The BC Arts Council is now using an online Grant Management System. Before registering, please read through following.

Using the online system is a three-step process. By following these steps, you’ll be able to:

  • create a profile;
  • submit grant applications; and
  • receive email notifications about application results.

Step 1: register to create an online profile. We encourage all applicants to register well before an application deadline (registration requests can take up to five business days to approve).

Step 2: choose a “funding opportunity” and submit an application before the deadline date.

Step 3: receive notification of funding results after the adjudication process is complete.

Frequently Asked Questions

Registering to Create an Online Profile

Q. I am registering an organization in the system. What should I know? 

When you register an organization in the system, two profiles are created: an organization profile and an organizational contact profile. Each profile is approved by BCAC staff separately.

The organization profile contains information about the organization, such as its mailing address, as well as its application history and, if uploaded, its staff list, board list, and most recently completed financial statements.  No one can log in as the organization itself. Only organizational contacts or individuals with an approved association to the organization can access the organizational profile, but first they must log in using the email they entered during registration.

The organizational contact profile allows you to log in and access one organization profile. The email that you enter in the “Contact” section becomes your unique identifier as an organization contact. This is the email you will use to log in to the system.

You will need to complete the Designated Priority Group Questionnaire and Equity Data Tool before you apply for a grant. See the Applying for Funding section of the FAQ page for more information.

Important Note: Individual artists who wish to apply for individual grants should NOT use their personal email address to register a new organization. Instead, use a different email address for the work you are doing on behalf of an organization as this email will only be able to access grant applications for that one organization.

 

Q. I’m an artist or arts professional and I only want to apply for grants for individuals. How do I register in the system?

To apply for grants for individuals, register as an individual on the registration page.

You will need to complete the Designated Priority Group Questionnaire and Voluntary Self-Identification before you apply for a grant. See the Applying for Funding section of the FAQ page for more information.

 

Q. I’m an artist or arts professional and I want to apply for grants for individuals as well as apply on behalf of an organization that I’m connected with. How do I register in the system?

You have two options:

Option #1: If you want to have a single login with all correspondence sent to one email address, then register as an individual with that email address. Once approved, select “Add Role” in the dashboard of the individual profile, search for the organization, and request an association to that organization. Once approved, you can switch between your roles as an “Individual” and any organization(s) that you have an approved association with.

Option #2: If you want to have separate logins for your individual and organization roles, and have correspondence sent to different emails specific to that role, you need to register each email address separately. Register with a personal email as an individual, and register as an organizational contact with a different email.

When registering as an organizational contact, you will be prompted to select an organization to connect with. This organizational contact profile can only be connected to a single organization. If you choose this option and want to apply on behalf of multiple organizations, you will need a separate email for each organizational contact profile you create.

 

Q. I’m a professional grant writer who applies for grants on behalf of multiple organizations on a contract basis. How should I register?

You have two options:

Option #1: If you want to have a single login with all correspondence sent to one email address, then register as an individual. Once approved, select “Add Role”, search for the organization, and request an association to that organization. Once approved, you can switch between your different organizational roles.

This is the recommended option for professional grant writers who work on a contract basis (as opposed to permanent employees of an organization).

Option #2: If you want to have separate logins for different organization roles, with correspondence for each respective organization sent to separate email addresses, then register as an organizational contact with a different email for each organization. When registering as an organizational contact, you will be prompted to select an organization to connect with. This organizational contact profile can only be connected to a single organization.

 

Q. What type of organization should I choose when registering?

There are four types of organizations on the registration page. Register as the type of organization that best matches your organization’s legal structure and organizational mandate.

1.     Arts and cultural organizations include:

  • Non-profit organizations with a dedicated arts or cultural mandate,
  • Book publishing companies, and
  • Organizations with a dedicated arts or cultural mandate embedded without local governments or post-secondary institutions.

2.     Arts or curatorial collectives include:

  • Unincorporated groups or ensembles of three or more professional artists or cultural practitioners that have the creation and/or presentation of artistic and curatorial projects as their primary activity.

