Canada: Heritage Infrastructure Program

The goal of this program is to assist B.C. First Nations communities to safeguard, revitalize and celebrate their heritage through heritage infrastructure projects. Projects include the conservation of structures, heritage sites, landscapes, buildings and trails that support public and community access to heritage resources. They also include historical and cultural places, archives and heritage collections that are of collective value to an Indigenous community.

The Heritage Infrastructure Program (HIP) supports projects that conserve, repair, or develop Indigenous cultural heritage infrastructure. This includes:

• Historical and cultural places, archives, and cultural heritage collections that are of collective value to an Indigenous community.
• Physical infrastructure such as buildings, trails, and structures that support public and community access to the:
  • Stories of historic places and the places themselves.
  • Transmission of community memory and traditional practices, crafts, and trades.
  • Cultural materials that support telling the stories of historic sites and the transmission of community memory and traditional practices, arts, and trades.

Funding Information

• Applicants can apply for between $100,000 and $250,000 for their proposed project.
• The funding term for the HIP is as follows:
  • Successful applicants notified by May 27, 2024
  • Project activities to begin on or after June 7, 2024
  • Interim reports due by: December 2, 2024
  • Projects completed by: September 15, 2025
  • Final report due by: September 15, 2025

Eligible Projects

• Examples of eligible projects include, but are not limited to:
  • Repairs and upgrades to museum, archive, and community collections storage and environmental quality management
  • Upgrades to collections shelving and storage
  • Upgrades to building infrastructure including doors, windows, and lighting
  • Construction of repository and archival spaces
  • Installation of accessibility aids, such as ramps and docks
  • Development and maintenance of culturally significant trails
  • Construction and upgrades to longhouses, bighouses, carving sheds, community meat freezers, and meat processing stations.

Ineligible Projects

• Digital infrastructure
• Projects that are dependent on unconfirmed funding from other sources

Eligibility Criteria

• B.C.-based organizations that have a mandate or focus that includes First Nations’ heritage. Eligible applicants include:
  • Recognized First Nations1 governments, bands or tribal councils located in B.C.
  • Not-for-profit societies registered in B.C., in good standing and governed by recognized B.C. First Nations individuals (at least 75% of directors identify as members of recognized B.C. First Nations)
  • Urban and off-reserve B.C. First Nations organizations (at least 75% of directors identify as members of recognized B.C. First Nations)
  • B.C. First Nations–led museums and cultural spaces (at least 75% of directors identify as members of recognized B.C. First Nations)
  • B.C. First Nations schools and adult education centres operating in B.C. on First Nations lands (Please note that applications from First Nations schools that serve one community must be submitted through their respective Nation/Band Office)
• FPCC strongly encourages collaboration. Only one application (per grant program) per Band Office, Tribal Council or Society/Organization will be eligible for funding.

Ineligible

• Organizations or individuals who are not from a B.C. First Nation
• Collectives (the program only accepts registered societies, see above)
• For-profit organizations and businesses, entities, individuals and commercial ventures
• Organizations or previous grant recipients with incomplete or outstanding reporting with FPCC or FPCF. These applicants are ineligible until all required documentation is complete.
• Government organizations, including municipalities.

For more information, visit FPCC.