This grant is not accepting applications.
Overview
The grant is established in partnership with Community Action Initiative (CAI), the Ministry of Health (MoH) and Gambling Supports B.C. (GSBC), and is informed by the needs of First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and urban Indigenous service providers, Nations and community organizations. The grant offers funding of up to $45,000 per year over a two-year period, to a maximum total of $90,000 per grantee. It is available to First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and urban Indigenous-led organizations delivering services to Indigenous communities in British Columbia. This funding is intended to support community-based capacity-building strategies aimed at reducing gambling-related harms and connections with co-occurring mental health and substance use considerations, including but not limited to:
- Preparedness: Assess community needs and resources to respond to gambling harms, such as collecting local data on prevalence, awareness, and risk factors, informing future planning and early identification strategies.
- Prevention: Create and deliver culturally grounded public education workshops and materials that raise awareness of gambling harms and promote safer behaviours within the community.
- Response: Establish a wrap-around support pathway that integrates counselling, cultural supports, and referral services for individuals and families experiencing gambling-related harms.
- Recovery: Deliver land-based healing and cultural reconnection programming, including access to Traditional Medicines and Indigenous games, to support wholistic, community-led recovery.
- Other capacity building initiatives, as determined by your organization or Nation
In 2026, 15 First Nations, Métis, and urban Indigenous-led organizations were awarded grants over two years to strengthen community capacity to prevent and respond to gambling-related harms in B.C. The 15 funded organizations include:
- Dze Ḻ’Kant Friendship Centre Society
- Tsë Lhts’ënc’il Nec’igekh Be Yikh (Split Rock Healing House)
- North Wind Wellness Centre Society
- Carrier Sekani Family Services
- Lytton First Nation
- Rise Up Indigenous Wellness
- Tŝideldel First Nation
- Skatin Nation
- Dudes Club Society
- Tsow-Tun Le Lum
- Matsqui- Abbotsford Impact Society
- Chawathil First Nation
- Telmexw Awtexw Healing Centre
- Xwéwenaqw Xwexwilmexw (Whonnock People)
- Métis Nation BC
Timeline
- June 1, 2026 : Applications open
- July 3, 2026 : Applications close
- June – August 2026: Review and selection process
- September 2026 : Applicants notified of decisions
- November 2026 : Grant awards distributed
- October 2028 : Project activities completed and funding spent by
Grant Details
- Grant Guidelines: Learn more about the grant, timeline, how can funding be used, who can request funding, how to apply, contact information, and examples of gambling capacity building projects.
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Gambling Support BC’s Indigenous-led Gambling Harm Reduction, Recovery and Community Capacity Building Framework.
Applications are now closed
Contact
For any questions, please contact Samantha Young, Project Manager, Support Recovery at [email protected] or (236) 334-8240