Stewardship operations funding is available for participating First Nation organizations that seek operational funding each year to support a stewardship office/program or Guardian Watchman program. If you are seeking funding for a specific or time-bound conservation project (e.g. research or training), please refer to the Stewardship Project application process.

Purpose and Goals

The conservation fund, stewardship endowment, and marine stewardship fund are permanent endowments that support eligible programs and projects focused on sustaining or enhancing the ecological integrity of the Great Bear Rainforest, Great Bear Sea, and Haida Gwaii.

Funds are designed to support and enhance First Nations’:

• Application of traditional ecological and cultural knowledge to the management of ecosystems, protected areas, lands, and resources in the Project Area
• Participation in the management of protected areas and ecosystems within the Project Area
• Science, research and monitoring of ecosystem function and processes
• Collaborative efforts that sustain and enhance the biodiversity, productive capacity and resilience of ecosystems in the Project Area to ensure the sustainability of cultural and traditional resources, such as fish, wildlife, and cedar in perpetuity
• Maintenance, restoration, or enhancement of habitats and ecosystem productivity in protected areas to ensure populations of migratory birds are maintained or enhanced, species at risk or of special concern are stabilized and enhanced where possible, and productive riparian areas are maintained and restored
• Capacity to maintain a permanent base of jobs – seasonal or full time – to support conservation planning, research, monitoring and interpretation

Before You Apply

Prior to developing an application, please ensure the project and your organization are eligible for funding. If you have any questions regarding eligibility, please do not hesitate to contact Raine Playfair, Director of Stewardship Funding, at projects@coastfunds.ca or 604-684-0223 ext. 7.

Submitting a Complete Funding Application

In order for a project to be considered for review, a fully completed funding application must be received that includes the following attachments:

• Application Form: Annual Stewardship Funding
• Annual operating plan with a detailed annual budget
• Council and/or Board resolution of support for accessing the funds for the purposes of the application

> Download an Application Form to get started

If you have applied in a previous year, please contact us and we will pre-fill what we can of your application for you. If you have recently applied for different funding with the same workplan, feel free to send us that application to get started.

Adobe Acrobat Reader version 7 or higher is required to use Coast Funds forms. Adobe Acrobat is free software. If using macOS, you will need to specifically open the form in Adobe Acrobat Reader – do not use Apple Preview or you may corrupt your application.

Application Deadlines

Eligible applicants from participating First Nations can submit an application at any time. A complete application includes all supporting documents identified above.

Applications up to $150,000 are reviewed on a monthly basis and approved by Coast Funds’ senior leadership team.

Applications for more than $150,000 are reviewed on a quarterly basis and approved by the Project Review Committee (up to $1 million) and the Board of Directors (over $1 million). Please see the Apply Now page for upcoming deadlines.

Funding Decisions

Once an application is complete, it will be reviewed by Coast Funds’ senior leadership team, Project Review Committee, and/or the full Board for decision, depending on the level of funding requested.

Project Reporting for Approved Projects

In line with its founding agreements, Coast Funds has a responsibility to collect outcomes data for funded projects and activities through the project reporting. Once approved, Coast Funds works with recipients to issue payments and quantify how First Nations are strengthening community well-being in line with the intended outcomes of the funds.

We view reporting as a collaborative process, and our staff members will work with you to complete final reports in Coast Funds’ specified Adobe Acrobat PDF format – see a sample final report template available for download at the bottom of this section. The sample report PDF is for reference only; we will provide you with reports that are pre-populated with your approved work plan to make reporting as seamless as possible for you.

Prefer reporting over the phone? We can call you to fill in the report together.

For all approved projects, recipients are required to sign off on a final report following completion of the project that provides:

• Community well-being outcomes achieved for the year funds were provided
• Confirmation that approved work plan activities were completed
• Financial information (produced from an accounting system) that accounts for all funding contributions and expenditures occurring within the year funds were provided and
• Digital photos of field research, Guardian Watchman activities, and other conservation projects that occurred during the year

> View a template for Coast Funds’ Final Report (sample only)

If you are seeking to file a final report for a funded project, please contact us and we can get started together.

Contact Us

For all applicants seeking advice on submitting a funding application, and for recipients with an active, funded project who are seeking to submit a progress or final report, please contact:

Raine Playfair
Director, Stewardship Funding
raine@coastfunds.ca
604-684- 0223 ext 7