British Columbia Arts Council Funding

• Completed Training Instructors Table with biographies
• Completed Project Budget Table with notes explaining amounts
• Signed financial statements for the two most recent completed fiscal years
• Certified constitution for non-profit societies; official Certificate of Incorporation under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, Form 4001 Articles of Incorporation, and bylaws for extraprovincial non-share corporations; certified Memorandum of Association and Rules for community service cooperative associations; or a statement of the primary purpose of the organization for all other applicants
• Operating budget for the fiscal year in which the proposed project takes place; training syllabus; course calendar or brochure; letters from up to two partners or collaborators if applicable; and two letters of reference from established arts and culture practitioners for applicants that have not previously received funding through this grant program

Who is eligible?

• Professional Arts Training Organizations
• Professional Arts Organizations
• Indigenous Community Organizations
• Indigenous Governments in B.C.

Who is not eligible

• Organizations currently receiving grants from BC Arts Council’s Operating Assistance Program
• Arts and culture organizations eligible within BC Arts Council Community Arts Organization grant programs
• Private or for-profit entities; member-funded societies; and social service organizations
• Industrial sites, archaeological sites, heritage sites, or historic places; and organizations dedicated to archives
• Local governments; arts or curatorial collectives; educational institutions and schools; and non-profit societies registered for less than one fiscal year

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• General operating expenses, budget deficits or surpluses, contingency expenses, and start-up costs or seed money
• Subsistence (living costs) paid to artists or arts and culture practitioners
• Capital expenses, including construction, renovation, or purchase of property; and equipment purchases over $2,500 or any equipment purchases not directly related to the project
• Touring or travel expenses for presentation or circulation of work
• Project phases or activities that begin before the application closing date; projects or activities where arts and culture is not the primary focus; projects or activities that do not involve or benefit artists or arts and culture practitioners; activities where there is no engagement with or payment to professional artists; activities that require payment from artists to participate without compensation; fundraising activities; contests and competitions; conferences and conventions; family, religious, anniversary or community celebrations; podcasts and radio programming; costs of producing commercial recordings or demo reels; projects where arts therapy, health or therapeutic work is the primary project focus; projects or activities primarily intended for or focussed within creative industries or the commercial sector; project phases or activities previously funded through this grant program or other BC Arts Council grant programs; and projects or activities funded with BC Arts Council funds received through third-party delivery partners: ArtStarts, First Peoples’ Cultural Council, BC Live Performance Network, or Creative BC

• Independent peer assessors score eligible applications using the assessment criteria
• The panel discusses and ranks the applications, and grants are awarded based on that ranking
• Funding priority may be given to applicants considered part of a designated priority group
• Assessment criteria and weights: Artistic and Cultural Contribution, Engagement, and Impact (50%); Reconciliation, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Access (20%); Feasibility (30%)

• Review the program guidelines and application checklist before applying
• New applicants must register and create a profile in the BC Arts Council’s online Grant Management System to access the application
• Update the organization profile before starting the application
• Complete the application with project details, budget, pop-out forms, and required support material
• Submit the application through the online grant system

• Eligible applications are forwarded to an independent peer assessment panel
• The panel discusses and ranks applications, and grants are awarded based on that ranking
• The BC Arts Council informs each applicant of the decision approximately 16 weeks after the application closing date
• Grant payments are paid by cheque and sent to the mailing address listed in the profile unless the applicant is registered for direct deposit
• Grant recipients must submit a final report through the online system within 30 days of the project end date; overdue final reports block future applications; all results are final