Deadline: 22-Oct-2025
The Vancouver Heritage Foundation has launched Heritage Conservation Grants Program to increase opportunities and funding for conservation of heritage buildings and sites in the city of Vancouver.
The Heritage Conservation Grants Program provides funding opportunities through two categories of heritage conservation grants: Planning Project Grants and Conservation Project Grants. The grants can support owners or stewards in the care of their historic site with financial assistance and professional guidance, helping to achieve a high standard of heritage conservation to sustain heritage places and the many benefits they offer for communities.
Planning Project Grants will provide heritage site owners and stewards an opportunity to work with a Heritage Consultant. Planning projects can take the form of research and/or required documentation for nominating a building, structure, or site to the City of Vancouver’s Heritage Register. They can also support the creation of long-term informed conservation reports that map out a prioritized schedule for maintenance, repairs, restoration, or rehabilitation of the site. Conservation Project Grants provide the next step in supporting a heritage site’s conservation for the long term and focus on the maintenance, repair, restoration and rehabilitation of a site’s exterior fabric and character-defining elements that embody its heritage values.
The program is open to private owners, including individuals and strata corporations, as well as registered non-profit societies, federally registered charities, authorized agents with written permissions from site owners, and First Nations. Eligible properties must be located within the City of Vancouver and either listed on the Vancouver Heritage Register, in the process of being added, applying for assistance to support documentation for nomination, or recognized as a site of Indigenous cultural significance. Buildings, stand-alone structures, and other historic resources such as landscape features, historic signs, and built features may qualify.
Planning Project Grants support consultation with approved Heritage Professionals for the development of heritage assessments, statements of significance, conservation plans, and maintenance plans. These projects may cover research such as archival images, fire insurance maps, property ownership history, and documentation of architectural elements. Projects preparing for nomination to the Vancouver Heritage Register may receive up to 100% of project costs to eliminate financial barriers.
Conservation Project Grants assist with the repair, restoration, rehabilitation, and sustainable retrofitting of heritage sites. Eligible work includes conservation of exterior character-defining elements, restoration projects such as historically authentic paint schemes or porch restoration, and rehabilitation measures like seismic strengthening, roofing, foundation repair, and accessibility improvements directly tied to conservation. Sustainable retrofits, such as storm window installation to preserve historic windows, are also supported. Materials, labour, and professional fees are covered, though GST and permit fees are excluded.
Work that is not eligible includes interior elements without heritage designation, feasibility studies, permit fees, emergency stabilization not pre-approved, archaeological work, projects tied to larger commercial developments, routine maintenance, inappropriate material replacement, hazardous material remediation unless part of a larger project, and work that began before grant approval. Projects outside the approved scope or lacking owner permissions are also ineligible.
The funding structure provides matching grants of up to 50% of eligible costs, typically ranging from 25% to 50%. Planning Project Grants provide up to $2,000 for private ownership and $3,000 for non-profit or First Nations ownership, with equal amounts for heritage-designated properties. Conservation Project Grants provide up to $7,500 for private ownership, $10,000 for private heritage-designated properties, $10,000 for non-profit or First Nations ownership, and $25,000 for heritage-designated sites owned by non-profits or First Nations. Over a five-year period, the maximum support available per site is $20,000 for private ownership, $25,000 for heritage-designated private properties, $30,000 for non-profits or First Nations, and $70,000 for heritage-designated non-profits or First Nations.
Evaluation criteria include adherence to the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada, the project’s ability to be completed by September 30, 2026, demonstrated commitment to conservation through high-quality maintenance or repair plans, urgency of conservation needs, visibility and public benefit of the project, and the acceptance of historically authentic paint schemes where painting projects are proposed. The deadline for application is 22 October 2025.
For more information, visit Vancouver Heritage Foundation.
