Grants-in-Aid

Annually, City Council awards a limited amount of funds to recipients doing work in the community that either benefit the residents of the City or brings favourable publicity to the City, thereby raising civic pride and awareness.

Application Submission Information

  • Applications for 2024 are now open.  See bottom of this page for links to the online applications.
  • The submission deadline is February 1, 2024. Applicants can be expected to be notified in April of 2024.

General Community Grants-in-Aid Eligibility Criteria

  • All grant recipients must submit a report to the Director of Financial Services disclosing the use of the grant funds on or before December 31. Recipients who do not submit a report will be ineligible to apply for a grant in the subsequent year.
  • The grant must be used to contribute to the general interest and advantage of the City of White Rock.
  • Grants shall not be approved where the stated or likely purpose is to pay for past deficits or debts incurred by the organization.
  • An individual requesting a grant must be a White Rock resident or must be representing White Rock in a provincial, federal, or international event. Notwithstanding, exceptions can be made if the applicant has a current affiliation with the City or has made a significant contribution to the City in the past.
  • Membership in the group, team, or society applying for the grant should be at least 25% from White Rock. Notwithstanding if, in the opinion of the Committee, the group will bring some substantial benefit to the community, then approval may be granted.
  • A sports team or club will only be considered for a grant if they are regional or provincial champions are identified with White Rock, and are participating in national, Western Canadian, or international competition.

New or Expanded Arts & Culture Grants-in-Aid

The City offers supplementary funding to support and develop new or expanded arts and culture events.

  • The Arts and Culture Project Grant provides funding to eligible organizations that initiate a new arts festival, celebration, or event in the community.
  • The intent of the grant is to provide seed money to support local artists, arts and culture organizations and to promote the spirit of celebration in White Rock.

Criteria for Applying Organizations

The following criteria are for organizations applying for the new arts and cultural event grant.

  • All grant recipients must submit a report to the Director of Financial Services disclosing the use of the grant funds on or before December 31. Recipients who do not submit a report will be ineligible to apply for a grant in the subsequent year.
  • Applicants from organizations that have received an Arts and Culture Event Grants-in-Aid previously must demonstrate that the current project is different from the activity which received the previous Grants-in-Aid.
  • Applicants may not apply for a General Grants-in-Aid and an Arts and Culture Event Grants-in-Aid for the same project.
  • Applicants must be an arts and cultural organization registered and in good standing as a non-profit society in the province of British Columbia.
  • The event must occur in the City of White Rock.
  • The event must showcase local area artists, be inclusive, accessible and welcoming to the public.
  • Preference will be given to new events that address gaps in the existing event calendar and have the potential to become major arts and culture events. A new event is defined as an event that has not previously existed and is occurring for the first time. An event that is part of an ongoing series or part of the core programming of an organization is not considered new.
  • Organizations that receive other funding from the City, for example a permissive tax exemption, or operating funding, may be given lower priority than those organizations that do not already receive funding from the City.

You may review the complete policy (PDF).

To Submit Your Application

Fill out and submit the appropriate form(s):

For more information contact us at finance@whiterockcity.ca or 604-541-2100.

Please note that the deadline for the annual review of applications is February 1st.  Late applications will be accepted until June 1st. Applications received after June 1st, may be considered outside of the above noted timelines, only if they are of an emergent nature (new circumstances that did not exist prior).  Please contact us if you wish to apply after the June 1 deadline.