Grants concierge
Much of this work can be paid for by a grant.
A good share of the engagements we run can be fully covered by a program that already wants to fund this kind of work. We track the programs that pay for accessibility, planning, and capacity work, and we help you apply, so the work comes out of grant money.
Programs that fund this work
Local Community Accessibility Grant
BC local governments meeting Accessible BC Act obligations.
Accessibility planning, audits, and remediation that move you toward your Accessible BC Act plan and feedback requirements.
Up to $25,000 per local government.
Administered by SPARC BC.
Maps to our accessibility compliance package.
Asset-management and infrastructure planning grants
BC local governments planning capital and infrastructure work.
Asset-management planning, and the studies and data work that feed a defensible infrastructure plan.
Up to $25,000 for asset-management planning, and up to $10,000 for infrastructure planning.
Provincial planning-grant streams.
Maps to our Research & Reporting and Strategy & Advisory work.
FCM Green Municipal Fund
Municipalities and partners pursuing climate and sustainability projects.
Feasibility studies and the plans that come out of them, for projects that cut emissions or build climate resilience.
Feasibility studies up to $70,000 at 80% cost-share; plans up to $140,000.
Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
Maps to our Research & Reporting and Strategy & Advisory work.
BC REDIP
Local governments, regional districts, and Indigenous and not-for-profit partners building economic capacity.
Capacity building and business-development work that strengthens regional and rural economies.
Capacity stream up to $50,000; business development up to $100,000.
BC Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program.
Maps to our Research & Reporting and Strategy & Advisory work.
Intake windows and dollar ceilings change between cycles, and some programs sit between intakes. We confirm the current window and the live ceiling before you commit, so you are never building a plan on a program that has closed.
How it works
We scope to the envelope
We size the engagement to fit what the grant will cover, so the funding does the paying and you are not topping it up out of budget.
We help with the application
We give you what the application asks for: the scope, the rationale, the supporting detail. You hold the relationship with the funder; we draft the parts that describe the work.
You pay from the grant
When the grant comes through, it covers the engagement. The work lands without drawing down your operating budget.
Questions buyers actually ask
What if the intake is closed?
It happens; programs run on cycles and some are between intakes right now. We tell you where each program stands before you plan around it, and if a window is closed we either point you to another program that fits or scope the work to be ready the day the next intake opens.
Do you guarantee the grant gets approved?
No, and anyone who does is not being straight with you. The funder decides, not us. What we can do is help you put forward a strong, well-scoped application that fits the program's criteria, which is the part you can actually control.
Can a small municipality apply?
Yes. Several of these programs are built for exactly that: small and mid-size local governments without a grants office or a planning team. The smaller you are, the more the application support tends to matter, and that is the part we carry.
What does Sapphire's help with the application cost?
The application support is part of the engagement we scope with you, and is itself often inside the grant envelope. You will know the number before you commit to anything.
Can the grant cover the whole engagement?
Often, yes. Many of our offers are scoped specifically to fit a single program's ceiling, so the grant covers the work end to end. Where the work runs past what one program covers, we tell you that up front and lay out the options.
We are not a municipality. Do any of these apply to us?
Some do. REDIP reaches Indigenous and not-for-profit partners, and FCM programs run through partnerships. Tell us who you are and what you are trying to fund, and we will tell you honestly which programs are in reach and which are not.
Want to know which grant fits your project?
Tell us what you need to get done and we will tell you which programs could fund it, where each one stands right now, and how we would help you apply.
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