The Kelowna Art Gallery has been part of the cultural fabric of Kelowna for years, giving people a place to connect with visual art in ways that feel accessible and inspiring. With around 12 exhibitions each year across four gallery spaces, plus a permanent collection of approximately 1,000 works of art, there’s always something new happening inside its walls. At its core, the Gallery’s mission is to enlighten, educate, and inspire the citizens of Kelowna through the visual arts.
The Challenge
For Executive Director Nataley Nagy, who has led the Kelowna Art Gallery for the past 15 years, the challenge was capacity. Grant writing was taking up a significant amount of her time and starting to pull her away from her day-to-day role of leading the Kelowna Art Gallery. At a networking event, she shared her challenge with a friend who recommended Do Gooders. She signed up right away, marking the start of a collaborative and successful partnership.
The Approach
Do Gooders worked alongside the Kelowna Art Gallery to take some of the pressure off grant writing, so Nataley could spend more time actually running the Gallery. As the relationship continued, the Do Gooders team developed a strong understanding of the Gallery’s programs, priorities, and community impact. That meant less back-and-forth, fewer clarifications, and a much quicker path into preparing a strong grant application.
Instead of repeating the same background information each cycle, Nataley could just share what they were applying for and answer a handful of focused questions. And for her, that shift really mattered:
“Being a busy executive director in a small understaffed regional institution, it’s a very, very good tool for us.”
For leaders in similar roles, that kind of ongoing support turns grant writing from something repetitive and draining into something more manageable and predictable over time.
The Outcome
Working with Do Gooders helped the Kelowna Art Gallery secure $70,000 through the BC Gaming Grant, supporting community-based visual arts programming across Kelowna. Nataley enjoys working with Do Gooders, and shared her experience in a video testimonial where she spoke about how supported she has felt throughout the process, noting, “I would absolutely recommend and I have recommended your services.”
Looking Ahead
The Kelowna Art Gallery continues to play an important role in enriching community life through arts and culture in the Okanagan. With ongoing support in place, the Gallery is better positioned to continue focusing on its core work while maintaining a steady approach to grant opportunities. The future looks bright for Kelowna’s cultural hub, and Do Gooders is proud to support them as they continue to enrich the cultural fabric of our city.
