Thanks to everyone who applied for the Enhancement and Restoration Grant. The next intake will open in fall 2022.
HCTF recognizes the importance of environmental stewardship and invests in projects that create stewards. Stewards include individuals, practitioners, and community organizations who take responsibility for promoting, monitoring, conserving, and restoring ecosystems to ultimately result in enduring conservation outcomes for fish and wildlife and their habitats. Proposed projects must align with our purposes as laid out in the Wildlife Act.
HCTF prefers stewardship projects that create stewards through community-based, hands on engagement programs, including Citizen Science. Stewardship projects may include some on-the-ground components such as habitat restoration.
For applicants interested in School-based programs, please see our HCTF Education Grants.
Stewardship proposals:
Each year, HCTF provides approximately $600,000 in Stewardship Grants. There is no upper limit on funding requests but there is a 5-year limit to project funding*. Stewardship Grant budgets typically range from $10,000 to over $80,000 annually, with an average grant of approximately $30,000.
Note that projects requesting significantly higher amounts of funding will be reviewed with greater scrutiny to assess cost-effectiveness and to ensure the potential conservation benefits justify this level of funding. When reviewing proposals, our Board also considers the multi-year implications of investments.
* After 5 years of continued HCTF funding, a proponent can access another cycle of funding by reapplying using the Continuing – New 5-Year Cycle application form.
HCTF Stewardship grants are available to anyone who has who has a good idea that benefits fish, wildlife and habitat in British Columbia. Proponents can include:
HCTF strongly encourages cost-shared proposals, and project leaders should explore the possibility of partnerships with other organizations or agencies (local, provincial or federal).
The following activities and types of projects are not eligible for Stewardship Grant funding:
Please note that all Stewardship Grant proposals have the same eligibility restrictions, deadlines, application requirements, and review criteria as E&R Grants, unless specified otherwise.
The Stewardship grant stream operates on the same cycle as the Enhancement and Restoration granting stream. HCTF operates on a standard fiscal year, running from 1 April – 31 March. For example, a proposal submitted on November 1, 2019 would request funding to support project activities to take place between 1 April, 2020 and 31 March, 2021. Proposals are approved on an annual basis—a multi-year project must apply EACH YEAR for funding for the next year’s activities.
Submission of HCTF Stewardship Grant Applications is through the Survey Apply application portal. The 2021-22 application deadline is 4:30 PM PST on November 5, 2021.
HCTF operates on a standard fiscal year, running from 1 April – 31 March. For example, a proposal submitted on November 1, 2019 would request funding to support project activities to take place between 1 April, 2020 and 31 March, 2021. Proposals are approved on an annual basis—a multi-year project must apply EACH YEAR for funding for the next year’s activities.
Submission of both HCTF Enhancement and Restoration Grant and HCTF Stewardship Grant Applications is through the HCTF Online application portal. HCTF Online typically opens in early to mid-September, but Application worksheets are available earlier for use drafting your proposal.
Applications for NEW projects are first sent to a Primary Reviewer, typically a subject expert, who assesses the project on areas such as its proposed objectives, methodology, and cost/benefits.
All Applications (i.e., seed, new, and continuing proposals) are then evaluated on technical merits by a committee of experts, composed of both government and non-government biologists. Our technical committees are divided broadly into Fisheries, Wildlife, Stewardship, Wild Sheep, and White Sturgeon subject areas. The technical reviewers meet to discuss, score, rank, and make a funding recommendation for each proposal based on their technical evaluation and the Primary Review.
The HCTF Board of Directors meets in early March to make final funding decisions. The comments and recommendations from the previous stages are taken into account by the Board. Funding decisions are final. For those proposals that are not approved, applicants will receive communication from HCTF explaining the reasons for the decision. Often this feedback can be used to improve the proposal for potential re-submission in future years.
A Preliminary Approved Projects List is posted on the HCTF website in mid-March. Official notifications are emailed to individual proponents before the end of the month.
Once you have been notified that your proposal has been approved for funding, HCTF will mail you a Conditional Grant Agreement which must be signed and returned to HCTF in order to receive your first installment cheque.
