Ocean Week Canada Community Event Grant

Mini-grants… big splash!

Identified as a priority in the Canadian Ocean Literacy Strategy, the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition (COLC) launched its Ocean Literacy Community Grants program in 2023. Under this program, to date, there have been 3 types of grants awarded, including the Ocean Week Canada Community Events Grant, the Blue Creators Grant, and the Blue Schools Canada Experiential Learning Grant.

In 2024, COLC awarded 49 grants totalling over $111,800 to community groups across the country to support a wide range of Ocean Week Canada events. Stay tuned for the launch of the next wave of Ocean Week Canada Community Events Grants for 2025.

About the OWC Grants

We want to help you connect people with the ocean and the waterways leading to it! As part of this, COLC is supporting events and activities that will take place in communities across Canada during Ocean Week Canada 2024 (June 1-9).

Do you have an idea for an exciting event or activity, but need a bit of funding support to help make it happen? Or maybe you already have some of the funding you need for your event, but now you want to engage even more people. If either of these sound like you, we encourage you to apply when applications open for 2025.

*THE DEADLINE TO APPLY HAS NOW PASSED. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO APPLIED!

We recognize that supporting and amplifying community-led ocean-water literacy events and initiatives is essential to empowering more people in Canada to better understand, value, and care for the ocean and the waterways leading to it. We also recognize that there is no one-size fits all approach to doing this work. Ocean-water literacy needs to be advanced in meaningful, place-based ways. In turn, the objective of this Community Grants program is to provide more accessible and streamlined funding opportunities for community-driven ocean literacy initiatives that are regionally, culturally, and linguistically relevant.

OWC 2024 grants at a glance

Across geographies and generations, Ocean Week Canada 2024 saw nearly 400 events take place in all provinces and territories. Dive into the impact report to see how your passion has made a difference this year—we can’t wait to do it all again in 2025!

Read the 2024 impact report

Successful 2024 grant recipients

OWC 2023 grants at a glance

We are thrilled to share the Ocean Week Canada 2023 impact report. A huge thank you goes out to our partners, event hosts, and community for being the heart of Ocean Week.

Read the 2023 impact report

Successful 2023 grant recipients