Application process opens January 6, 2025!
Starting with the 2025 grant year, the City of Penticton will collaborate with the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan Similkameen to administer their municipal grants program. This partnership aims to streamline the application process, improve efficiency, and ensure strategic allocation of resources.
Annual municipal grant funds will be allocated annually to the Community Foundation based on City Council’s priorities and will focus on areas such as Arts, Culture & Heritage, Health, Safety & Social Services, Parks, Recreation & Sports, and Community Events. Evaluation of grants will remain focused on providing community value, aligning with City priorities, and meeting the needs of the service or event.
Frequently Asked Questions
My organization has an existing agreement with the City that provides funding for our event/project/program. How will this relationship be impacted by the change?
The City will continue to provide ongoing funding to groups that they have previous agreements with. In addition, the City may choose to provide additional ongoing funding to new groups in a given year. These groups will work directly with the City rather than the Community Foundation.
We see that the timing of the City grant cycle has shifted this year. Is this permanent?
The timing will only shift for this year. Applications will be received in January 2025 with funding made available to recipients by March. The 2026 application window will open in Fall 2025 as part of the CFSOS regular grant cycle. This will become the standard timeframe moving forward.
Will the change impact our plans to also seek funding through the Community Foundation’s grant programs?
Yes and no. The main difference is that you will only submit one application to the Community Foundation. In the past you may have planned to ask the City for $10,000 and the Foundation for $5,000. Going forward you would ask the Foundation for $15,000. Note that you are not going to ask for $15,000 specifically from City grant funding… just $15,000 for your project. The Foundation will then make a grant from its pool of available funds in the most efficient way possible.
Will the City grant application process be different with the Community Foundation administering the program? (portal, form, etc.)
The City and the Foundation use the same software platform for grant administration, so the Foundation’s portal will feel familiar. However, there will be some minor differences between the application forms that we’re confident you will find easy to navigate.
My organization requests in-kind support from the City. How will these requests be handled?
Requests for in-kind support will now be included as part of your overall financial request to the Community Foundation. The process will look like this:
- Applicants will verify the costs of in-kind requests through the City.
- They will add the amount required to pay for those requests to their application budget.
- If successful, the applicant will pay the City directly for the in-kind support using the funds granted for that purpose.
When can we expect access to the application form for 2025 City grants?
The application form will be available on the Community Foundation’s grant portal starting Monday, January 6, 2025. Applications will be accepted until January 31, 2025 at 5 p.m.
Will I have to create a new user account in the Community Foundation’s grant system?
If you have applied for a grant from the Community Foundation before, you will be able to use that user account to access our grant system. If you are new to the Community Foundation’s grant software, you will have to create a new profile.
To do so, simply visit the system landing page, click on “Create New Account” link, and follow the instructions. If you run into trouble, contact grants@cfso.net for help.
I have further questions. Who can I contact?
Please send an e-mail to grants@cfso.net. One of our team members at the Community Foundation will be happy to help.
