The Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance (CKCA) has a new local grants administrator in Tony Berryman, and he’s delighted to be here.

“I just love giving away money,” he said.

When the Columbia Basin Trust was formed in 1995 to provide for residents affected by the Columbia Basin Treaty, the CKCA was created to handle funding for arts, culture and heritage grants. The CKCA administers 12 different grant programs, from major cultural and heritage projects to individual artistic endeavours.

“What most amazes me are the opportunities available in Program 1,” Berryman said. “This program offers grants to individual artists, even beginning artists, to help them complete projects.” Program 1 offers a total distribution of $5,000, with possible overflow funding if needed.

Information and application forms for each of the 12 CKCA funding programs are available on their website, www.basinculture.com. Program 1 applications are due at the CV Arts Council office at Pynelogs by March 11, 2011. Applications for other programs are due at the CKCA office by March 25.

“In the past, we’ve found that the existence of these grants is not widely known,” says Berryman. “In addition, some artists and groups did not understand how to apply, and disqualified themselves.” To remedy this, Krista Patterson, CKCA Co-ordinator, will be holding a CKCA Grants workshop at Pynelogs on Saturday, February 19, from 3-5 p.m. She will discuss the basics of all the CKCA grants, and step people through the process of applying for Program 1.