Community Heritage Grants
To help promote heritage conservation in the District, we provide grants to individuals or organizations who are interested in heritage planning, conservation, or educational projects.
In July 2021, Council approved updates to the Community Heritage Grant program to increase funding amounts and add eligible categories.
Applications for this grant will be accepted until Wednesday, September 20, 2023.
On this page:
- Project categories
- Grant conditions overview
- Who can apply
- How to apply
- Projects that qualify for grants
- What we ask for in your application
- Documents to include with your application
- After you submit your application
- How we evaluate applications
- Who to contact for help
Project categories
There are three Community Heritage Grant categories:
| Project category | Description | Grant amount |
|---|---|---|
| Heritage Planning |
Includes preparation of a Statement of Significance, conservation and maintenance plan, or both. |
Up to $1,000 based on 50% of project costs |
| Heritage Conservation |
Includes repair and restoration to heritage property, or maintenance of designated heritage trees. |
Legally protected heritage properties: Up to $10,000 based on 50% of project costs Heritage Register properties: Up to $5,000 based on 50% of project costs Other heritage properties: Up to $1,000 based on 50% of project costs |
| Heritage Awareness and Education |
Includes events or materials that increase public awareness, understanding, and appreciation of our built, natural, cultural, and social heritage. |
Up to $1,000 |
Not-for-profit and charitable organizations are eligible to receive grants of up to 75% of project costs for Heritage Planning and Heritage Conservation projects.
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An overview of grant conditions
Heritage Planning or Heritage Conservation projects
- Location of the project must be within the District of North Vancouver
- Your property taxes must be fully paid when you apply
- Your property must currently conform with all applicable bylaws
- Any conservation or restoration work must be done with appropriate permits and comply with applicable bylaws
- The work must be done within one year of receiving grant approval, or have been completed within one year before your grant application
- One grant application per property per year may be considered
Heritage Awareness and Education projects
- The project must be done within one year of receiving grant approval, or have been completed within one year before your grant application
- One grant application per individual, group, or organization per year may be considered
You will be required to submit photos and itemized paid invoices for eligible costs upon project completion to receive grant funding.
Please review our Community Heritage Grants Policy and Terms of Reference for the complete list of conditions.
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Who can apply
Heritage Planning or Heritage Conservation projects
You can apply once per property, per year, for a grant if you are a:
- property owner
- tenant with written support from the property owner
Heritage Awareness and Education projects
You can apply once per year for a grant if you are a(n):
- individual
- business
- community group
- not-for-profit or federally registered charity organization
- First Nations government
This grant is not available to employees of the District of North Vancouver, or properties owned by municipal or senior levels of government.
Properties owned by the District of North Vancouver, where leased with building maintenance responsibility assigned to the lessee, are eligible.
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How to apply
You will submit your application online using our grant application system. To apply:
- Review our Community Heritage Grants Policy, Terms of Reference, the Heritage Strategic Plan, and the information on this page to ensure you understand the purpose of the grant and confirm that you qualify
- Gather electronic versions of the documents that you need to attach to your online application
- Select the ‘Apply now’ button to launch the online application system
- If this is your first time applying using our system, you will be asked to create an account
- Once you have created an account, you can complete the online application form and upload your documents (note that you will be able to save your application in progress at any time, and return to complete it later)
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Is my project eligible?
Heritage Planning or Heritage Conservation projects
Your property must meet at least one of the following requirements:
- Be listed on the DNV Heritage Inventory (1993)
- Be listed on the DNV Modern Inventory (1997)
- Be listed on the DNV Community Heritage Register
- Be a legally protected heritage property
If your property is not identified as one of these heritage resources, you can still be considered for grant funding if you provide a Statement of Significance from a registered heritage professional which identifies that the property has heritage character and value.
Heritage Awareness and Education projects
Your event must be open to the public in the District and can include:
- Heritage events (such as workshops, storytelling, festivals, walking tours, and cultural performances)
- Information materials (such as brochures, posters, webpages, and websites)
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Information we ask for in your application
The application form includes a number of questions within each of these categories:
- Contact details
- Project category
- Details of your project, including the heritage or conservation significance
- Project scope, timeline and status
- Detailed estimate of costs
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Documents to include with your application
When you complete your online application form, you will be asked to upload these documents:
Heritage Planning
- Current photos
- Historic photos (if available)
- Itemized cost estimates and invoices
- Land title record
- Charity or BC Society Number (if applicable)
- Statement of Significance (if available)
- Conservation and Maintenance Plan (if available)
Heritage Conservation
- Before and after photos of the project
- Historic photos (if available)
- Land title record
- Charity or BC Society Number (if applicable)
- Itemized cost estimates and invoices
- Foundation, building, elevation, and floor plans (if applicable)
Heritage Awareness and Education
- Itemized cost estimates and invoices
- Charity or BC Society Number (if applicable)
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After you apply
When you successfully submit your application, you will receive an email confirming we have received it. Staff will review your application and contact you if they require any additional information.
Staff and the Community Heritage Advisory Committee will review all applications and make recommendations to Council for consideration and approval.
If you are selected to receive a grant, you will be contacted in November or December 2023.
Upon completion of a Statement of Significance or Conservation and Maintenance Plan, the property may be added to the Heritage Register at the District’s sole discretion.
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How we evaluate applications
The Community Heritage Advisory Committee uses these criteria to evaluate all applications:
- How well the project supports the goals outlined in the Heritage Strategic Plan
- How well the project increases, retains, or promotes heritage values
- Quality of sympathetic design choices (for Heritage Conservation projects)
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Who to contact for help
If you have questions about the grant or application process, or you need help with your application, contact:
Isabelle Kim
Community Planning
604.990.2261
kimi@dnv.org
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Preserving our heritage
Ensuring we have a clear sense of identity and place — and a legacy that links our past, present, and future — is one of the objectives of our Official Community Plan.