Watershed planning grants
Grants up to CAD 50,000 for organizations planning early-stage watershed projects that advance climate resilience in British Columbia.
Ta możliwość jest obecnie dostępna po angielsku.
This entry covers Stream 1 of the Watershed Security Fund grants programme: project design, research and planning, initial partner conversations and preparation for future watershed work. Projects should make actionable progress on ecosystem health and climate resilience.
Funding can cover staff and labour, planning, design, coordination, communications, consultants, workshops, travel, Indigenous ceremony and cultural protocols, honoraria and cultural learning. Administration is eligible up to 10%. Matching funds are not required, and funding can be combined with other sources.
The CAD 50,000 cap covers the whole project, including multi-year work. Projects can last up to three years, with possible timeline extensions; funded work must start after approval. Payments are made in installments over the project, under a schedule agreed in the Grant Agreement. WSF may make small budget adjustments when recommending awards, intended to have minimal impact on the work; applicants do not need to resubmit a budget.
Expect a project update typically once a year, with interim and final reporting depending on project duration. Reporting dates are agreed in the Grant Agreement. Successful applicants also report on their commitments to Indigenous rights and reconciliation after work is underway or completed.
Eligibility
- Eligible applicants include First Nations governments and Tribal Councils, registered nonprofits, educational institutions, C3 social enterprises, and local or regional governments. Canada Revenue Agency charity or qualified-donee status is not required.
- Your project must be based in British Columbia and focus on land or freshwater systems. Some work crossing the provincial border may qualify if a significant portion is based in British Columbia. Marine-focused projects are excluded; projects mentioning estuaries must demonstrate a freshwater connection.
- Stream 1 accepts organizations at any point in their relationship with First Nations, including those beginning to build that understanding, for early-stage projects. Non-First Nations organizations should demonstrate meaningful engagement with the Nations whose territories are involved, including overlapping territories, and explain how they approach collaboration and responsibilities under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Stream 1 allows initial actionable steps to learn and develop relationships.
- Explain your approach to free, prior and informed consent: how you work towards or obtain First Nations consent for projects affecting their lands, territories and resources. First Nations working in their own territory are distinguished in the assessment question. If you claim a First Nations partnership, provide evidence such as emails, a memorandum of understanding or shared project work; a formal support letter is optional.
- Classify your organization’s current relationship with First Nations using The Circle on Philanthropy’s I4DM matrix, rather than future aspirations. It considers who leads and makes decisions, how programmes are delivered, cultural values and protocols, accountability to communities, and reciprocal relationships. Having a First Nations project partner alone does not establish the matrix’s partnership classification: First Nations decision makers must share leadership equally with non-First Nations partners, alongside the matrix’s other criteria.
- Normally submit one project application per organization per intake. You may be a partner on other applications. Tribal organizations and larger organizations serving multiple communities, regions or the province may have flexibility when coordinating different projects in different communities. Discuss this with programme staff; WSF looks for community-led work that funds local capacity and staff, and prefers community organizations to apply themselves unless they choose an umbrella organization to apply on their behalf.
- Universities may submit applications from different faculties, departments or institutes for different projects and communities where strong community connections are demonstrated. WSF prefers the community organization to lead, with the university as partner, or clear evidence that the community wants the university to apply on its behalf.
- Organizations with active WSF funding are highly unlikely to receive funding in this intake; the normal reapplication point is after project completion. New applicants can apply. Among equally strong applications, projects previously declined for lack of funds in Intakes 1–3 receive priority.
- Excluded costs include expenses incurred before approval, land purchases, large-scale building development, debt retirement, reserves, mortgage paydowns, endowments, partisan political activity and activities primarily benefiting individuals financially.
How to apply
- Status
- zamyka się 10 lis 2026
- Otwiera się
- Zamyka się
- Warunki naboru
- Deadline: November 10 at 11:59 p.m.
- New applicants may apply; equally strong previously declined projects receive priority.
Apply through the Watershed Security Fund’s online application and select Stream 1. Describe the project, its location, timeline, climate-resilience contribution and partners. Review the linked I4DM matrix and provide the organizational classification and relevant UNDRIP responses; the form gives First Nations-led organizations an optional distinct perspective question.
For Stream 1, provide a high-level breakdown of how you would spend the requested grant in the online form. A separate budget spreadsheet is not required. Include evidence of any claimed First Nations partnership.
Submit by November 10, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Programme staff are available until 5 p.m. that day to support applicants.