Cultural Grants

General Operating Grant

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. Grants up to $10,000 dollars are extended to qualifying recipients who demonstrate vision, accountability and a spirit of community service in their operations.

General Operating guidelines  Sample application

Core Operating Program

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. Funding assists these organizations with operational sustainability and enables them to develop and deliver their wonderful programs and services to the community. Examples of Core Operating level funding include: Ballet Kelowna, Opera Kelowna and Okanagan Symphony Orchestra.

Due to the nature of the eligibility criteria for this program, please contact Christine McWillis, (250) 470-0640, [email protected] to obtain more information.

Core Operating Guidelines

This open-intake program is intended to provide funding for small scale arts and culture activations or projects for equity seeking communities that would otherwise not have access to supports. Recognizing existing inequities and barriers, this program welcomes applications from, and prioritizes support to historically and systemically marginalized communities. In addition, a specialized intake process has been designed to assist applicants in the grant application processes and reporting requirements where challenges such as language, accessibility, time, technology, or professional experience may hinder the group's ability to effectively navigate application complexities. Our goal is to ensure that all potential grantees receive the support they need to submit strong applications and fulfill reporting obligations successfully.

Examples:

• Events or performances celebrating culture;
• Cultural celebrations such as Powwows, Vaisakhi, Lunar New Year, etc.;
• Events related to public awareness campaigns with a cultural or artistic component. For example, Red Dress Day, Transgender Day of Visibility, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Drum Circles;
• Innovative initiatives with a cultural or artistic component such as: Visual art exhibitions, literary works, zine workshops, spoken word, storytelling, reading circles, etc.

Alternate submission methods are accepted for the Advancing Equity Micro Grant.

Accepted submission formats include:

• Interview conducted in person, phone or through video call
• Pre-recorded video submission
• Written in the applicant's language of preference
• In a form proposed by the applicant and accepted by the City of Kelowna that reduces the barriers of the application process for the applicant.

Contact City staff for more information or to arrange an alternate submission method;

Joanne Taylor
Cultural Advisor, City of Kelowna
[email protected]
(250) 317-4264

Advancing Equity guidelines  sample application

In 2025, the Project grant program received 21 applications requesting a total of $165,050 in funding; 19 of these applications were successful and $115,650 in funding was awarded. The Project grant recipients are listed in alphabetical order below: