The City of Penticton is collaborating with the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan Similkameen to administer the City’s municipal grants program. This partnership aims to streamline the application process, improve efficiency, and ensure strategic allocation of resources.
Municipal grant funds will be allocated annually to the Community Foundation based on City Council’s priorities and will focus on areas such as Arts, Culture & Heritage, Health, Safety & Social Services, Parks, Recreation & Sports, and Community Events. Evaluation of grants will remain focused on providing community value, aligning with City priorities, and meeting the needs of the service or event.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please read these FAQs carefully. If your question is not answered here, please contact grants@cfso.net for further help.
What City grant funding does the Community Foundation deliver?
The Community Foundation manages delivery of both the City’s Municipal Grants and Special Events Grants funding. Starting with the current (2026) grant cycle, the Foundation will deliver the City’s Municipal grant funds through its Foundation grant process. Please see this page or more details on our Foundation grants.
Special Events grants will continue to be administered through a separate process. Both processes will be delivered through our online grant portal (see “When will the application forms be available?” below).
Who can apply?
Registered charities and non-profits are welcome to submit an application. For Foundation grants, please see the Eligibility Guidelines here.
The following policy will continue to apply for City of Penticton Special Events grants:
Please note that the dates set out in the “Policy Conditions” section of this document pertains to previous year’s offerings of the program.
When will the grant cycle happen?
The 2026 application window for Special Events and Foundation grants will open on September 2nd. Decisions will be communicated to applicants by the end of January, 2026.
My organization has an existing agreement with the City that provides funding for our event/project/program. How will this relationship be impacted by the change?
The City will continue to provide ongoing funding to groups that they have previous agreements with. In addition, the City may choose to provide additional ongoing funding to new groups in a given year. These groups will work directly with the City rather than the Community Foundation.
My organization requests in-kind support from the City. How will these requests be handled now?
Requests for in-kind support will now be included as part of your application’s total financial request. The process now looks like this:
- Applicants will verify the costs of in-kind requests through the City.
- They will include and itemize the amount(s) required to pay for those requests in their application budget.
- If successful with their application, the applicant will pay the City directly for the in-kind support using the funds granted for that purpose.
Will the change impact our plans to also seek funding through the Community Foundation’s grant programs?
Those organizations that submitted an application to the Municipal grants program and the Foundation grants program for the same activity will now submit one application to the Foundation grants program. In the past, you may have planned to ask the City for $10,000 and the Foundation for $5,000 to support your project. Going forward you would ask the Foundation for $15,000. The Foundation will then make a grant from its pool of available funds – including the City’s Municipal grant funding – in the most efficient way possible.
Some organizations have applied to the City for one activity and the Foundation for another. In these cases, you would make two separate requests to the Foundation.
Will the City grants application process be different with the Community Foundation now administering the program?
Applicants will now use the Community Foundation’s grant portal to apply for a City grant. The City and the Foundation use the same software platform for grant administration, so the Foundation’s application portal will feel familiar.
You will see some changes to the content of the application forms, which we’re confident you can navigate. If you encounter challenges, please reach out.
When will the application forms be available?
You can access application forms on the Community Foundation’s grant portal starting Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025. Applications will be accepted until October 20th, 2025.
Will I have to create a new user account in the Community Foundation’s grant system?
If you have applied for a grant from the Community Foundation before, you will be able to use your existing user credentials to apply for a City grant. We were not able to transfer log in credentials from the City’s grant system, so if you are new to the Community Foundation’s grant system, you will have to create a new profile.
To do so, simply visit the system landing page, click on “Create New Account” link, and follow the instructions. If you run into trouble, contact grants@cfso.net for help.
Okay! I’m signed in to the Community Foundation’s portal. What’s next?
Once you sign in, you will be taken to your Applicant Dashboard. Click on the Apply link at the top left of the page:
In the Apply tab, look for either of the following titles in the program list, depending on the grant you wish to apply for. These should be the only active grant cycles available:
- 2026 Foundation Grants
- 2026 Special Event Grants: City of Penticton
Follow the appropriate link to enter the application of your choice.
I have further questions. Who can I contact?
Please send an e-mail to grants@cfso.net. One of our team members at the Community Foundation will be happy to help.
Congratulations to our 2025 grantees!
Canadian Mental Health Association – South Okanagan Similkameen Branch / Cat’s Paw Productions Society / Downtown Penticton Business Improvement Association / Dragonfly Pond Family Society / Glengarry Figure Skating Club / HaHaHa Kidzfest / Jean Minguy Memorial RCMP Youth Academy / Junior Chamber International Penticton / Neighbourhood Small Grant Program: CFSOS / Oasis United Church Food Cupboard / Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance / Okanagan Valley Music Festival Society / Okanagan Symphony Society / OneSky Community Resources / Penticton and Area Access Centre / Penticton and District Emergency Program Society / Penticton Concert Band / Penticton Curling Club / Penticton Lawn Bowling Club / Penticton Paddle Sports Association / Penticton Peach Festival / Penticton Recovery Resource Society / Penticton Regional Bridge Tournament / Penticton RollerSkate Society / Penticton Seniors’ Drop-In Centre Society / Penticton Triathlon Club / Skaha Bluffs Park Watch Society / South Okanagan Immigrant & Community Services / South Okanagan Loss Society / South Okanagan Similkameen Pride Society / South Okanagan Women in Need Society / The Penticton Centre for Exceptional Learning Society / The Penti-Con Association / Wine Country Writers’ Festival Society