The regional cultural project grants support arts and culture organizations with creation, production, dissemination, audience development, research, project staff and/or administrative capacity building. Project grants are awarded to a maximum of $10,000 each. The total allocation for 2026 is $300,000.
The timeline for the 2026 regional cultural project grants:
- Wednesday, April 8, 2026 at 12:00 pm: Information session for interested applicants (optional)
- Monday, April 27, 2026 at 4:00 pm: Deadline to apply (for fairness, no late applications)
- May - June: Submissions reviewed by Metro Vancouver staff
- July: Review by Metro Vancouver’s Performance and Audit Committee; final grant allocations approved by the Metro Vancouver Regional District Board
- August: Communication to all applicants, including distribution of cheques
Information session
Program staff hosted an information session April 8, 2026. The presentation includes an overview of the application and adjudication process, and offers guidance and tips for submitting a stronger application.
2026 Grant application
Applying for a grant involves two steps:
Step 1: Fill out and submit the online application form.
Step 2: Submit supporting materials. Upon submission of your application form, instructions and your application ID number will be provided for you to send supporting materials including:
- Most recent financial statements approved by the Board of Directors, signed by two signing officers
- Letter(s) of support – minimum requirement of one; maximum of five; at least one is recommended to come from a project collaborator or funding source
| Eligibility criteria | Eligibility criteria | <div class="ExternalClassF9AA916E2E3E4ABFBCDD3F72FA17DE80"><p>These grants support regional arts and culture projects, not ongoing operational/general expenses. </p><p>To qualify for a 2026 grant, the applicant must:</p><ul><li>promote arts and culture as its primary purpose (as opposed to an organization whose function or purpose extends beyond an arts and culture mandate);</li><li>produce and present arts and culture on a regular basis within the Metro Vancouver region;</li><li>be a non-profit society registered under the
<em>BC Societies Act</em> or a non-profit community service cooperative registered under the<em> Community Service Co-operatives </em>section of the<em> BC Cooperatives Act</em> for at least two fiscal years; </li><li>demonstrate stability and resiliency, operating with an annual budget exceeding $75,000 and paid staff; </li><li>be requesting funding for a project where programming will be touring or attracting audiences from across multiple Metro Vancouver member jurisdictions;</li><li>provide a letter of support for the project; and</li><li>obtain project funding from diverse sources, whereby:
<ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>no more than 30% of the total project budget is proposed to come from Metro Vancouver; and</li><li>at least two other sources of project funding have been identified, including one that is confirmed.<br></li></ul></li></ul><p>Project marketing timelines and project delivery must occur between September 1, 2026 and August 31, 2027. Pre-production planning and work may take place before September 2026.<br></p><p>Organizations may only apply for one grant per year.</p><p>Late and incomplete applications will be disqualified. Applications will only be considered if all required materials are received and time-stamped in Metro Vancouver’s system before the application deadline.</p></div> |
| Selection criteria | Selection criteria | <div class="ExternalClassE4E888B7B69F44F0BED780FFB38AA689"><p>The selection of 2026 projects was based on the following assessment criteria. The relative weight given to each criterion is indicated in brackets.</p><p>
<b>Regional Impact (20%)</b></p><ul><li>Significance of the project in serving and attracting audiences from across the Metro Vancouver region </li><li>Significance of the project in its unique offering to the region’s arts and culture </li></ul><p></p><p>
<strong>Merit (50%)</strong></p><ul><li>Merit of the project, strengthened by the applicant’s record of excellence and their demonstrated capacity to deliver projects effectively and achieve meaningful outcomes</li><li>Clearly communicated project goals and relevance to arts and culture in the region</li><li>Demonstrated support of the project (i.e. partnerships, collaborations, sponsorships or in-kind support, staff and volunteers, etc.)</li><li>Marketing, promotion and/or outreach plan to encourage regional participation, awareness and engagement</li><li>Project delivery with resilience to reasonably adjust as necessary</li></ul><p>