3.     First Nations band councils and Indigenous community organizations include:

  • First Nations band councils,
  • Indigenous Friendship Centres, and
  • Other community organizations including First Nations, Métis, or Inuit groups that offer arts and cultural programming, but do not have a dedicated arts and culture mandate.

4.     Non-profit community service organizations include:

  • Non-profit organizations that do not have a dedicated arts and culture mandate.

 

Q. I’m registering a non-profit organization that focuses on Indigenous Arts and has an arts and culture mandate. What organization type do I choose?

Register as an “Arts and Cultural Organization”.

 

Q. I’m registering an Indigenous/Aboriginal Friendship Centre. What organization type do I choose?

Register as “First Nations Band Council and Indigenous Community Organization”.

 

Q. I’m registering a non-profit organization that has some arts and cultural programming but does not have a mandate dedicated to arts and culture. What organization type do I choose?

Register as “Non-profit Community Service Organization”.

 

Q. What is involved in the approval process for new registrants?

For organizations, BCAC staff will check to ensure the organization is not already registered in the system and that all the appropriate information is provided. If so, the organization will be approved and a notification will be sent to email provided. This process may take up to four business days.

For individuals, BCAC staff will check to ensure the individual is not already registered in the system and that all the appropriate information is provided. If so, the individual registration will be approved and a notification will be sent to email provided. This process may take up to four business days.

For organization contacts, BCAC staff will send an email to all existing contacts and associations connected to that organization: this will notify them of a new request to the organization. Once written approval has been sent via email to BCAC staff from a contact or association currently connected to the organization, the request is approved and a notification will be sent to email provided.

For individuals requesting an association with an organization in the system, BCAC staff will send an email to all contacts and associations connected to that organization; this will notify them of a new request to the organization. Once written approval has been received from a contact or association currently connected to the organization, the request is approved and a notification will be sent to email provided.

 

Q. What is the difference between an organization contact and an association?

Once approved, both individual profiles with an association to an organization and organization contact profiles can access an organization profile. Both can submit funding applications on behalf of an organization.

An organization contact:

  • Registers as an organization contact,
  • Needs to include only name, email, and phone number to register,
  • Cannot access individual funding opportunities, and
  • Can access only one organization profile.

An association:

  • Registers as an individual,
  • Needs to include name, email, phone number, mailing address, and social insurance number to register,
  • Can access individual funding opportunities, and
  • Can access multiple organization profiles (once approved) through the “Add Role” function.

 

Q. When I add a name and email to the Administrative Leadership, Governance Leadership, or Artistic Leadership sections of the registration form for organizations, am I creating a organization contact profile for those entries?

No. Adding names and email to this section does not create a profile for them. The purpose of this section is so that any notifications related to applications for an organization are also sent to the leadership of that organization. The governance field is mandatory so that at least one member of your board of directors receives direct notification about applications submitted on behalf of the organization. You can think of these sections as adding cc- recipients for all application notifications.

If the individuals entered in these sections also require access to the organization profile, they will need to register as an organization contact or create an association as an individual. They can use the same email that was entered in the Administrative/Governance/Artistic Leadership sections, or a different email.

 

Q. Where is my application history?

Past applications with BCAC are not migrated to the new system. These records still exist and can be accessed by BCAC staff.

Any applications made through the BCAC Online Grant Application System can be accessed by:

1.     On the dashboard, select “Personal Profile” and in the left menu, select “Grants” to see applications for funding opportunities made by you as an Individual, or

2.     Select “Organization Profile” and, in the left menu, select “Grants” to see applications for funding opportunities made by any contact or association connected with that organization.

 

Q. Do I have to fill out the information in the Voluntary Identification section?

No, this is an optional section, but you must check the “Verification” field that specifies “I understand that the following questions are optional and will be used as described above.”  You do not need to complete any of the fields after that.