Proposed project activities can begin on 1 April of the year in which they are approved. If a proposal is approved subject to a funding condition, that funding condition must be met prior to commencing any work.
Note that HCTF funds multi-year projects one year at a time. To apply for multi-year funding, you must submit a continuing application each year of the project using the appropriate form.
Each fiscal year’s project activities must be complete by March 31. Grant Reports are due annually on April 15th.
The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation uses conditional grant agreements to transfer monies to a proponent for an approved HCTF project. Unlike unconditional grants (which can be used for any purpose the recipient sees fit), a conditional grant is for a specific purpose and may not be used for any other project.
The conditional grant agreement is like a contract in that it is signed by both parties and contains specific conditions for spending the approved budget. The underlying basis for the agreement is the proposal submitted by the proponent and approved by HCTF, although HCTF may include additional conditions to the proposal before approving it.
While each conditional grant agreement pertains to the individual project, there are some terms and conditions common to all HCTF conditional grant agreements. Some of these include:
You can view an HCTF sample Conditional Grant Agreement – please note that this is a general template and specific terms may vary depending on the project.
Proposed project activities can begin on April 1st of the year in which they are approved. If a proposal is approved subject to funding condition, that funding condition must be met prior to commencing any work. Note that HCTF funds multi-year projects one year at a time – if you would like funding for future years of a project, you must submit a continuing application each year.
Each fiscal year’s project activities must be complete by March 31st. Grant Reports are due annually on April 15th. Please note that your project final approval is subject to you (or your organization) entering into a Conditional Grant Agreement with HCTF.
You can preview the agreement template here. This year, HCTF has changed how we administer Conditional Grant Agreements. Approved non-government project leaders will need to log in to Survey Apply and follow these instructions for downloading, signing, and uploading their agreements and other documents.
Please read your Conditional Grant Agreement carefully, as HCTF has made significant changes to the agreement language this year. Ensure you obtain all internal approvals from your organization before returning the signed copy to HCTF. Questions? Please contact our Finance Officer.
Note that Provincial Government project leaders are not required to complete the Survey Apply steps above, as the Conditional Grant Agreement is signed directly with headquarters for each Ministry. Government project leaders can familiarize themselves with the requirements of the agreement at the link above and are also encouraged to request and review their specific agreement from headquarters.
All non-government project leaders will need to provide HCTF with a Certificate of Insurance for General Liability (CGL) indicating that HCTF has been added as an additional insured (see section 9 of the sample Conditional Grant Agreement above for details). Your insurer can assist in completing this certificate. It is your responsibility to ensure that your organization is carrying the correct insurance to deliver the project and to budget for your insurance costs accordingly in your proposal.
Important Note: For projects that require more than one year to complete (i.e. multi-year projects), a new conditional grant agreement is required for each year of the project and it is tied to the approved proposal for that year.
Thanks to everyone who applied for the Enhancement and Restoration Grant. The next intake will open in fall 2022.
HCTF recognizes the importance of environmental stewardship and invests in projects that create stewards. Stewards include individuals, practitioners, and community organizations who take responsibility for promoting, monitoring, conserving, and restoring ecosystems to ultimately result in enduring conservation outcomes for fish and wildlife and their habitats. Proposed projects must align with our purposes as laid out in the Wildlife Act.
HCTF prefers stewardship projects that create stewards through community-based, hands on engagement programs, including Citizen Science. Stewardship projects may include some on-the-ground components such as habitat restoration.
If your proposal focuses primarily on applied research, inventory or habitat restoration for fish or wildlife, you should apply under the Enhancement & Restoration Grant and select the Fisheries or Wildlife project group. Visit out Enhancement & Restoration Apply page.
For applicants interested in School-based programs, please see our HCTF Education Grants.
Guidance for Applicants 2022-23
Before beginning your application on the Apply system, we strongly recommend that you complete your application using the Word worksheets.
Three different Word Worksheets are available, depending on the type of proposal you will submit:
Note that HCTF funds multi-year projects one year at a time – you must submit a continuing application each year of the project.
