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.
| 2026 eligibility criteria | 2026 eligibility criteria | <div class="ExternalClass5CF14F051F0A4F7EA5F34282339747F2"><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 were disqualified. Applications were only considered if all required materials were received and time-stamped in Metro Vancouver’s system before the application deadline.</p></div> |
| 2026 Selection criteria | 2026 Selection criteria | <div class="ExternalClass1E86050AAC2F4ED6AE31CCEAC3C87582"><p>The selection of 2026 projects 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<br></li></ul></div> |
| Conditions | Conditions | <div class="ExternalClass5FCCCD8118E743FB99838D0BF1D35C5C"><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-2026.pdf" title="2026 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><br></div> |