2025 Cultural Grants: Project & Cultural Celebrations

Project grants encourage partnerships and collaborations that result in cultural programs and initiatives.

Cultural celebration grants support initiatives to provide audiences with an original artistic experience as part of a larger event.

Application deadline is 11:59 pm on October 3, 2024

Project and Cultural Celebrations grants have different criteria and funding levels. Review the grant categories and guidelines at Cultural Grants to determine which one best fits your initiative.

To avoid losing your work, we encourage you to review this application, answer the questions in a separate word document and to copy and paste into this form when you are ready to submit it.

The application is a two-step process.

The following information is required for your application to be considered complete:

Step 1

Complete the online form below.

Step 2

In addition to the application on this page, you will also need to send the following documents as PDF files to: CulturalGrants@Surrey.ca.   

  1. Names, address, and board positions of Board members  
  2. Completed budget using the Cultural Grants Budget Template  
    Include an itemized list of grants identified by funder (either confirmed or pending) 
  3. Financial statements for your most recently completed fiscal year. 
    • If your organization has independently prepared financial statements, please submit the entire package including notes and a breakdown of operating net assets, showing unrestricted net vs capital assets (required for Operating Grants)
      OR
    • If your organization is too small for independently prepared financial statements (ie. prepared by an accounting firm), you may submit internally-created financial statements (Project and Cultural Celebration applications only). These should include a balance sheet, income statement, and notes if applicable.   
  4. Optional: up to 3 letters of support  
  5. Optional: Other relevant support documents 

Naming conventions

Subject line: Organization Name – 2025 application 

Document name(s): OrganizationName_Document name  

We will not contact applicants to address errors or request missing application requirements.

 

Application

Please select which grant you are applying for.

Organization information

Cheques will be payable to this organization name
Cheques will be mailed to this address

Primary contact

Secondary contact

Organization contact

Social media

if applicable
Provide links to your social media channels. For example, https://www.facebook.com/TheCityofSurrey

if applicable
if applicable
if applicable
Please describe your organization’s mandate, mission, and core values. 
Provide a brief synopsis about your organization, include information about the communities you serve in Surrey.

Staff

Project/Event information

Event date(s)

Is the event a single-day event or does it span multiple days?
Is the event date confirmed or pending?
Is this a free or ticketed event?
Does this project/event relate to any past activities your organization has done?

Community impact

Investing in the arts strengthens the cultural sector that contributes to a vibrant city and a healthy, inclusive, tolerant, and diverse community.  

As outlined in the Surrey Parks, Recreation and Culture Strategic Plan 2018-2027, the City of Surrey has focuses on four strategic objectives: 

  1. Grow the capacity of local artists and arts organizations. 
  2. Promote learning and engagement with the arts. 
  3. Support and showcase art and performance. 
  4. Foster community connections through the arts.  

Cultural Grants funding aims to assist organizations that contribute to the City’s strategic priorities.  

How will your project benefit Surrey residents?

Select the area(s) where your project will benefit the residents of Surrey.
Select all that apply

Equity and access

Including but not limited to Indigenous peoples, people of colour, immigrants and refugees, low-income people, Deaf and hard-of-hearing people and people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people, youth, and seniors.

Volunteers

Surrey Civic Theatre (SCT) Rental Subsidy

A limited number of subsidies are available.

The Surrey Civic Theatre (SCT) Rental Subsidy offers up to $2,000 assistance to non-profit, professional arts and cultural organizations renting the Surrey Civic Theatres (Main Stage at Surrey Arts Centre, Studio Theatre at Surrey Arts Centre, or Centre Stage at City Hall). This funding opportunity will only consider those cultural organizations who apply for a City of Surrey Cultural Grant in the same year they are awarded the SCT Rental Subsidy. 

This funding opportunity will prioritize those cultural organizations: 

  1. Who received a City of Surrey Cultural Grant for the year in which they are applying for the SCT Rental Subsidy.
  2. Who have already booked or plan to book at Surrey Civic Theatres for their event, as indicated on the application form.
  3. Who have not rented the Surrey Civic Theatres stages (Main Stage at Surrey Arts Centre, Studio Theatre at Surrey Arts Centre, or Centre Stage at City Hall) for their events ever, or in the past three years.
  4. Whose organization or artists would benefit from the experience of renting a professional theatre, to develop their art practice, build their audience, and qualify for support to continue their artistic work (i.e., qualify to submit grant applications to other funders, and to be competitive in a peer jury environment).
  5. Whose event is primarily presenting artists.

Financial and budget information

Don’t forget to submit the 2024 Cultural Grants budget form.


Cultural Celebration Grants 

  • Registered not-for-profit organizations are eligible to apply for up to $3,000 not to exceed 50% of eligible costs.
  • Non-registered not-for-profit organizations are eligible to apply for up to $2,500 not to exceed 50% of eligible costs.  

Project Grants 

  • The grant award may contribute up to fifty percent (50%) of the project budget on a matching basis.  
  • Matching funds can be a combination of cash and in-kind contributions, with in-kind volunteer hours limited to thirty percent (30%) of the overall project budget. 
  • Organizations can apply for up to $10,000 annually for upcoming projects.  
This total must match the amount reported on the budget form.
This total must match the amount reported on the budget form.

Terms and conditions

We the undersigned understand and agree to the terms and conditions of the Cultural Grants Program. We certify that to the best of our knowledge, the information provided in this grant application is accurate and complete and is endorsed by the organization we represent. If our organization receives a grant from the City of Surrey, we agree to the following terms and conditions.

By applying to the Cultural Grants Program, we agree on behalf of our organization to the following terms and conditions should our organization receive a grant from the City of Surrey:
  1. If the grant funds are not used for the purposes as described in our application, or if there are any misrepresentations in our application, the full amount of the funding will be repaid to the City of Surrey forthwith.
  2. Grant recipients must acknowledge the support of the City of Surrey on all promotional materials related to this funding. Please email culturalgrants@surrey.ca to request a City of Surrey logo file.
  3. If there are any significant changes in the proposed season of activities from those described in the application, we will immediately notify City staff.
  4. We will keep proper books of account for all receipts and expenditures relating to our operations and will make these books available for inspection by the City or its auditors upon request.
  5. The activities may not be represented as City projects or programs, and the organization does not have authority to hold itself out as an agency of the City in any way, except to state that the City has granted financial assistance to us.
  6. Upon completion of the approved activities, we agree to submit a final report to the City in the form and manner set out by City staff.  

First and last name of the person who agrees to the terms and conditions, on behalf of the applicant organization.

Certification

I certify that to the best of my knowledge, the information provided in this grant application is accurate and complete and is endorsed by the organization I represent.

First and last name of the person who certifies, on behalf of the applicant organization.

The information on this application is collected in accordance with Section 26(c) and (e) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and will be used for the following purposes: determining suitability for and awarding of funding, tracking and distributing funding, program development and evaluation, and communication and outreach. Information collected through the application process will be disclosed to the members of the evaluation committee in order to adjudicate this application. In addition, the applicant organization’s name, location of the proposed activity, funded activity, and award amount may be made publicly available, by way of the Internet, should funding be awarded. For questions regarding the collection of personal information, please contact the Manager of Digital Communications | 13450 104 Avenue, Surrey, British Columbia, V3T 1V8 | 604-591-4011