Once you have completed your application in the Word Worksheet, you can copy and paste the information into the Survey Apply online system.
Note: Please make sure to complete the Multi-Year Budget table to show your planned funding requests for future years; estimated amounts are acceptable.
New Project WorksheetNote: HCTF funds multi-year projects one year at a time – you must submit a continuing application for each year of the project.
Continuing Project WorksheetNote: For New Phase proposals, it is important to include a detailed summary of your results achieved in the previous 5-year cycle in the “Progress to Date” section of the application form (Reviewers do not have access to your previous years’ grant reports).
For all proposal applications except for seed, use the Excel spreadsheet to develop your budget. You will also upload this same spreadsheet to the online Survey Apply system.
HCTF Budget Table 2022-23
For more details on completing your budget table please refer to the instruction document below.
HCTF Budget Instructions
Important Note: Your budget should contain enough detail for reviewers to determine if it is cost effective. Be sure to explain any differences from previous years—if your budget or activities are different from those you predicted, or if you want to alter the length of your project, provide a rationale for these changes.
Check carefully that you have:
Following is a link to an example table for the objectives and activities section of the proposal.
Note: The Measures of Success (MOS) should be specific quantitative targets that can be used to track desired change and project success. Short-term outputs (e.g. number of workshops held) can be useful to track project progress. However, assessing conservation success also depends on evaluating longer-term outcomes (e.g. changes in awareness or behaviours), so you should include at least 2-3 long term outcome measures of success (e.g. population increase for species of interest, increased awareness in community through post-program survey).
Submission of Stewardship Grant Applications is through the HCTF Survey Apply system. Please note that all applications must be submitted using Survey Apply. HCTF cannot accept applications by email.
Note: All proposal groups/categories (i.e., Fisheries, Wildlife, Stewardship, Wild Sheep, White Sturgeon) are submitted through the Survey Apply program “Enhancement & Restoration and Stewardship Grants” (ERS). The application form contains a drop-down question so applicants can select their proposal group. All Seed proposals are submitted through the Survey Apply program “Seed Grants (ERS/Stewardship only).
Stewardship Application Checklist
Stewardship proposals should:
To ensure you submit a good proposal, make sure to:
If you have questions about your project’s eligibility, your proposal, what our reviewers are looking for, or any other details of application and grant management, contact us to ask!
Each proposal goes through a multi-level, objective, technical review process prior to final Board decisions. These three main stages of review, as outlined on the Stewardship Grant Cycle webpage include an assessment by a primary reviewer, and a review by a technical committee, prior to being sent to the Board for final funding decisions.
Download the Technical Assessment of your Proposal: Review Criteria at a Glance document for more information about what our technical reviewers look for.
*Measures of Success should be specific quantitative targets that can be used to track desired change and project success. They can be short, medium or long term. Although it is common to report on outputs (e.g. number of workshops held, number of nestboxes installed), assessing conservation success also depends on evaluating outcomes (e.g. changes in landowner behaviour, reduction in mortality of migrating western toads).
Download the Technical Assessment of your Proposal: Review Criteria at a Glance document for more information about what our technical reviewers look for.
HCTF is pleased to announce the launch of our new online reporting system. All Project Leaders with approved 2021-22 grants will be submitting their grant reports in Survey Apply, the same system that was used for proposal submission. Reporting requirements remain relatively consistent from recent years with a new simplified and easy-to-use structure. This cloud-based system will provide significant improvements by streamlining workflow and adding automated services to increase convenience. We are very excited to integrate this new system to add more clarity and functionality to our reporting processes.
The next deadline for submitting grant reports is April 15th, 2022.
We encourage all Project Leaders to read the Reporting FAQs before beginning their reports.
As a trust of public funds, HCTF has a number of requirements to ensure accountability and due diligence of trust funds. We have a responsibility to ensure that funds are invested in activities and projects that contribute to conservation of fish, wildlife, and habitat in BC. As a public foundation, HCTF is required to prepare annual financial statements which undergo a thorough audit process. Grant reports help ensure funds were utilized in accordance with the purposes of the trust, which is a requirement for HCTF’s audit.
