The Fund invests in projects conserving priority land and freshwater areas in BC.
(Now accepting Expressions of Interest for Stream 1 - deadline for the next intake is February 5, 2025).
The Conservation Fund plans to have three funding streams:
Stream 1: Area-Based Conservation Initiatives
Stream 2: Innovation
Stream 3: Education and Working Together
Focus is on projects that have unique expertise and/or innovative ideas to improve our collective, provincial-scale understanding of and access to biological and ecological data, methods, and tools. Projects will inform needs, pressures and priority areas for conservation to address biodiversity loss and climate change with urgency. This project is distinct from the other phases in that it does not focus on a specific preferred area but instead focuses on the entire province to improve our overall understanding of BC's biodiversity.
Focus is on projects that are building a community vision, mandate, capacity and partnerships to conserve areas, and who are not yet in formal government to government planning discussions with the province.
Focus is on funding projects that have secured an internal mandate, capacity and partnerships to advance conservation, and that are ready or have entered into government-to-government planning or other conservation agreements.
Focus is on funding projects in areas that have recently been designated for conservation, and that are ready to be stewarded and restored (where required) over the long-term. This phase includes sustainable economic opportunities that are in line with conservation.
Grant applicants must be a qualified donee. As such, grants will be open to any non-profit organization or community contribution company (C3) working on conservation or land/water use issues in BC. For BC Conservation Fund purposes, qualified donees may include:
If you are not a qualified donee and interested in applying for a Phase 1-3 grant, particularly a First Nation applicant, please contact us for assistance at info@bcconservationfund.ca.
If you are not a qualified donee and interested in applying for a Biodiverse Area Identification grant, we encourage you to partner with a qualified donee, which includes post-secondary institutions.
We encourage and will prioritize applications from First Nations or delegated organizations in phases 1-3. Non-Indigenous organizations can apply where First Nation support is demonstrated (i.e. through a letter or other form of support from the Nation), or in the case of a Biodiverse Area Identification project. We will not accept applications from individuals or for-profit companies in this stream.
Before being invited to complete a full funding application for review, an expression of interest must be completed and reviewed by the BC Conservation Fund. This will help applicants avoid spending unnecessary time on applications. The Fund will advise EoI applicants if they are welcome to submit a full application. Please visit the 'Apply' page to continue.
Full application templates will be available in the fall. We welcome the opportunity to work with proponents who are invited to complete their applications.
Stream 1 Expressions of Interest will be accepted on a rolling basis, with the first review in the fall, 2024.
Investments will be awarded for a wide range of projects and therefore the amount of funding given will vary depending on the funding stream (and phase), the type of work/activities, the project location and size, and the number of partners and funders involved.
We anticipate that for the identification of provincial-scale biodiversity needs and priority areas and smaller, more community-based initiatives, grants will tend to range up to $100K, while more complex, multi-year projects and initiatives will likely range up to $250K. Larger investments will be considered for projects based on the magnitude of the impact or contribution to the Fund goals, objectives and desired outcomes.
Projects will be reviewed by an independent committee using consistent criteria.
All projects will be asked to meet accountability requirements and provide regular reporting on outcomes.
