Last Updated; January 23, 2023
NOTE (Jan 23, 2023): there are a few NEW changes to the 2023 Gaming Community Grant Program (see below for a copy of Gaming's summary of changes for the 2023 year). For your reference, I have gone through the new 2023 Guidelines document, and have highlighted all NEW changes:
I have also uploaded my Gaming grant worksheets here (see links below) for anyone to download and use.
First, you will need to determine if your organization will be submitting a "Regular" or "Renewal" form (the latter is Gaming's name for a "Short" form). For instructions on which form you can/should use, see section 5.3 (page 27) of the Guidelines.
Once you have determined which form you are eligible/wish to use, you are welcome to use these worksheets that I've created to help you prepare your application.
What’s New in the 2023 Program Guidelines:
From pp5-6 of the new 2023 Guidelines document:
The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to impact communities across the province, and British Columbia’s not-for-profit sector remains an instrumental partner in ensuring essential services and programming continue to be delivered during this transitional time.
Since the pandemic began in early 2020, the Community Gaming Grants’ program adapted policies and procedures to address the immediate impacts of COVID-19 on B.C.’s not-for-profit sector; several program criteria were relaxed or adapted to provide flexibility and ensure organizations continued to be eligible for funding. These COVID-19 response measures were continued for the 2021 and 2022 grant years. Throughout 2022, public health restrictions for COVID-19 were gradually lifted and many organizations have now implemented the necessary changes to continue delivering their programs and services. As major events such as COVID-19 continue to evolve, the Community Gaming Grants Branch is aware that a flexible approach for 2023 is necessary. To ensure not-for-profit organizations can transition from COVID-19 to regular program delivery, temporary program criteria created in response to COVID-19 will remain flexible for the 2023 year.
In addition to the temporary policy changes to support the transition from COVID-19 to regular program delivery, the Community Gaming Grants’ Program Guidelines have also been updated to reflect other changes to policies and to improve overall readability.
All applicants are strongly encouraged to review the Program Guidelines in their entirety to ensure they understand all eligibility and application criteria.
Temporary changes to the 2023 Program Guidelines and application requirements include:
Section 3.3: Organizational financial eligibility criteria relating to operating surplus may not be enforced for applicants affected by COVID-19. Applicants with more than 50% operating surplus should demonstrate this is due to a direct result of the pandemic.
Section 4.3: Program financial eligibility criteria related to government funding may not be enforced for applicants affected by COVID-19. Applicants with more than 75% of program funding from government sources should demonstrate this is due to a direct result of the pandemic.
Appendix IV, V: Organization to complete section on application to detail how program(s) were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and provide the current balance of the gaming account as of the date of application.
Other key changes to the 2023 Program Guidelines and application requirements include:
Section 2.1: Community Gaming Grants funding levels have been adjusted to allow for requests of up to $125,000 at the local level.
Section 2.1: Regional and provincial funding levels have been combined. The requirements and process for requesting more than the local level has been clarified.
Section 3.2: Clarifying that organizations closely affiliated or associated with organizations that promote racial or ethnic superiority, religious intolerance, persecution or social change through unlawful action are ineligible for a Community Gaming Grant.
Section 6.1: Eligible use of grant funds to allow Community Gaming Grant funding to be used to create new paid positions will become regular criteria. The requirement that positions must have been in existence for at least 12 months at the time of application will no longer apply.