Specifically, grant reports allow HCTF to evaluate:
Consistent with HCTF’s operating cycle and with the end date of most conditional grant agreements, projects must be completed by March 31st. Subsequent grant reports are due April 15th.
HCTF has recently launched a new online reporting system. All Project Leaders with approved 2021-22 grants are required to submit their grant reports in Survey Apply, the same system that was used for proposal submission Reports in older formats or reports that come in by email submission will not be accepted.
Project Leaders with active projects from 2020-21 and prior (before Survey Apply was implemented) will submit using the previous report forms and processes. These Project Leaders (and those with approved contract extensions) will have received an email from HCTF with reporting instructions and forms. If you did not receive this email, or if you have any questions, please contact reporting@hctf.ca.
Current grant reports for 2021-22 onward: Please note you now need to complete and submit the grant report form online (link to online system) and will need to upload the new separate excel budget spreadsheet with this online submission. Click one of the template links below to begin drafting your report for our online Survey Apply system.
Outstanding grant reports from BEFORE 2020-21: If you had a contract extension or still need to submit an outstanding report, please contact us at reporting@hctf.ca for a copy of the 2020-21 grant report template.
If you had a contract extension or an outstanding report from BEFORE 2020-21, please contact us if you need a copy of the previous report template. Otherwise please use the template above and submit your report through our online Survey Apply System.
If you had a contract extension or an outstanding report from BEFORE 2020-21, please contact us if you need a copy of the previous report template. Otherwise please use the template above and submit your report through our online Survey Apply System.
Some HCTF projects produce a comprehensive technical report detailing the methods and analyzing the results. Technical reports may require more time to complete and are therefore not tied to the final payment if the Grant Report is complete. HCTF requires an electronic copy of the technical report once it is completed. Ideally, we would like to receive it as an attachment to the Final Year Grant Report.
Some projects may produce information that will be published in a peer-review journal. These articles do not constitute a final report, but are of interest to HCTF. We recognize that published journal articles take time for publication. Please send us a PDF copy of the published article or a link to the article, once it is available.
HCTF uses a variety of methods to assess approved and/or completed projects to ensure that Foundation grants are providing the greatest conservation return on investment. Each year, HCTF staff and/or Board select projects and meet with the project leaders to review project performance. This evaluation includes assessing on-the-ground accomplishments as well as reviewing financial records. For further information, contact the Manager of Biology.
Contract Extension Request – Form
Contract extensions are intended for projects where activities in the proposal could not be completed within the original timeframe. If you also have changes to your project objectives, budget or activities please submit a Project Change request form (see above).
If you are unable to complete your project within the fiscal year of your Conditional Grant Agreement (April 1st through March 31st, unless otherwise specified), you will need to request a Contract Extension to extend your Agreement into the next fiscal. The annual deadline for contract extension requests is February 15th. An email from the Finance Officer will be sent in early January with the Contract Extension Request Form and instructions to email the completed request to reporting@hctf.ca.
Please note that even though activities and expenditures will occur in the following fiscal year, they will still be invoiced and reported on under the original Agreement. The Grant Report (see Reporting Tab) will be due when that year’s activities are complete.
In some cases, a project may have a Contract Extension concurrently with another funded year of the project. HCTF requires that expenditures and project outcomes for each grant must always be tracked, invoiced and reported on separately. That also means that any unspent funds from one grant cannot be “rolled into” the project budget for a subsequent year.
For example, a multi-year project may receive a contract extension to complete Year 1 activities concurrent to activities already approved for Year 2. Each of these proposals is considered a separate contract. Therefore, you must report for each of them separately by completing a Grant Report for each of these project years, reporting against their respective proposals. That is, you would submit a Grant Report for Year 1, reporting against the Year 1 proposal; and another Grant Report for Year 2, reporting against the Year 2 proposal, even though the Year 1 activities took two years and happened at the same time as the Year 2 activities.
The support provided by HCTF must be acknowledged in any publicity issued, printed or distributed, including signs, displays, reports, announcements, articles, press releases, or media interviews. Full information on HCTF communications guidelines and copies of the HCTF logo are available here.