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FUNDING AND RESOURCES

Funding, Resources, and Opportunities

Nation Building Grant

Ends December 5, 2025 (or when funds are exhausted). This program provides multi-year funding to BC First Nations and Tribal Councils, supporting self-determined priorities that enhance governance structures, institutional capacity, and community resilience, advancing self-determination and sovereignty. 1-year grant of up to $60,000, or 2-year grant of up to $120,000. One project per Nation or Tribal Council per year (including organizations under the Nation or Tribal Council authority).

First Nations Guardians and Stewardship Training Initiative

Opens July 2025. This program offers 3 funding streams to acknowledge and respect that First Nations have varying levels of structures, capacity, experience and pathways to supporting their Guardians program within their own context and vision. Stream 1: Planning and Capacity for New and Emerging Guardians Programs (up to $50,000). Stream 2: Individual First Nation Community Training for Emerging and Established Guardians and Stewardship Program within one community (Up to $150,000). Stream 3: Regional First Nation Community Training for Emerging and Established Guardians and Stewardship Program for multiple communities (Up to $300,000).

First People Cultural Council - Language Program Grants

Closes August 6, 2025. Funding is now available for 2025-26 up to 2027-28 to support community-based projects that revitalize First Nations languages in B.C. This funding supports eligible organizations to implement projects that create fluent speakers, document the languages, and/or develop strategic language revitalization plans.

Language Program Options for September 2025 Start:

  • Rise Funding (up to $25,000): funding is offered for a single year. This funding is suitable for smaller teams that are just getting started on their language revitalization journey and have just one or two project areas, or for teams that have limited capacity to take on larger projects. 

  • Roots Funding (up to $60,000 for Year 1, and up to $120,000 for Year 2): Roots funding is offered for up to two years with the potential for continuation for a third year and can include multiple strategies. This funding is suitable for smaller teams that have experience working on language revitalization and are starting to expand into new areas. 

  • Grow Funding (up to $100,000 for Year 1, and up to $200,000 for Year 2): Grow funding is offered for up to two years with the potential for continuation for a third year and can include multiple strategies. This funding is suitable for groups that have begun or are about to begin the process of developing a strategic language plan with their community. 

  • Flourish Funding (up to $150,000 for Year 1, and up to $300,000 for Years 2 and 3): Flourish funding is offered for three years and includes a minimum of three strategies. This funding is suitable for well-established teams that have a language plan in place and are actively implementing multiple language revitalization strategies across domains in the community.   

The Day Scholars Revitalization Fund

The Residential School Day Scholars Class Action Settlement is for Day Scholars who attended an Indian Residential School but did not sleep there at night between the years of 1920-1974 (depending on the school). The fund will grant up to $10,000 to Indigenous Individuals who aim to revitalize their languages and cultures; to promote their heritage and commemoration; to promote their healing and wellness journeys and education and training goals. There are [up to] three granting announcements each year.

RBC Foundation Funding - RBC Emerging Artists

Applications accepted year-round. Support initiatives that help emerging artists by bridging the gap from academic to professional career.

Legacy Fund- Building Communities through Arts and Heritage (Federal Government)

 Applications accepted on continuous basis. This Department of Canadian Heritage Program provides funding for community-initiated capital projects, intended for community use. Recipients may receive up to 50 per cent of eligible project expenses up to a maximum of $500,000. unding supports community-initiated capital projects that: commemorate a significant local historical event or pay tribute to a significant local historical personality; mark a 100th anniversary or greater, in increments of 25 years (e.g., 125th, 150th); involve the restoration, renovation, or transformation of existing buildings or exterior spaces with local community significance that are intended for community use; encourage arts and heritage activities in the local community that are intended for and accessible to the general public.

Canada Cultural Spaces Fund (Federal Government)

No Deadline. The Canada Cultural Spaces Fund (CCSF) supports the improvement of physical conditions for arts, heritage, culture and creative innovation. The Fund supports renovation and construction projects, the acquisition of specialized equipment and feasibility studies related to cultural spaces. The CCSF annual grants and contributions budget is $54 million for the period 2018-2028.

National Creation Fund

No Deadline. The National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund invests up to $3 million a year in the development of 15 to 20 compelling and ambitious new Canadian works in theatre, dance, music and inter-disciplinary performing arts. Fuelled entirely by donors, the Fund provides Canadian artists with the additional time, space and resources they need to create great work. The Fund invests in both new work, and in promising productions that need additional development after their initial run to produce stronger, more polished work that will be remounted and toured across Canada and around the world.

Movable Cultural Property Grants (Federal Government)

No Deadline. Movable Cultural Property Grants help designated organizations acquire cultural property of outstanding significance and national importance to Canada, as outlined in the Cultural Property Export and Import Act. Designated organizations are located in Canada and demonstrate the ability to ensure the long-term preservation of cultural property. Grants can be used to purchase cultural property: for which an export permit has been denied; or that is important to Canada’s national heritage and available for purchase outside the country.

