Grants

We offer 5 categories of arts & culture grants:

General operating grants

The General Operating grant is available to arts, culture and heritage organizations that carry out the majority of their work in Kelowna. These grants support the operations of the organization, but are not to be used for start-up, events or capital projects. This grant acknowledges the work these organizations do and how they positively contribute to Kelowna's quality of life, identity and economy

Amount: up to $10,000 

 Project grants

Project grants are available to community organizations that provide a festival, event or project that feature arts, culture and/or heritage for the benefit of Kelowna residents. Eligible organizations are not required to be from the arts, culture or heritage sector.

Amount: 50% matching up to $10,000 

Core operating grants

The Core Operating program provides consistent and reliable annual support to professional, established non-profit arts and cultural organizations which provide impactful, quality programs and services, demonstrate sustainable operations and contribute to the realization of our cultural vision, principals and goals as outlined in the Cultural Plan.

Advancing equity micro grants

Up to $500 in funding support for small scale arts and culture activations or projects for equity seeking communities that would otherwise not have access to supports.

Artist Grants 

Funding for individual artists and collectives including Community Art Grant, Artist in Residence program, Creative Youth, Art at KCT and other emergent opportunities. 

Apply online 

For more information on Arts & Culture grants, guidelines and how to apply, visit our Cultural grants page or Artist opportunities page 

Contact Sara Thirnbeck at [email protected] for more information. 

The Heritage Grants Program, administered by the Central Okanagan Heritage Society, is designed to promote conservation of residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural heritage buildings by assisting owners with grants for a portion of the costs incurred in conservation work.

Eligible work is limited to the exterior and may include:

• Reroofing
• Window and door conservation
• Siding and porch conservation
• Work on foundation and repainting

Any owner with a property listed on the Kelowna Heritage Register is eligible to apply for this program.

• Buildings with a Heritage Designation are eligible for a maximum of $12,500 per three-year period
• Buildings listed on the Kelowna Heritage Register are eligible for a maximum of $7,500 per three-year period.

For more information visit the Central Okanagan Heritage Society's website.

The Partners in Parks program is an initiative intended to strengthen neighbourhoods through partnerships with community groups that want to refresh and enhance local parks throughout Kelowna.

The maximum Partners in Parks grant per project is $10,000. Approved projects should:

• Foster a shared sense of park stewardship within the community
• Leverage community groups’ resources, interests and passion
• Increase community pride and involvement of residents in parks

Visit our Partners in Parks page to learn more or contact [email protected]

The intent of the Housing Opportunities Reserve Fund is to encourage the development of affordable housing. The fund relies on taxation, land sales, revenues and other resources. The money is used to acquire lands suited to development opportunities that would include affordable housing.  

There are also grants available to encourage the construction of rental housing units. Funds are distributed based on the number of dwellings that qualify. 

Learn more about the grants and applications under the Rental Housing Grant on our Developer incentives page.

We offer 3 categories of sport grants. 

Community Sport Delivery Grant

The Community Sport Delivery Program has been created to support the staffing needs (i.e. head coach, administrator) of local sport organizations and assist in the delivery of local sport participation and performance initiatives. This grant will fund paid positions to ensure the provision of a wide range of programs and services to athletes, coaches and volunteers from the grassroots to competitive levels that align with the Canadian Sport For Life model.

Sport Education Grant

The Sport Education Grant is designed to provide financial assistance to local coaches or officials interested in upgrading their training and/or certification beyond introductory levels. The Grant can also be used for local sport organizations to host advanced sport development courses/seminars for local coaches and officials.

Amount: Up to $500 to any one coach/official per calendar year and $1,000 to any one sport organization per calendar year.

Athletic Excellence Grant

The Athletic Excellence Grant has been established to assist high performance athletes or teams with the travel-related expenses associated with participating in high-level sporting events such as provincial or national championships.

Amount: Up to $500 to any one athlete per calendar year and $1,000 to any one team per calendar year

Visit our Sports & event grants page for application details or contact [email protected]