Open
Source verified July 23, 2026
Transforming Systems Grant
Community-led systems change support in British Columbia
Funding available
$ 100,000
Deadline
Open continuously
Location
British Columbia, Canada
Overview
Transforming Systems Grants support qualified donees, registered non-profit societies, and registered community service co-operatives operating in British Columbia, with around $9.5 million available in the 2026 cycle. The program funds organizations addressing the root causes of inequality through community-led systems change, including staffing, planning and coordination, and capacity-building activities.
/100
Opportunity Score
Moderate potential, but conditions must align.
At a glance
Funding available
Financing goals
- Increase social or community impact
- Develop strategic partnerships
- Raise awareness or mobilize a population
Eligible Funding
- Maximum amount : 100,000 $
Eligible candidates
Eligible Industries
- All industries
Location
- British Columbia
Legal structures
- Non-profit
Annual revenue
- All revenue ranges
Organisation size
- All organization sizes
Audience
- All groups
Non-profit candidates
Sector of operation
- All industries
Target groups
- All the groups
Revenue structures
- All structures
Scope
- All dimensions
Next Steps
1
Determine your project
2
Validate your eligibility
Activities funded
- Learning, planning, and testing ideas in the early stages of systems-change work.
- Building readiness, mapping systems, and developing early ideas with community.
- Putting systems-change plans into action, including testing, implementing, deepening, or expanding influence at a systems level.
- Work that influences one or more of the six conditions of systems change: policies, practices, resource flows, relationships, power dynamics, and mental models.
- Building relationships, validating root causes with community, and strengthening governance and shared-power structures.
Official resources
Eligibility
Who is eligible?
- Qualified donees operating in British Columbia.
- Registered non-profit societies operating in British Columbia since January 1, 2025.
- Registered community service co-operatives operating in British Columbia.
- Organizations based outside British Columbia with eligible initiatives or projects in British Columbia that benefit local communities.
- Organizations registered anywhere in Canada or federally that are operating in and/or benefitting communities in British Columbia and listed on OrgBook BC as an extraprovincial society.
Who is not eligible
- Organizations that received a Transforming Systems Grant in 2024 cannot apply again until 2027.
- Partner organizations cannot jointly submit or co-apply as co-applicants.
- Organizations that are not registered by July 6, 2026 are not eligible to apply.
- Organizations that submit more than one application per TSG cycle are not eligible.
Eligible expenses
- Staffing costs for systems-change roles, including salaries, benefits, training, coaching, and professional development.
- Planning, coordination, administration, and reasonable administrative overhead tied to the work.
- Capacity-building activities such as strategic planning, governance development, and partnership building.
- Consultant fees that directly support and relate to a systems-change initiative.
- Communications and outreach, community engagement supports, evaluation and learning, knowledge sharing, legal or policy consultation, cultural and land-based practices, and technology and infrastructure that directly support systems-change activities.
Ineligible Costs and Activities
- Work outside British Columbia.
- Large public infrastructure projects, including libraries, schools, and hospitals.
- Direct services or assistance programs without a plan to address root causes or systemic conditions.
- TSG cannot be used as flexible core funding; general operating costs not related to the project, such as rent, core administrative salaries, or utilities, are not eligible unless the organization’s primary work is systems change.
- Expenses incurred before the application submission date; travel or attendance at conferences, competitions, symposia, or annual events unless clearly part of a systems-change initiative; event sponsorships, bursaries, scholarships, awards; endowment funds or capital campaigns; operating deficits, retroactive funding, debt repayment, financial reserves, mortgage paydowns; and activities not considered charitable under CRA guidelines, including fundraising.
Eligible geographic areas
- British Columbia
Selection criteria
- Applications are assigned a random number and reviewed in that order through randomized selection.
- Staff check budget alignment and whether the application fits the community-led systems-change criteria.
- Eligible applications move to Community Advisor review.
- Community Advisors review Stage 2 Influence applications again through adjudication before final funding decisions.
- Staff consider recommendations alongside program requirements, equity considerations, and the geographic funding model.
How to apply
- Read the guide, attend an information session, and take the online eligibility quiz.
- When applications open on June 8, log into the online grant management system to access the application portal.
- In the portal, go to the Apply section and select 2026 Transforming Systems Grants for Explore or Influence.
- Complete and submit the Explore full application or Influence stage 1 application by 5 pm PT on July 6, 2026.
- If invited to Influence stage 2, log into the online grant management system and submit the full online application by October 19, 2026.
Processing and Agreement
- Submitted applications are assigned a random number and reviewed in numerical order to confirm they meet the program requirements.
- Applications that do not meet the requirements are declined.
- Eligible applications move to Community Advisor review, and final funding recommendations are approved by the Vice President of Grants and Community Initiatives and the CEO.
- Stage 1 decisions are shared by email to all applicants in mid- to late September 2026, and final Influence decisions are shared by email by mid-December 2026.
- Progress reports are due once a year.
Additional information
- Funding is flexible operational support.
- The grant is provided over three years.
- Stage 1 decisions were communicated by email.
Contacts
Frequently Asked Questions about the Transforming Systems Grant Program
What is the Transforming Systems Grant?
Transforming Systems Grants support qualified donees, registered non-profit societies, and registered community service co-operatives operating in British Columbia, with around $9.5 million available in the 2026 cycle. The program funds organizations addressing the root causes of inequality through community-led systems change, including staffing, planning and coordination, and capacity-building activities.
How much funding can be received?
Transforming Systems Grant Funds up to $100,000 of admissible expenses.
Who is eligible for the Transforming Systems Grant program?
To be eligible for the Transforming Systems Grant program, you must:
Serve a community benefit.
Be a qualified donee, registered non-profit society, or registered community service co-operative operating in British Columbia.
Organizations that received a Transforming Systems Grant in 2024 are not eligible to apply again until 2027.
What expenses are eligible under Transforming Systems Grant?
Learning, planning, and testing ideas in the early stages of systems-change work.
Building readiness, mapping systems, and developing early ideas with community.
Putting systems-change plans into action, including testing, implementing, deepening, or expanding influence at a systems level.
Work that influences one or more of the six conditions of systems change: policies, practices, resource flows, relationships, power dynamics, and mental models.
Building relationships, validating root causes with community, and strengthening governance and shared-power structures.
Who can I contact for more information about the Transforming Systems Grant?
You can contact Vancouver Foundation by email at grants.admin@vancouverfoundation.ca.
Where is the Transforming Systems Grant available?
The Transforming Systems Grant program is available the province of British Columbia.
Is the Transforming Systems Grant a grant, loan, or tax credit?
Transforming Systems Grant is a Grant and Funding