PCAF APPLICATION RULES

Application Rules

1. Your signed application may be sent in at any time but you should make sure it is in by May 17^th. An Advisory Committee reviews the applications on hand in May or early June. Recommendations for grants are made soon after. Applications received after May 15th may be reviewed in the fall depending on available funds.
2. PCAF will only accept one application per organization per region for each funding cycle.
3. Each application must contain a detailed budget showing what you will contribute and specifically how the PCAF grant money will be used. You should also provide details on a separate sheet stating objectives, methods, details of project activities and expected benefits.
   
   At least 50% of the value of the grant requested from the PCAF must be comprised of volunteer labour, credited at $10 per hour. The volunteer component does not include in-kind or other donations.
   
   We have included a budget form to help you remember all the things we need to know. The bulk of the grant should be spent on materials and supplies to be used for "on-the-ground" activities. The grant cannot be used for wages, except for contracted equipment or special expertise required in the field. Reasonable costs of meals, fuel, rental or use of equipment or facilities are acceptable expenses. Generally, rent of facilities should be for short-term use not ongoing office rental.
4. Projects should not require ongoing maintenance because grant money is not available for that purpose. If your project does require some annual maintenance, please let us know how you intend to pay for it. A one-time only grant not exceeding $5000 may be given for wilderness watch projects towards the purchase of communications and safety equipment and for wildlife rehabilitation centres towards start-up costs. The PCAF does not fund feed, veterinarian services and/or the purchase of medicine.
5. Projects planned to be completed within a specific number of years may apply for funds for up to 5 years with a lifetime expenditure of $20,000. Projects requiring multi-year funding must specify this on their original application. Requests for additional funds after the first year of the project must include a progress report, a statement of expenditures and a further application before a review for additional project funding can take place.
6. If you receive financing from another government agency, you can use that money for the project but it cannot count as part of your contribution. You still have to come up with at least half the cost of the project, not counting other government funding.
7. If your project is on private land, you must submit written permission from the landowner. You should also contact the local First Nations band for any interests or claims on the land where you are proposing to work. On any land, you may also require approval from various government ministries:
   • Ministry of Environment if the project involves stream bank or stream bed or flow alterations, or handling of fish and wildlife;
   • Ministry of Forests and Range if you will be working on timbered Crown land;
   • Federal Fisheries and Oceans Canada if ocean-going fish or marine environment are involved;
   • Ministry of Transportation if access, roadside habitat improvement or other developments near highways are involved.
8. The best way to avoid problems is to work out your project plan with your regional fish and wildlife staff. All projects must be accompanied by a letter of recommendation from the Regional Environmental Stewardship Manager of the Ministry of Environment. Without this letter of support from the Regional Manager, your application will not be considered. PCAF strongly recommends that applicants request this letter of support at least 2 weeks before the deadline to allow staff adequate time to review the application and draft the letter.
   The following link will take you to the BC Ministry of Environment, Environmental Stewardship Division’s regional operations directory. Go to the bottom of the webpage and click on the regional office for your area to find the fish or wildlife staff who can help advise you: http://dir.gov.bc.ca/
9. Preference will be given to applicants who undertake habitat restoration/conservation projects with long-range benefits involving as many people as possible over those with short-term gains such as winter feeding.
10. Research projects are generally not eligible for grants. Experimental techniques may be considered. For inventory projects, standard inventory techniques must be used; check with the Ministry of Environment regional fish and wildlife staff to ensure data collected will be useful. For restoration projects, native plant species must be used.
11. A committee of fish and wildlife staff, a representative each from the Federation of British Columbia Naturalists and the B.C. Wildlife Federation and chaired by staff of the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation reviews all applications. A grant for less than the amount requested may be recommended to the Board Chair of the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, who makes the final authorization to release the funds. There are some separate guidelines once you get your grant and they will be forwarded with your grant cheque.

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