2025 CITY OF NANAIMO GRANT RECIPIENTS SUMMARY
(CULTURE OPERATING, PROJECT & DOWNTOWN EVENT REVITALIZATION FUND)
Nanaimo’s 2025 grant summary shows 66 awards totaling $663,768. Of that, $250,000 — spread across 30 grants — went to the Downtown Event Revitalization Fund.
Taxpayers should be asking why so much public money is being handed to groups and events that should be raising more of their own funding. Sponsorships, admissions, memberships, donations, and fundraising used to matter. Now City Hall seems increasingly willing to reach for taxpayers first.
This is not about whether events are enjoyable. It is about whether the public should be expected to subsidize them by default — especially when so much of the money is concentrated on downtown-focused initiatives.
At a time of rising taxes and strained household budgets, Council owes residents a better explanation of why this has become an accepted use of public funds.
BEING A SOCIETY DOES NOT MEAN VOLUNTEER LABOUR ONLY
The label “society” should not be confused with a purely volunteer-run public service. Many societies have paid staff, contractor expenses, and administrative overhead, and may operate in ways similar to small or medium-sized businesses. Non-profit status describes a legal structure, not the absence of salaries, costs, or taxpayer support.
WHERE YOUR TAX DOLLARS WENT
How to read the following list: The name of the recpient, the purpose of the grant, total amount of the grant and where the funds come from. For example DERF grants comes from the Downtown Event Revitalization Fund.
8758999 Canada Society dba Artists’ Collective Theatre (ACT Theatre) | DERF | $10,056.80 | The Island Summer Theatre Festival
A Cappella Plus Choral Society | Operating – 1YR | $1,300 | Operating Funds
BYF Event Productions | DERF | $7,975 | Backyard Fest
Crimson Coast Dance Society | Operating – 3YR | $30,732 | Operating Funds
Crimson Coast Dance Society | Project | $3,476 | Project Funds
Crimson Coast Dance Society | DERF | $15,942.85 | OUTdoor InFrinGing Satellite Festival
Downtown Nanaimo Business Association | DERF | $7,455 | Picnic in the Plaza
Downtown Nanaimo Business Association | DERF | $11,375 | WinterFest
Footprints Infertility & Pregnancy Loss Support Society | DERF | $1,500 | Women of Influence Nanaimo Awards Gala
Friends of Nanaimo Jazz Society | DERF | $9,594 | 2025 Jazz Feature Performances
Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce | DERF | $26,250 | 2025 Commercial Street Night Market
Island Bel Canto Singers Society | Operating – 1YR | $2,650 | Operating Funds
Island Consort Society | DERF | $1,782.90 | Concert: The Majesty of Music
Island Consort Society | DERF | $1,187.55 | Concert: The Wonderful World of Music
L'Association des francophones de Nanaimo | Operating – 1YR | $14,000 | Operating Funds
L'Association des francophones de Nanaimo | Project | $6,000 | Maple Sugar Festival du Sucre d’Edrable
LEAF Festival Society | Project | $3,523 | Poetry in Motion Workshops
LEAF Festival Society | DERF | $6,144.60 | Quantum Conversation II Traces – A Digital Guided Dance Walk Through Bowen Park
The Local Inc. | DERF | $420.37 | Sip & Shop
Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Society | Operating – 1YR | $9,652 | Operating Funds
Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Society | DERF | $14,300 | Bath tub/ Marine Festival
Malaspina Choir Society | Operating – 1YR | $5,506 | Operating Funds
Mid Island Community Bands Society | Operating – 1YR | $1,040 | Operating Funds
Murmur Arts Society | DERF | $5,478 | Pulling ToGather – Stories from the Land
Nanaimo African Heritage Society | Operating – 1YR | $20,750 | Operating Funds
Nanaimo African Heritage Society | Project | $7,100 | Black History Month
Nanaimo African Heritage Society | DERF | $3,080 | Children’s Royal Fairytale Tea Party
Nanaimo Arts Council | Operating – 1YR | $16,450 | Operating Funds
Nanaimo Arts Council | DERF | $4,400.66 | Nanaimo Artwalk
Nanaimo Ballroom Dance Society | Project | $8,000 | Island Fantasy Ball Showcase and Competition
Nanaimo Blues Society | DERF | $31,200 | Nanaimo Blues Festival
Nanaimo Chamber Orchestra | Project | $2,080 | Orchestra Program Season
Nanaimo Chapter, Federation of Canadian Artists | DERF | $2,808 | Nanaimo Fine Arts Show
Nanaimo Chapter of the SPEBSQSA (Tidesmen) | Operating – 1YR | $4,400 | Operating Funds
Nanaimo Concert Band Society | Operating – 1YR | $5,360 | Operating Funds
Nanaimo Conservatory of Music | Operating – 3YR | $20,000 | Operating Funds
Nanaimo Conservatory of Music | Project | $1,160 | Island Notes Chamber Music Festival
Nanaimo Festival Heritage Theatre Society (TheatreOne) | Operating – 3YR | $49,000 | Operating Funds
Nanaimo Festival Heritage Theatre Society (TheatreOne) | Project | $2,750 | April Fools Us
Nanaimo Fiddle Society | Operating – 1YR | $15,000 | Operating Funds
Nanaimo Fiddle Society | Project | $1,239.50 | Seniors’ Residences Live Music Performances
Nanaimo Fiddle Society | DERF | $2,172.80 | 2025 Fiddle Concerts
Nanaimo International Jazz Festival Association | Operating – 1YR | $25,200 | Operating Funds
Nanaimo International Jazz Festival Association | DERF | $21,840 | Jazz Festival 2025
Nanaimo Paddling Centre | DERF | $5,250 | Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival
Nanaimo Sings! Choral Festival Society | DERF | $3,500 | Nanaimo! The City That Sings: A Choral Kaleidoscope
Nanaimo Theatre for Young People Association | Project | $533.25 | Youth Theatre Showcase
Oceanside Events Ltd. | DERF | $6,930 | Family Fun Fest
Old City Quarter | DERF | $9,520 | Sounds of Summer in the OCQ
Old City Quarter | DERF | $2,380 | Winter in the OCQ
Pacific Coast Stage Company | Operating – 3YR | $16,500 | Operating Funds
Pacific Coast Stage Company | Project | $5,200 | Percolate: An Evening of Community, Coffee and Connection
Pacific Coast Stage Company | DERF | $12,594.72 | Fringe Hub
Positively Vegan Society | DERF | $5,687.50 | VegFest
Reconciliation Theatre Society | Project | $2,794.50 | Winter Writers’ Workshop
Reconciliation Theatre Society | DERF | $11,629.25 | Reconcile Your Canada Day
Reconciliation Theatre Society | DERF | $3,870 | Spooktacular 2024
South End Community Association | DERF | $3,675 | South End Day Heritage Picnic
Vancouver Island Regional Library | Project | $640 | Children’s Book Festival (BookFest)
Vancouver Island Social Justice Society | Project | $627.15 | Our Loud Voice
Vancouver Island Short Film Festival Society | Operating – 1YR | $7,380 | Operating Funds
Vancouver Island Short Film Festival Society | Project | $1,339.60 | Youth Showcase
Vancouver Island Symphony | Operating – 3YR | $100,000 | Operating Funds
Vancouver Island Symphony | Project | $965 | Symphony Community Day
Western Edge Theatre | Operating – 3YR | $20,000 | Operating Funds
Western Edge Theatre | Project | $1,420 | New Waves Festival
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