However, BCAC encourages you to fill in this section. The information will not be used to assess applications. It will be very helpful in assisting us to measure the impact of and identify gaps in funding, conduct internal research and evaluation, improve programs, conduct outreach activities, and develop equity policies. If the information is accessed for any reporting purposes, it will be shown as aggregate percentages in which your responses will be combined with the responses of others so that your information cannot be identified.

 

Applying for Funding

Q. How do I switch between roles of individual profile and organization(s) profile?

You can move between your various roles by selecting the role type listed under the building icon ( ) at the top right of your screen.

Remember to choose the role you want to use when making an application. When you have selected the role “Individual”, you will only see grants for individuals in “Funding Opportunities” on your dashboard. When you have selected the role of an organization, you will only see grants for organizations in “Funding Opportunities”.

The menu title of this list says “ORGANIZATIONS”, but it includes both organization profiles and an individual profile if you registered as an individual.

 

Q. Do I have to complete the entire application in one session?

No, you do not have to complete the application in one session. Ensure you click “Save Draft” before you log out.

 

Q. Will the system automatically close my session after a period of inactivity?

The system will time out automatically after 120 minutes of inactivity. Click “Save Draft” frequently while you work to ensure you don’t lose information. There is no autosave function.

 

Q. Which fields are mandatory and which fields are optional?

Fields with an * (asterix) are mandatory and need to be completed for an application to move forward.

The system will prevent you from submitting an application if you haven’t completed the mandatory fields or if you have not uploaded all required support material.

Any outstanding fields will be indicated as warnings when you try to submit. You can click on the listed link which will take you directly to that field.

 

Q. How do I import formatted text into my application?

You cannot. Text fields are automatically formatted as plain text. You can copy and paste from other documents. Bullets will copy over, but bold, italics and underline formatting will be lost, and the text will be converted to plain text.

 

Q. What are the word limits for the text fields?

Some text fields have word limits. As you type into the field, you will see the word count change at the bottom left corner of the field. Once you reach the limit, you will not be able to enter any more words. If you paste text from another document, you will need to edit your submission to fit within the limit.

 

Q. What format do I use to enter numeric values, including dollar amounts?

Some fields require numeric inputs, particularly in the budget portions of the submission. Please enter just the number values and do not include any symbols ($, #, %, commas).  Any cents amounts will be rounded to the nearest dollar.

 

Q. What is the maximum file size for uploading documents or supporting materials?

The maximum file size for each file is limited to 2 GB. Should you need to submit larger files, ask your program offer about alternate methods of submission.

 

Q. Why won’t my uploads work?

Either the file size is too large (over 2 GB), or you are using an unsupported browser. All of the most recent updates of the main browser types are supported (Explorer, Safari, Chrome, Firefox); however, older versions may not work. This has been noted particularly for users with older versions of Safari.

The solution is to update your browser to the most recent version. Or, if necessary, you could try uploading from a different browser type.

 

Q. When is the latest possible time that I can submit an application on the deadline date?

Applications must be submitted by no later than 11:59 pm PST on the deadline date.

 

Q. What happens once I submit an application?

Once you click “Submit”, the application will move from the category called “Draft Applications” to “Submitted Applications” on your dashboard.

You will also receive an email confirmation and PDF summary of your application which will include the assignment of a file number.

Once your application is submitted it cannot be changed.

 

Q. How can access support in filling out an application?

If you have questions about a specific program, contact the program advisor connected to that program. You can find a list of all the program officers in the staff directory. You can also look up which program advisors are responsible for specific programs by choosing an individual program page from the list of funding programs.

 

After You Apply

Q. How will I know the outcome of my application for funding?

Once the adjudication process has been completed, your application will move from “Submitted Application” to “Approved/Declined Application”. You will also be notified by email of the results.

 

Q. How can I check the status of my application?

On the dashboard, select “Personal Profile” and in the left menu, select “Grants” to see applications for funding opportunities made by you as an Individual, or

Select “Organization Profile” and, in the left menu, select “Grants” to see applications for funding opportunities made by any contact or association connected with that organization.