City of Vancouver Approves Over $1.6 Million in Cultural Grant Allocations

The following is excerpted from a release issued by the City of Vancouver.

On June 5, Vancouver City Council approved four major cultural grant programs that support creative communities. These include:

Cultural Infrastructure Grants

• $1,056,800 to twenty-eight organizations to support local, nonprofit arts and cultural organizations to plan for, acquire, create, maintain, and improve cultural spaces in the city.
• 28 out of 36 submissions were recommended, representing a success rate of 78%.
• Nine of the organizations submitting were first-time applicants, with six (66%) of them recommended for funding.

Community Arts Grants

• $436,768 to 91 organizations and projects that increase public participation and strengthen social connections through arts and culture, enhance the role of artists in our communities, and activate the public realm in neighbourhoods across the city.
• 91 out of 109 applications were recommended, representing a success rate of 84%.
• 25 were first-time applicants, with 17 (68%) of them recommended for funding.

Arts Capacity Grants

• $70,000 to five organizations to support capacity development.
• Grants will support four organizations participating in a pilot Arts Capacity cohort, for longer-term, cohort-based learning aligned with feedback from the Investing in Arts Capacity survey conducted in Fall 2017, and one organization to provide leadership development workshops (supported through bursaries) for City-supported leaders of arts and cultural organizations.

Host Your Own Engagement Grants

• $100,000 in one-time only funding to organizations to hold their own community consultations on arts, culture and creativity.
• Out of 100 applications, 10 organizations were supported, with grants ranging from $5,000 to $13,000.
• All recommendations and insights will inform the Creative City Strategy.

For more information on these grants, including the organizations funded, click here to view the full report from Council. The BC Alliance extends its congratulations to all those organizations funded.