<strong>Budget Plan (30%)</strong></p><ul><li>Clear and concise budget plan for reasonable use of grant funding</li><li>Other sources of realistic funding support identified and/or in place</li><li>Requested funds are specific to the proposed project, and are not intended for ongoing operational/general funding</li></ul></div> |
| Conditions | Conditions | <div class="ExternalClass36407C842AF54E7B9CF963B88138B749"><p>Grant recipients must adhere to the following:</p><ul><li>Acknowledge the support of Metro Vancouver on all promotional materials related to the funded project.</li><li>Organizations making significant changes to the information provided in their application must discuss such changes with Metro Vancouver staff prior to implementation. </li><li>Grant recipients are required to <a href="/cultural-grants/Documents/regional-cultural-project-grants-reporting-evaluation-2025.pdf" title="2025 Regional Cultural Project Grants - Reporting and Evaluation" target="_blank">complete a follow-up report</a> for Metro Vancouver. Receipt of this report will be a precondition for consideration of the organization’s future grant applications.</li><li>Information provided in this regional cultural project grant application may be subject to disclosure under the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. <br></li></ul></div> |
| Guidance and tips | Guidance and tips | <div class="ExternalClass73AC5FBA060943108D5057A7EACA37F5"><p>You can expect to spend upwards of 60 minutes completing your application. We suggest that you review the 2026 regional cultural project grant application form in advance, gather the required information, and prepare your responses ahead of time in a saved document before you fill out the online form. A working copy can be downloaded below, however your finalized application form responses must be submitted using the online form.</p><p>
<i class="fa-light fa-file-word"></i><a href="/_layouts/download.aspx?SourceUrl=https%3a//metrovancouver.org/cultural-grants/Documents/regional-cultural-project-grant-application-working-copy.docx" title="Cutural Grant Working Copy"> Working Copy - 2026 Regional Cultural Grant Application</a><br></p><p>Due to high demand, most grant amounts range between $3,000-$5,000. Awards might be less than requested. In 2025, Metro Vancouver received 132 applications from organizations seeking over $1.1 million in funding for proposed projects. Grants were awarded to 50 applicants totalling $300,000.</p><p>Project programming must be accessible and welcoming to residents from across the Metro Vancouver region. Projects must tour or reasonably expect to draw an audience from multiple Metro Vancouver jurisdictions (ideally at least three municipalities).</p><p>Late and incomplete applications will be disqualified. We strongly recommend submitting your application in advance of the deadline to avoid jeopardizing the hard work and valuable time invested in your grant proposal. </p><p>Has your organization received a Metro Vancouver regional cultural project grant in the past? If so, check that all previous project reports are up to date, as this is a precondition for applying for another grant. Remember that 2025 grant projects that are still underway are expected to submit Metro Vancouver an interim project report by the reporting deadline.</p><p>Metro Vancouver’s grant program is intended to support regional arts and culture
<strong>projects</strong>, not ongoing operational/general funding. All project grants are reviewed on a yearly basis and are not to be viewed by applicants as an ongoing source of funding.<br></p></div> |
| Past grant recipients | Past grant recipients | <div class="ExternalClass04195F120AD6452FBDC6E3395A5ACAA0"><p>Congratulations to all <a href="/media-room/media-release/930" target="_blank">2025 regional cultural project grant recipients</a> as well as organizations that have benefited from this grant program in the past.</p><p>Grant recipients are required to <a href="/cultural-grants/Documents/regional-cultural-project-grants-reporting-evaluation-2025.pdf" target="_blank">complete a follow-up report</a> for Metro Vancouver. <strong>Past project reports (either interim or final, depending on project timelines) are due Friday, April 17, 2026</strong>. Receipt of project reports is a precondition for consideration of an organization’s future grant applications.<br></p></div> |
Deadline and submission
Complete applications must be received by
4:00 pm on Monday, April 27. Applications will only be considered if all required materials are received and time-stamped in Metro Vancouver’s system before the application deadline.
If you have any questions about the application process or eligibility of your proposed project, email
CulturalGrants@metrovancouver.org or contact Sarah Faucher, grant program manager, at 604-456-8828.