenses
• Feasibility studies
• Start-up costs or seed money
• Subsistence: general living expenses such as housing (rent or mortgage payment), food, and local transportation paid to artists or arts and culture practitioners
• Capital expenses or equipment purchases
• Touring or travel expenses not directly associated with the proposed activity
• General marketing expenses that are not directly supporting an eligible project
• Project phases or activities that begin before the application closing date
• Repeat activities or ongoing annual programming, except projects which have previously indicated a phased approach
• Projects that do not use arts-based community development processes
• Fundraising activities
• Family, religious, anniversary, or community celebrations
• Activities that require payment from artists to participate
• Contests and competitions, except if competition is integral to the art form or cultural practice
• Creation, promotion, or distribution of works primarily intended for commercial release
• Curriculum-based activities or projects, including those related to continuing education or post-secondary programs at educational institutions, except in the case of professional arts training organizations
• Projects or activities that are primarily intended for or focussed within creative industries or commercial sector
• Projects phases or activities previously funded through this grant program or other BC Arts Council grant programs
• Projects phases or activities previously funded with BC Arts Council funds received through third-party delivery partners: ArtStarts, First Peoples’ Cultural Council, BC Live Performance Network, or Creative BC

Eligible geographic areas

• B.C.

• Reconciliation, equity, diversity, inclusion and access, weighted at 30%.
• Artistic contribution and significance, weighted at 20%.
• Engagement and impact, weighted at 30%.
• Feasibility, weighted at 20%.

• Submit your application through the online Grant Management System.
• New applicants must register and create a profile in the online system by 11:59 p.m. (Pacific Time) on Wednesday, May 6, 2026 to access grant applications.
• Grant applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (Pacific Time) on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.

• Applications are reviewed for eligibility by the BC Arts Council before being forwarded to an independent peer assessment panel.
• Assessors read and score the applications, then discuss and rank them; grants are awarded based on this ranking.
• Funding priority may be given to applicants considered part of a designated priority group.
• Grant recipients must submit a final report for the completed project within 30 days of the project end date stated in the application.
• Grant payments may be redistributed, delayed, or suspended if the recipient does not carry out its planned activities, makes major changes, does not meet reporting obligations, fails to comply with legal obligations, or fails to maintain a safe and respectful workplace.

• Applications are submitted through the Grant Management System.
• One application per organization per intake is accepted.
• Results are generally announced about 16 weeks after the application deadline.
• Grant payments are normally sent by cheque to the mailing address in the online profile unless direct deposit is set up.