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Community Event Grants

Applications now closed for 2026 event grants.

Thank you to all community members and not-for-profit organizations for your interest in our Community Event Grant program. The application window for the 2026 season is now closed. Successful applicants will be notified by February 28, 2026.

Community Event Grant update

The Community Event Grant program is under review to ensure it continues to meet the needs of the community and aligns with City of Airdrie long term goals. As part of this process, updates to eligibility, timelines, or funding criteria may occur.

Future applicants are encouraged to check back regularly for updates. Any changes to the program or announcements about future application periods will be posted here as soon as they are available.

Thank you for your patience and for your continued commitment to fostering a vibrant and connected community.

Event grant application streams

Community event grants are intended to support the production and programming of events hosted by organizations and groups, which can be directed to support the costs of:

Festival and event production (insurance, marketing, etc.), and/or;
Festival and event programming.

Organizations and groups can apply once per year to the program stream they are eligible for:

First time festivals and events: Grant requests for up to $2,500 to support organizers bringing new (first year) events to Airdrie that are expected to draw more than 200 attendees. City of Airdrie gift-in-kind contributions such as facility fee waivers will be considered and factored in as part of the request.
Up and coming festivals and events: Grant requests of up to $5,000 to support organizers for events that are in year two or three of a reoccurring festival or event with an attendance of more than 200 but less than 10,000. City of Airdrie gift-in-kind contributions such as facility fee waivers will be considered and factored in as part of the request.

Applications are open to organizations and groups producing an event for the citizens of Airdrie.

Program criteria

A festival or event is a temporary gathering of people to recognize and celebrate the arts, culture and/or historical attributes of Airdrie.

To be supported by this program, a festival or event must have the following characteristics:

Unique or special from everyday occurrences;
Builds and supports arts and culture;
Open and accessible to the public;
Outdoor events;
Free to the public to attend (can include minimal low cost programming, i.e. food trucks, face painting, etc.)
Have a minimum of 200 people in attendence;
Alignment with the social policy;
Located in Airdrie.

Additionally, the program encourages (but is not subject to) the following characteristics:

Events that are located within Downtown
Partnerships with other groups and organizations.

Ineligible organizations and activities

Applications will not be accepted from the following types of organizations and events:

Political, religious or trade union organizations;
Degree and diploma granting educational institutes such as colleges and universities;
For-profit organizations;
Organizations that have an outstanding grant agreement with the City of Airdrie. Outstanding grant agreements may be caused by failure to submit a final grant report or having not yet met the deliverables of a previous grant agreement.

Applications will not be accepted for the following types of activities:

Festivals and events that are ticketed or have an entrance fee;
Festivals and events that are fundraisers;
Festivals and events that are private (members or invite-only) or not easily accessible to the general public;
Festivals or events that do not serve the citizens of Airdrie.

Not sure if you are eligible?

before completing your application to discuss your eligibility if you need more assistance. Applications deemed ineligible will not be assessed.

Performance measures

Attendance (attendees of over 200+)
Partnerships created (non-profits organizations, businesses and groups involved)
Long-term planning
Local involvement
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with attendees

Event grant decisions and approvals

Applications will be reviewed and assessed once per year. Agreements and final reporting guidelines will be provided to applicants who receive a grant.

Grant recipients will be required to enter into a standard grant agreement with the City of Airdrie, which includes:

Agreement for registered not-for-profit societies; or
Agreement for community event organizer/group that does not have Government of Alberta society status.

Organizations receiving a grant through the community event program will also be required to:

Acknowledge the City of Airdrie as a sponsor on their promotional materials. Please send an email to corporate.communications@airdrie.ca to request the City of Airdrie logo and provide a proof of the artwork for approval prior to usage;
Provide an event management plan (including an Emergency Response Plan, site map, budget, etc.);
Have a marketing plan targeting general Airdrie community;
Submit a final report upon completion of the festival or event.

Grant recipients will also be asked to submit a survey upon completion of the festival or event to help the City of Airdrie evaluate this program.

A formal review will be completed at the end of the funding year. Process improvements will be made based on measurement, feedback, learnings, and participant reporting.

For questions or concerns, please

Previous community grant recipients

The Community Event Grant supported the following new and up-and-coming events in the past:

Airdrie Children's Business Fair
Airdrie Culture Fest
AirdriEaster
Airdrie Family Football Community Game
Airdrie Pride Festival
Celebrity Charity Hockey Classic
Cross-Country Ski Day
Diwali Mela
Filipino Summerfest
Halloweeekend Facepainting Express
Kin Club Canada Day Breakfast
Pawz in the Park
Peace in the Park
Time Traveller's Car Show
Summerfest
Vaisakhi-Mela Party
Victorian Skating Party
Windwood Music Festival