Most small business grants in BC won't pay for local ads, SEO or a website. They fund exporting, hiring, training or food and culture projects instead. The main exception we found in the Okanagan is Level Up Local, offering up to $3,000 for websites, SEO and ad campaigns. Its 2026 intake has closed.
If you run a business in Vernon or Kelowna and you're setting next year's budget, you've probably heard there's grant money for a new website or some ads. A few years ago there was more of it. Most of what the older guides list has since closed, and some of it was never meant for a local shop or trade in the first place.
Osprey sells websites, SEO and ads, the same things these grants can pay for, so we have a stake in this answer. We can't get you a grant, and nobody can promise you one. What we can do is show you what each program's own page says it will pay for, and whether it's open.
Is There a Grant for Marketing or a Website in BC?
Yes, but very few, and they come and go. The one we found that pays for ordinary local marketing across the Okanagan is Level Up Local, and its 2026 applications are closed. The rest have either closed too, are aimed at exporters, pay for training instead or are loans.
| Program | What it pays for | Local marketing? | Status, Nov. 2, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level Up Local (Accelerate Okanagan and Prospera) | Up to $3,000 for websites, SEO, ads, social media and software | Yes | Closed for 2026 |
| Canada Digital Adoption Program (federal) | Grants to adopt digital technology | It used to | Closed |
| Launch Online (BC) | Up to 75% of the cost of going online, maximum $7,500 | It used to | Closed |
| Go-To-Market Microgrant (Innovate BC) | $10,000 to $50,000 for early sales and marketing | It did, for one intake | Closed |
| CanExport SMEs (federal) | $10,000 to $50,000, up to half of costs, for selling abroad | No | Export only |
| Market Diversification (Accelerate Okanagan) | Up to $10,000 in matching funds for export costs | No | Takes inquiries |
| B.C. Employer Training Grant | 80% of skills training, up to $10,000 per employee | No, training only | Open for 2026/27 |
| Community Futures North Okanagan loans | Micro loans up to $25,000, larger loans above that | Yes, but you repay it | Loan, not a grant |
What Is Level Up Local, and When Does It Reopen?
Level Up Local is a technology grant of up to $3,000 for small businesses anywhere from Osoyoos to Salmon Arm. Accelerate Okanagan runs it with Prospera Credit Union. Its program page now reads, “Applications are now closed for 2026.” No 2027 date has been announced.
What sets it apart is the list of what it pays for. Plenty of grants name marketing as something they won't cover. This one names it as something it will. Under marketing, the page lists “AEO, GEO, and SEO”, “Advertising Campaigns”, “Social Media Campaigns” and “Content Development & Creation”. Under websites, it lists “Website Development”, “Web Optimization” and “Accessibility Compliance”.
When it has opened before
It tends to be announced in spring or summer. The announcements we could find are from April 2022, June 2024, July 2025 and June 2026. The 2026 post said applications “open in early June and run through the summer.” That's a pattern, not a promise. The application page says only, “Please check back next year to participate.”
Why you shouldn't count on it
The page says, “Grants can cover up to $3000, depending on the project application.” The program says it has supported “dozens of local businesses” since it started, and that's across several years. So it's a small pool, and you may not get the full amount.
Priority goes to businesses that meet one or more of these: located in the Okanagan, ready to manage the project, an Accelerate Okanagan member or Prospera client, in agriculture or agritech, or with diverse leadership. The 2026 spotlight was on agriculture and agritech, though the page says the grant “remains open to businesses across all sectors”.
If you're a roofer or a plumber, you can apply, but you aren't the focus. You meet the location test just by being here, so you don't have to join anything first. Accelerate Okanagan memberships run from $250 to $1,450 a year and are built around the tech community. We wouldn't buy one only to improve your odds at a grant of up to $3,000, unless it's worth that to you on its own.
Applying takes a few steps: an inquiry form, a one-on-one meeting with a business advisor, then a full application if you're invited. Expect to explain the project, not just the need for money.
Which BC Small Business Grants Have Closed?
The Canada Digital Adoption Program, Launch Online and Innovate BC's Go-To-Market Microgrant have all closed, and Small Business BC went bankrupt in 2024. People still search for these, and some guides still list them as options.
- Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP). A 2024 federal note says its technology grant “is fully subscribed and is not accepting new applications”. GrantCompass, a grant directory, says the whole program stopped taking applications in 2024 and wasn't replaced. The old web address now lands on the department's home page. It still gets about 480 searches a month in Canada. A guide that came up first in our own search, last updated in May 2024, still says “there are 2 grant programs provided by CDAP”.