The Going Home Fund

This fund facilitates the return or long-term loan of culturally significant materials to Indigenous cultural entities worldwide. The application form is for use by Indigenous communities seeking support. Eligible expenses include insurance, packaging, shipping, and other costs associated with the return. You may request funding for the return of multiple items from the same institution. The Going Home Fund Advisory Council meets on or around the 15th day of each month to review requests and make awards.

Innovation Projects that Support Indigenous Languages

Each fiscal year, the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages will invest in a limited number of innovation projects, subject to available budget. These projects will create something new in the Indigenous languages space, and/or significantly improve upon initiatives that already exist, in order to effect real change. As stated in the Commission’s mandate, these innovative projects must be specific to Indigenous languages education and revitalization. There are no deadlines for submission, and the Commission invites project submissions on an ongoing basis. Please note that, as outlined in the Indigenous Languages Act, the Commission is not a funding agency, and is not able to fund Indigenous language programming nor the infrastructure, or capital/operational costs of running an Indigenous language program.

Local Leadership for Climate Adaptation (LLCA)

Program Category: Climate Adaptation, Built Environment, Climate Mitigation, Community Infrastructure

Program Sub-Category: Energy Efficiency (Housing / Buildings), Food Security, Risk Assessments, Environmental Stewardship, Monitoring, Innovation, Emergency Mitigation / Preparedness / Planning, Natural Asset Inventories and Management

Implementation project funding is available in two calls: call #1 July 8 - August 19, 2025; call #2 August 20 - October 9, 2025.

Climate Health Action Program (CHAP)

Supports First Nations communities in reducing climate change impacts on health. Through this program, communities can strengthen their climate health resilience by working together to improve the environmental, social, cultural and economic factors that affect their health and wellness. ICHAP funds climate action projects that are community driven and focus on health and wellness outcomes. Projects can focus on climate health in general or on developing a strategy or action plan to reduce climate change impacts on community health. 

Partners in Indigenous Energy Efficiency & Resilience (PIEER)

The Partners in Indigenous Energy Efficiency & Resilience (PIEER) program offers support to Indigenous governing bodies (IGBs) that are coordinating home energy upgrades in multiple homes for their community members. The program includes incentive funding for a comprehensive suite of energy efficiency retrofit measures as well as funding for enabling measures to increase the value and reach of the incentive funding. 

Capital and Innovation - Island Coastal Economic Trust (icet)

Continuous Funding Intake. Regional and community-based infrastructure that supports sustainable economic diversification and growth that strengthens wellbeing in coastal communities. Through the Capital and Innovation Program, we can invest up to $200,000 into public and community-owned capital projects and knowledge infrastructure.

Investment Readiness - Island Coastal Economic Trust (icet)

Continuous Funding Intake. Investment Readiness Program, we invest up to $30,000 across four funding streams: project development, sector development, economic development strategies, and regional collaboration.

Urban Communities Partnering for Reconciliation

Funding permitting, eligible applicants may submit one application between September 1, 2024 and August 31, 2025. This program was created as a multipartner, community-driven approach focused on improving the socio-economic outcomes for urban Indigenous communities in BC, including Inuit, First Nations and Métis populations. Funding is available to support eligible Indigenous organizations and local governments to work together to create opportunities for in-person dialogue and relationship building which can help advance collaborative reconciliation plans, protocols, agreements or future projects.

RBC Community Investment Funding Opportunities

Community Investment Priorities to drive more equitable opportunities for prosperity, we intend to support projects that:

Create stability by addressing food security, housing stability, and access to health service. For example, ideas that:

  •  Improve access to healthy and affordable food for the long-term to alleviate pressure on short-term emergency supports

  • Improve access to housing situations that are safe, secure, and/or affordable

  • Enable more equitable health outcomes by removing barriers to relevant health supports and services

Clean Energy in Indigenous, Rural, and Remote Communities

An additional $300 million is available until 2027 for your clean energy projects. These projects can help advance Indigenous-led climate action, support local economic development and create skilled jobs while reducing pollution and improving air quality.

There is no deadline to apply. Applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis.

Indigenous Youth Internship Program

The Indigenous Youth Internship Program (IYIP) provides a 1-year paid internship for up to 25 young Indigenous British Columbians, ages 19 to 29. The program encourages Indigenous youth to consider the BC Public Service and First Nations / Indigenous organizations as a place to pursue a rewarding career. The program helps to support Indigenous youth to develop their leadership skills through work placements. Interns are initially placed with a BC Government ministry for the first 9 months. Following that, the intern is placed with an Indigenous organization for three months (salary still paid by BC Government). For more information on the program, including applying as a Intern or as a First Nation tohost an Intern, visit Indigenous Youth Internship Program - Province of British Columbia.

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