- Launch Online. This B.C. grant helped businesses set up online stores. Its site says, “Application intake for Launch Online Grant Program is now closed.” A guide updated in September 2026 still lists it, with a note telling you to check.
- Innovate BC Go-To-Market Microgrant. This one did pay for marketing, with “Paid advertising and digital marketing campaigns” on its list of eligible costs. It took applications for about two weeks, November 17 to 30, 2025. Its page now says, “This program is currently closed.”
- Small Business BC. It filed for bankruptcy in December 2024, and smallbusinessbc.ca now forwards to a Province of BC page. The name still gets about 720 searches a month in Canada. That provincial page points to the federal Business Benefits Finder, which is a better place to start now.
One more to watch for. The same September guide lists a “Digital Marketing Grant” of $500 to $3,000 for BC businesses. Its link goes to a third-party directory that says, “To Access Grant Provider's Website, You Must Have a Paid Subscription.” We couldn't trace a named funder from that page. Until someone can show you the funder's own page, don't plan around it, and don't pay for a list.
Why Won't the Bigger Grants Pay for Local Ads?
Because they're built to help Canadian companies sell somewhere new, not to fill your schedule in Vernon. The bigger money tends to follow exports, research and hiring.
CanExport SMEs gets the most searches of any program here, about 1,900 a month in Canada. It offers $10,000 to $50,000 per project and covers up to half of eligible costs, but your target has to be a foreign market. Its 2026-27 applicant's guide also rules out online advertising, including social media, along with SEO, domain purchases and website maintenance. Even an exporter can't use it for online ads.
Closer to home, Accelerate Okanagan's Market Diversification program offers up to $10,000 in matching funds, but only for “specific, export-related costs” when you're entering markets beyond BC and the U.S. Trade shows and travel to buyers fit. An ad aimed at your own town doesn't.
GrantCompass read the cost rules of 363 programs a BC business can apply to. Its count: “64 pay toward a business's own marketing.” “48 name marketing as a cost they will not pay.” Of those 64, 23 are loans, 15 are for marketing one creative work like a film or a record, and 12 are corporate prize contests. Its summary, as of October 4, 2026, is that “no government grant open to every owner pays a BC shop, service firm or trade to run online ads, build a website or grow its social media”.
Level Up Local doesn't contradict that. It comes from Accelerate Okanagan and a credit union, not a government. The count is GrantCompass's, not ours, but the program pages we read point the same way.
Not sure what the first $3,000 should go toward? Book a free 20-minute call. We'll look at your website, your Google profile and your ads with you and tell you which one we'd fix first, grant or no grant.
Book a Free Marketing Check →Does Community Futures Give Grants or Loans?
The funding Community Futures North Okanagan advertises directly is mostly loans, and they can cover marketing. Its micro loan page asks, “Do you need to upgrade your website or renovate your space?” and offers “micro loans of up to $25,000”. Bigger requests go through its traditional loan program. Its loans page says they cover “most business-related expenses, such as start-up capital, seasonal requirements and expansion.”
You'd need a business plan, the ability to repay, loan security and a business in the North Okanagan. If you're around Kelowna, the CFDC of the Central Okanagan is the office to call. We didn't read its loan terms, so ask.
A loan is a different decision from a grant. You pay it back whether the new website brings in calls or not. Only borrow for marketing if you know what a job is worth to you and how many jobs it takes to cover the payments.
Community Futures can still help if you're hunting for grants. Its funding page says it “can connect you with a range of government programs” and lists the B.C. Employer Training Grant, Canada Summer Jobs and wage subsidies. Being on that list doesn't confirm a program is open today, so check before you count on it.
Can a Grant Pay for Marketing Training or a Hire?
Sometimes, and it's often the more realistic route. The B.C. Employer Training Grant pays 80 per cent of the cost of skills training, up to $10,000 per employee and $300,000 per employer a year. You pay the other 20 per cent.
Its March 23, 2026 notice says it's open for training that starts on or after April 1, 2026. It won't buy ads. It could help if someone in your office is going to run your Google profile or your ad account, as long as the course qualifies. The training has to lead to more job security or a better job for that person, and diploma and degree programs don't count.
Email ETG@gov.bc.ca before you pay for a course, and don't leave it late. The grant's 2024/25 budget was fully allocated by early December 2024, and applicants hear back within 60 days.
GrantCompass also notes that student wage subsidies and summer job programs can cover a junior marketing role. That won't run your ads for you, but it might get someone in the chair to answer reviews and post job photos.
How Do You Spot a Grant Scam or a Bad Grant Pitch?
Be wary of anyone who guarantees a grant or charges you to see one. The federal Competition Bureau warned in 2016 that no one can guarantee a government grant or loan, and that governments generally don't charge for information on their programs. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre keeps a page on grant and loan fraud, including fake loan websites.
Agencies should pass the same test, and that includes us. Check these before you sign anything:
- Can they show you the program's own page? Not a blog post or a directory. The funder's page, with today's status on it.
- Does the quote work without the grant? If the price only makes sense because the grant covers it, get a second quote.
- Who talks to the funder? Level Up Local starts with a one-on-one meeting between you and an advisor. That's your conversation, not your agency's.
- Is money due up front for grant access? Walk away.
What Should You Do Before the Next Level Up Local Intake?
Pick one project, price it and set a reminder for spring. If Level Up Local returns in 2027, you'll be ready the week it opens. If it doesn't, you still have a plan.
- Pick one project. A website rebuild or six months of local SEO is easier to explain than “marketing.” The form asks about your business and your project goals.
- Get a written quote with the scope listed. You want to see whether $3,000 covers it or only part of it.
- Check that quote against local prices. The table below gives you a starting point.
- Hold off on paying a deposit. The page says, “Once approved, you'll receive funding and can get to work”, which suggests the work comes after approval. Ask whether costs you've already paid count, and whether the grant covers the whole bill or only a share.
- Set a reminder for April 2027. Past announcements ran from April to July. Check the program page from then on.
- Budget as if the answer is no. If the project only works with a grant, it may not be the right project yet. Ask your accountant how a grant would be treated on your taxes. Advertising is already a deductible expense on the CRA's T2125 business form, and that's help you can count on.
What $3,000 buys in the Okanagan
| If it goes toward | Local numbers | What $3,000 covers |
|---|---|---|
| A website | Published Okanagan starting prices: median $2,000, middle half about $762 to $3,000 | A small site, sometimes with money left over |
| Local SEO | Typical local retainer: $300 to $800 a month | About 4 to 10 months |
| Google Ads, roofing | Average click: $13.85 | About 216 clicks, before any management fee |
| Google Ads, plumbing | Average click: $27.85 | About 107 clicks, before any management fee |
Those are starting prices and averages, not quotes. The full numbers are in our posts on what a website costs in Kelowna or Vernon, what SEO costs in Kelowna and what Google Ads cost in the Okanagan, trade by trade. SEO also takes a while to pay off, so here's a realistic timeline.
Our take: one-time money fits one-time work. A website keeps working after the grant is spent. Ads stop the day the money does. We're based in Vernon and work with businesses in Vernon and Kelowna, so if you want a second opinion on a quote, ask. It's fine if the answer is to hire someone else.
Where These Answers Come From
We read each program's own page on November 2, 2026. Where we quote one, it's word for word. Where we relied on someone else, we said so: the 363-program count is GrantCompass's, and the bankruptcy report is Daily Hive's. Search numbers come from Google's Keyword Planner for October 2025 to September 2026.
Four news sites blocked automated reads (Castanet, Business Examiner, Squamish Chief and CBC), so we left them out. We didn't call any of these offices. Programs open and close without much notice, so check the program's own page before you plan around anything here. This isn't tax or legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Small Business BC still open?
No. Small Business BC filed for bankruptcy in December 2024, and smallbusinessbc.ca now forwards to a Province of BC small business page. That page points to the federal Business Benefits Finder, which searches for grants and programs, and to the Canada Small Business Financing Program. If a guide tells you to start with Small Business BC, it's out of date.
Is the Canada Digital Adoption Program still available?
No. A 2024 federal note says its technology grant is fully subscribed and isn't taking new applications, and the old program address now lands on the department's home page. The grant directory GrantCompass says the program stopped taking applications in 2024 and wasn't replaced. Some older guides still list it as current.
Does Community Futures North Okanagan give grants?
The funding it advertises directly is mostly loans, including micro loans up to $25,000 that can go toward things like a website upgrade. You repay those. It also says it can connect you with government programs for things like hiring and training, so it's still worth asking. You need to be in the North Okanagan.